Author: Greenleaf

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Check out the latest article Cancer Network published about Dr. Mao, SIO past-president and current Board of Trustee member, on the updated guidelines from ASCO and SIO for pain management in patients with cancer.

Read more here. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: Hanna Hayden
September 19, 2022 hhayden@thereisgroup.com

New recommendations address the use of integrative therapies for pain management in cancer populations
The joint practice guideline results from a partnership between the Society for Integrative Oncology and the American Society of Clinical Oncology

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 19, 2022)—A new joint practice guideline from the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Inc. (ASCO®) has been published to address gaps in healthcare providers’ knowledge of how to safely and effectively treat common cancer symptoms and side effects using integrative medicine approaches.

“Pain is a clinical challenge for many oncology patients and clinicians, and there’s a growing body of evidence showing that integrative therapies can be useful in pain management. But to date there has not been clear clinical guidance about when and when not to use these approaches,” said Heather Greenlee, ND, PhD, co-chair of the SIO Clinical Practice Guideline Committee.

SIO joined forces with ASCO to develop a clinical practice guideline on the use of integrative therapies and pain management, building off of ASCO’s existing guideline focused on cancer pain. “This new guideline takes a deeper dive on the use of integrative therapies, which is important because clinicians and patients need to have access to the latest evidence-based information to make clinical decisions,” said Jun J. Mao, MD, MSCE, co-chair of the SIO-ASCO guideline on use of integrative therapies for pain management.

Integrative oncology is a patient-centered, evidence-informed field of cancer care that utilizes mind and body practices, natural products, and/or lifestyle modifications from different traditions alongside conventional cancer treatments. Integrative oncology aims to optimize health, quality of life, and clinical outcomes across the cancer care continuum and to empower people to prevent cancer and become active participants before, during, and beyond cancer treatment.

“Practice guidelines are a critical way to ensure healthcare providers use treatments that are based on quality evidence from scientific studies that have shown the treatment to be effective and safe,” said Immediate Past Chair of the ASCO® Evidence-Based Medicine Committee, Scott T. Tagawa, MD, MS, FACP. “The guidelines focus on important concerns in patient care that greatly impact quality of life and will help equip the oncology community with the essential knowledge needed to manage integrative therapy approaches.”

The SIO-ASCO guideline was developed following a rigorous review of published literature, including literature only from randomized clinical trials—the gold standard in healthcare research. A large panel of oncology experts was convened, co-chaired by Jun J. Mao, MD, MSCE, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center representing SIO, and Eduardo Bruera, MD, of MD Anderson Cancer Center representing ASCO. The panel reviewed existing evidence and assessed the quality of studies; once consensus was reached, recommendations were made based on the strength of the evidence available.

Among the guideline’s strongest recommendations are that acupuncture be offered to breast cancer patients experiencing joint pain related to the use of a medication common in breast oncology called aromatase inhibitors. Because there was moderately strong evidence supporting its effectiveness and its low risk of harm, the expert panel also recommended acupuncture for general cancer pain or musculoskeletal pain as well as for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.

The guideline also recommends the use of massage therapy for patients in palliative care or hospice who are experiencing pain.

“Clinician uptake of evidence-based treatments is always a concern, which is one of the reasons why we create practice guidelines,” said Dr. Bruera. “We are hoping that by showing the growing evidence that is out there, healthcare systems will start hiring these kinds of practitioners and insurance systems will start covering these treatments, because more and more, these are being shown to be effective at managing pain for cancer populations.”

Because the expert panel was conservative in making their recommendations, the guideline also includes areas identified as potentially relevant to cancer care but needing more research. This distinction is important because the lack of endorsement for a given therapy is not an indication that the therapy is necessarily ineffective or unsafe. Rather, it indicates that the expert panel felt the evidence was insufficient to support its recommendation. For instance, said Dr. Greenlee, more studies are needed to assess the safety and effectiveness of natural products.

To ensure patients can play a role in the treatment decision-making process and to inform their discussions about integrative therapies with their oncologists, ASCO and SIO have also posted a listing of integrative medicine patient resources on their respective websites.

“This is the first of three evidence-based guidelines for adults that SIO and ASCO are developing together, which combines the strengths of these two organizations,” added Linda E. Carlson, PhD, President of SIO. “The goal of this important collaboration is to inform as many clinicians and patients as possible about where the evidence for integrative therapies lies to support the best clinical outcomes possible for all cancer patients. And we believe this new guideline accomplishes that.”

SIO received an unrestricted grant to fund guideline development from the Samueli Foundation.

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ASCO® is a registered trademark of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Inc. and is used with permission. ASCO is not a partner or affiliate of SIO and does not recommend or endorse any organization, product, or service.

