Update on the Pre-conference Workshop from Ayurveda SIG at SIO 2025

• A pre-conference workshop, titled “Integrative oncology with Ayurveda and culinary medicine” was held at SIO 2025 conference on Oct 27, 2025.
• The workshop explored the integration of Ayurvedic principles into oncology care, focusing on the culinary applications of Ayurvedic herbs and spices. With a growing body of scientific evidence supporting the role of diet and gut microbiome in cancer symptom management, the session provided both theoretical insights and practical applications of Ayurvedic principles. Participants engaged in hands-on learning and discussions on how Ayurvedic dietary principles, including the pharmacological properties of herbs and spices, can support personalized symptom management, improve nutritional intake, and enhance quality of life (QoL) for patients undergoing and recovering from cancer treatment.

Ayurveda SIG Pre-conference workshop facilitators: from right – Shraddha Ravani, Julia Arnold, Krupali Desai, Santhosshi Narayanan, Eran Ben-Arye, and Herbert Newton

Ayurveda SIG Accomplishments 2024-2025:

A manuscript titled, “The Role of Ayurvedic Medicine in Integrative Oncology: A Comprehensive Exploration of Traditional and Modern Approaches for Patients with Cancer” has been submitted to the Journal of Integrative Cancer Therapies. Awaiting response.

A book chapter has been written on Ayurveda in Integrative Oncology in Comprehensive Integrative Oncology Textbook.

On October 1, 2025, the first subgroup of US cancer centers began the 1-year External Facilitation phase. A total of 35 participating sites will receive online training in oncology acupuncture and massage therapy protocols, meet monthly with implementation experts, disseminate educational materials, and build community. SIO is proud to partner with Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) in this PCORI-funded project, which brings previous research (IMPACT Trial) into real world settings. Over the next four years, this project will help standardize high-quality, evidence-based integrative care for thousands of people with cancer in the US. Visit the SIO IMAGINE Project webpage under “Knowledge Center” and look for upcoming webinars, podcasts, and updates.

Tuesday, September 16, 9 a.m. PT | 12 p.m. ET

Zoom

Presenters:

• Terri Crudup, MBA
• Krisstina Gowin, DO
• Burt Rosen

The Society for Integrative Oncology is excited to introduce the cancer care community to a new empowerment tool-our new eBook! Many patients and caregivers ask “What else can I do?” and “How else can I help myself get through this?” Join our webinar to learn more about this newly-released free book that is written specifically for patients and caregivers. The guide helps to explain and provide resources for evidenced-based integrative therapies that can help patients have the best quality of life.

We will introduce the book, discuss why and how it was written, talk about integrative therapies, hear from patients who have used integrative therapies themselves, and have plenty of time for Q&A.

You will learn what integrative oncology is (and the difference between integrative and alternative), what integrative therapies are, how the therapies map to symptoms, how to get started without spending a lot of money, and more! Healthcare professionals and advanced practice providers, this webinar is for you also!

The ebook can be a valuable tool for those looking to bolster their practices’ integrative oncology patient resources. For anyone dealing with cancer (whether it’s you or someone you care about) or treating cancer, this will be an invaluable session with a great eBook to download and use!

Free to all

REGISTER HERE

In appreciation and gratitude for the major contributions they have each made to the Society for Integrative Oncology^® since its inception in 2003 and to the field of evidence-informed integrative oncology, we honor these fellows.

This award, which will be presented in person at the 22nd International SIO Conference in Boston, MA, October 27 to 29, 2025, also includes a lifetime SIO membership.

Linda E. Carlson, Ph.D., R.Psych, FABMR, FSBM, FMLI   
14th SIO President
Enbridge Research Chair in Psychosocial Oncology
Professor, Department of Oncology, Cumming School of Medicine
University of Calgary
Director, Alberta Complementary Therapy and Integrative Oncology (ACTION) Centre
Calgary, Alberta

Gary Deng, MD, PhD
8th SIO President
Associate Director for Integrative Oncology
Chao Family Comprehensive Care Center
University of California Irvine (UCI)
Orange, CA

Judith Lacey, MBBS, FRACGP, FAChPM(RACP)
SIO Ambassador to Australia, Board Member
Co-chair, Clinical Practice Committee
Director of Supportive Care and Integrative Oncology
Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
Adjunct Associate Professor, NICM Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University
Adjunct, Clinical School of Medicine, University of Sydney
Immediate past Chair, Integrative Oncology Group and Council member, Clinical Oncology Society of Australia

Eran Ben-Arye, MD
SIO Regional Ambassador to Europe & the Middle East, Board Member
Professor, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
Chairman, Department of Family Medicine, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine Technion-Israel Institute of Technology
Director of Integrative Oncology Program
Haifa and Western Galilee Oncology Service
Lin and Carmel Medical Centers of Clalit Health Services
Haifa, Israel
Primary Researcher, Middle East Research Group in Integrative Oncology (MERGIO), Middle East Cancer Consortium (MECC)

MHP SIG was created in December 2023.

Goals in Progress:

1. Continue to identify MHPs in SIO and outside SIO who may be interested in joining SIO and the SIG. Consider professional relationships as well as networking during annual conferences.
2. Continue to build presence and community for MHPs.
3. Continue collaborations within the SIG to highlight areas of expertise and ways to provide education to SIO membership.
4. Submit commentary for JICM on the role of mental health professionals in integrative oncology. Tentative due date is August 2016. Michelle Ferretti is lead.
5. Potentially change meeting time to increase attendance.
6. Potential for collaboration with other SIGs and Committees.
   • Communications Committee needs social media content. SIG members can share their publications with 1-2 sentences
7. Create webinar and role of MHPs in Integrative Oncology.

Activities to Date:

1. Increase presence of MHPs within SIO during annual conferences. For 2025 conference in Boston we have several members presenting their work via invited plenary, workshops, and posters/talks.
2. Worked with Communications Committee to create two Instagram posts:
   • Benefits of Addressing Emotional Well-Being While Managing Cancer
   • Benefits of Incorporating a Licensed Mental Health Provider While Managing Cancer
3. Worked with Communications Committee to create an Educational Video. Addressed the following questions:
   • Who are we talking about when we talk about mental health professionals?
   • Why should you have a mental health professional on your care team?
   • How can a mental health professional help with making healthy lifestyle changes?
   • How can a mental health professional be helpful on an interdisciplinary team?
   • What physical side effects can be affected by emotional concerns? AND
   • What interventions can be helpful can be helpful for both emotional and physical concerns?
   • What does being an SIO member mean to you?

4. Added MHP SIG to the website with correct co-chair information.
5. Updated membership registration to include Psychologist as a role option and MSW as a degree option.
6. Created a succession plan. Terms are 2 years with one chair (chair-elect) opening in December 2025. Other chair with continue for one more year and then transition. Rotation of one new chair-elect will happen annually. Looking to maintain professional diversity (psychologist (clinical, research), LCSW, LPC, MD) in co-chairs.
7. Created a folder system for all SIG members for conference submissions, publications, agendas and minutes to help facilitate collaborations.
8. Collaborated with Health Coaching SIG to create a survey assessing how providers work to address several important themes. Approximately 31 people participated. Learned that membership wide surveys were not effective at gathering data of interest. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SIOSIG
   • Examined following themes: Emotional concerns, Developing a healthy lifestyle, Relationships to self and others, Managing symptoms, Reset/Recovery-integrating cancer into my life
   • In each theme, asked the frequency of discussion during patient consultations, the level of importance patients place on the theme, how well your practice is doing to support patients in each theme, what are the top two professionals you refer to for that theme, top two barriers to support patients in that theme
9. SIG members (Kim Lowery Walker and Lindsey Wamsley) completed chapters for the SIO textbook on Stress. Linda Carlson completed chapter on Mindfulness.
10. SIG Members continue to contribute to the psychosocial literature in integrative oncology.

Current Members = 12

Meetings are bimonthly.

PLEASE CONTACT US IF YOU’RE INTERESTED!

Co-Chairs:

Michelle Ferretti, MSW, LCSW
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Inova Peterson Life with Cancer and Providence Cancer Institute
Michelle.Ferretti@providence.org

Aimee J. Christie, Ph.D.
Licensed Psychologist
The University of Texas at MD Anderson Cancer Center
ajchristie@mdanderson.org

Liaison to the Executive Committee / Advisor: 

Linda Carlson, Ph.D.
Licensed Psychologist
University of Calgary

Are you a Trainee or Patient Advocate in Integrative Oncology?

The Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) is pleased to offer a limited number of scholarships to support in-person travel and virtual attendance at the 2025 SIO Conference.

These scholarships are intended to improve accessibility and encourage participation from emerging professionals and advocates in the field of integrative oncology.

Who Can Apply?

Scholarships are available to individuals who demonstrate a strong interest or active involvement in integrative oncology and identify as either:

• Trainees – including medical or graduate students enrolled in programs relevant to integrative oncology
• Patient Advocates – individuals with lived cancer experience (patients, survivors, orcare partners) who are actively engaged in advocacy or related efforts

How to Apply

You do not need to be an SIO member to apply, though membership is encouraged. To be considered, applicants must complete the online application form and upload a current resume or CV (required for trainee applicants).

Application Requirements:

• Interest in Integrative Oncology (maximum 1000 characters)
  Briefly describe your current work, studies, or involvement in integrative oncology.
  Patient advocates should clearly outline their lived experience and involvement in advocacy.
• Statement of Financial Need (maximum 1000 characters)
  Explain how this scholarship would support your ability to attend the SIO 2025 conference.

Please read all instructions carefully before submitting.

Note: Scholarship recipients will be asked to submit a brief post-conference reflection summarizing their experience at SIO 2025.

Apply here

This April, we recognize several often-overlooked cancers: oral, head and neck, esophageal,and testicular. Each of these cancers carries unique challenges,yet all benefit from greater awareness, early detection, and equitable access to care. This month also overlaps with Alcohol Awareness Month, an important reminder of the link between alcohol use and increased cancer risk.In fact, alcohol has been associated with cancers of the mouth, throat, and esophagus, as well as the liver, breast, stomach, and colon.

For more information, see:

• American Association of Cancer Research (AACR)
• American Cancer Society

March is an important month for cancer awareness, spotlighting colorectal, multiple myeloma, and kidney cancers. These efforts encourage early detection, preventive measures, and continued research. Certain behaviors and environmental exposures can elevate the risk for these three cancers, underscoring the value of health education, early screening, and a healthy lifestyle in reducing risk and preventing disease.

Colorectal Cancer: Early-onset colorectal cancer has been rising by about 2% annually since 1994, with risk factors including an unhealthy diet, an imbalanced microbiome, obesity, and sedentary habits¹. The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) highlights current research on using the gut microbiome to predict early-onset colorectal cancer, employing fasting-mimicking diets to combat tumors, and introducing dietary supplements to fortify the gut barrier and reduce disease progression². The American Cancer Society recommends that people at average risk of colorectal cancer start regular screening at age 45¹. Routine screening may lower lifetime incidence rates and increase total years of life saved, with even greater benefit for Black and African American populations¹.

Multiple Myeloma: Multiple studies (Shah et al., 2024; Paredes et al., 2024; Liu et al., 2024) presented at the 2024 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition  point to a connection between hematologic malignancies and dietary components^3-5.

Kidney Cancer: Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC), which constitutes 90% of adult kidney cancers, is primarily linked to smoking, excess weight, and high blood pressure, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS)⁶. Research by Tahbez et al. (2018) further confirms that maintaining a healthy weight and avoiding smoking can effectively reduce the risk of kidney cancer⁷.

Seed and Soil: A recent large-scale UK Biobank study (Argentieri et al., 2025) featured in Nature Medicine shows that environmental and lifestyle factors have a stronger influence than genetics on both aging and mortality, underscoring the importance of modifiable behaviors—such as smoking cessation and increased physical activity—for disease prevention⁸.

References: 

1. JNCI Monographs, 2023, 2023(62), 196-203)
2. American Association of Cancer Research. Website: https://www.aacr.org/blog/2024/03/04/trusting-the-gut-microbiome-in-diagnosing-and-treating-colorectal-cancer/Retrieved March 5, 2025.
3. Shah UA, Cogrossi LL, Derkach A, et al: A high-fiber dietary intervention (NUTRIVENTION) in precursor plasma cell disorders improves biomarkers of disease and may delay progression to myeloma. 2024 ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition. Abstract 671. Presented December 8, 2024.
4. Paredes J, Fei T, Dai A, et al: Increased fiber intake results in better overall survival and lower GI-aGVHD in allo-HCT recipients and pre-clinical GVHD models. 2024 ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition. Abstract 259. Presented December 7, 2024.
5. Liu S, Guruprasad P, Han K, et al: Ketogenic diet boosts CAR T-cell function via b-hydroxybutyrate. 2024 ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition. Abstract 4. Presented December 8, 2024.
6. American Cancer Society. Website: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/kidney-cancer/causes-risks-prevention/risk-factors.html. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
7. Tahbaz R, Schmid M, Merseburger AS. Prevention of kidney cancer incidence and recurrence: lifestyle, medication and nutrition. Curr Opin Urol. 2018 Jan;28(1):62-79. doi: 10.1097/MOU.0000000000000454. PMID: 29059103.
8. Argentieri, M.A., Amin, N., Nevado-Holgado, A.J. et al.Integrating the environmental and genetic architectures of aging and mortality. Nat Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03483-9

December 3, 2024

As President of the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO), I am happy to announce the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) funding award to Principal Investigator Dr. Jun. J. Mao, Chief of the Integrative Medicine Service and Laurance S. Rockefeller Chair in Integrative Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), for the IMAGINE Project.

Link to PCORI website: https://www.pcori.org/research-results/2024/implementing-massage-and-acupuncture-oncology-care-imagine

Implementing Massage & Acupuncture Into Oncology Care (IMAGINE) will implement evidence-based oncology acupuncture and massage protocols in 35 academic and community cancer centers/programs across the United States. These protocols were previously established as safe and effective in the PCORI-funded IMPACT trial which compared acupuncture and massage for pain in people with advanced cancer. SIO actively participated in the submission process and will facilitate the education, implementation, and evaluation process. With the SIO-American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) clinical guidelines recommending acupuncture and massage for pain management for people with cancer, this project will enable these non-pharmacological interventions to become an integral part of a comprehensive cancer pain management strategy.

As the leading international, multidisciplinary organization in the field of integrative oncology, SIO looks forward to contributing to the IMAGINE project, which aligns with its mission to advance evidence-based, comprehensive integrative healthcare to improve the lives of people affected by cancer.

Santosh Rao, MD, ABOIM 

President, Society for Integrative Oncology

Robert and Melissa Shearer Master Clinician in Integrative Oncology 

Medical Director of Integrative Oncology 

University Hospitals Connor Whole Health 

The Society for Integrative Oncology shared the master plan for advancing the field of Integrative Oncology through education initiatives in a recent JCIM invited commentary, just published this month (October 2024). The most exciting development is the expected publication of Comprehensive Integrative Oncology (>1000 pages) to be co-edited by former SIO presidents Suzie Zick and Ting Bao and written by primarily SIO faculty and members. Expected publication date is 2025.

Advancing Integrative Oncology The Society For Integrative Oncology Education Committee’s Journey And Vision

From September 15 to October 15, SIO joins the rest of NCI NIH and HHS in commemorating Hispanic Heritage Month.

For our members, we wish to highlight specific NCI sponsored events:

Events include the Hispanic Heritage Month NIH Neuroscience Symposium on Monday, September 30, from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET (hybrid) and Language Access: A Decade of Progress for Hispanic and Latino Health Equity (virtual) on Tuesday, October 15, at 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. ET.

We echo the final words of the NCI letter

“Change always starts within—within each of us as individuals and within our own organizations. When we treat one another with the respect and dignity that every person inherently deserves, and strive to understand each other’s cultural differences, we become stronger in our mission to serve all people impacted by cancer.”

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USNIHNCI/bulletins/3b79c20

Please don’t miss the Society for Integrative Oncology GALA at The Westin Costa Mesa on 10/26 from 6-10pm!

? Join us for themed gala: “A Night in Hollywood”

?️ Dine on a Gourmet Dinner and dance under the California stars with Live DJ

? Laugh with Comedy & Performance by Acclaimed Stand-up Comedian Jason Thompson

? Participate in SIO’s first-ever Silent Auction and bid on once-in-a-lifetime trips to Greece, Iceland, Napa, and many more!

*Cocktail Attire

?️ Tickets are limited—no sales at the door! We strongly recommend purchasing tickets before 9/27 as that will cap the size of the venue and staff and the amount of tickets we will have left to sell after that date will be limited to about 10-20 tickets. Given past conferences, likely no tickets will be available by the start of the conference. All proceeds will be to support SIO’s mission.

To purchase tickets if you already are registered, click on this link: https://cme.cityofhope.org/content/gala-dinner-ticket-21st-international-conference-society-integrative-oncology

https://cme.cityofhope.org/content/gala-dinner-ticket-21st-international-conference-society-integrative-oncology

This will be a night to remember and so much to celebrate after a year of major progress and improvement! Don’t miss out on the fun!

#SIOGala #SupportSIO #TripsOfALifetime #ComedyAndDancing #CharityEvent