About The Society for Integrative Oncology:
Founded in 2003, SIO is the premier multi-disciplinary international professional organization for integrative oncology. The mission of the SIO is to advance evidence-based, comprehensive, integrative healthcare to improve the lives of people affected by cancer. SIO enables communication, education, and research to occur by bringing together practitioners and researchers across professions focused on the care of cancer patients and survivors. Members share the common goals of excellent comprehensive patient care, enhancement of anti-cancer therapy, supportive care, and prevention of cancer. SIO members are part of a unique multidisciplinary community of oncologists, nurses, psychologists, social workers, nutritionists, complementary therapy practitioners, naturopathic doctors, acupuncturists, massage therapists, epidemiologists, researchers, and many other health care practitioners. Learn more at https://integrativeonc.org/, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.

29-30 Jan and 12-13 Feb 2022

www.YourLifeandCancer.com

Designed for anyone who is affected by cancer, Your Life and Cancer 2022 aims to introduce you to the growing world of Integrative Medicine, combining lifestyle, complementary and conventional approaches.

Held over two weekends 29-30 Jan and 12-13 Feb 2022, Your Life and Cancer features doctors, oncologists, therapists, best-selling authors and case studies from people who have benefited from taking an integrative approach.

More than 40 cancer care experts from around the world will be online to share their knowledge and expertise and provide you with tools to improve health and vitality, help manage side effects, build resilience, manage stress & anxiety and reduce the risk of recurrence.

Register for just £40 per weekend: www.YourLifeandCancer.com/register

SIO Members can register using a discount code. To access the discount code, please log in using your SIO log in credentials.

Find out more: www.YourLifeandCancer.com

Check out Jun Mao, MD, Chief of Integrative Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and author of the guidelines, Integrative Medicine for Pain Management in Oncology, as he speaks on the importance of the study and the implications of the findings. 

Watch the interview here.

May 22, 2023

Dear SIO Community,

The Society for Integrative Oncology is an international nonprofit organization established 20 years ago to advance evidence-based, comprehensive integrative healthcare to improve the lives of people affected by cancer. We are staffed by a group of volunteer healthcare providers, researchers, and patient advocates. Due to our volunteerism business model, it is necessary to outsource full time management of our business which includes finance, accounting, human resources, event planning, legal and other needs. Since inception, SIO has frequently relied on third-party consultancy firms specializing in nonprofit management for these tasks. In 2020, the consultancy firm of Hauck & Associates (“H&A”) in Washington, DC was selected as its outside management company after completing background checks and reviewing references. H&A started in that role on January 1, 2021.  

On May 10, 2023, we learned that Graham Hauck, the principal manager at H&A, pleaded guilty in federal court to misappropriation of funds of another nonprofit organization managed by H&A. SIO quickly terminated H&A, and initiated a series of risk management measures, including securing its assets to prevent further losses; retrieving paper and electronic files and financial books and records; revoking Hauck’s access to bank accounts, internet sites, keys, credit cards and the like; arranging for new management, accounting and operations solutions to replace H&A; hiring a forensic accountant, Chess Consulting LLC, to detect any misappropriation of SIO funds and determine the amount involved; and retaining as outside counsel white collar criminal attorney, Zach Hafer at Cooley LLP (formerly with the US Attorney’s Office), Michael Sanders, a tax exempt tax attorney and professor at Georgetown Law Center and his partner, Malcolm Sandilands, a corporate attorney, both at Blank Rome LLP. We are working with conference specialists in Canada to ensure that our Banff 2023 conference is not disrupted by these developments, and with other specialists to ensure that the SIO’s other activities continue with the minimum possible adverse impact.  

Internally, SIO has appointed its first general counsel, Nelson Lin, to coordinate our legal response, which includes crisis management and supervision of recovery, while the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees has worked continuously since learning of Hauck’s guilty plea to transfer every single management function out of his firm’s hands. That process continues, and we will make every effort to secure the return of any funds that were misappropriated from SIO; our criminal counsel has reached out to Hauck to pursue prompt restitution of any misappropriated funds.

The Board of Trustees will report progress biweekly to SIO members as it continues to investigate this matter.

We thank you for your understanding and patience and we will continue to do everything we can to resolve this in an expeditious and efficient manner. 

 Sincerely

Linda Ellen Carlson, PhD, RPsych 

President, Society for Integrative Oncology, Inc.

Exploring the Roles of Patient Advocates in Integrative Oncology
Julie Deleemans, Jodi MacLeod, Eileen Fuentes, Lesley Glenn, Elizabeth Glosik, Jenny Leyh, Susan Ryan, Marianne Sarcich, and Laura Pole

The second column by SIO Leadership in the Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine (JICM), features, “Exploring the Roles of Patient Advocates in Integrative Oncology”, by the SIO Patient Advocate Committee. The paper is available Open Access through March 3, 2023 here. 

Read the article here. 

Congratulations to Judith Lacey, SIO Global Task Force Member and Board of Trustee, for contributing to the launch of the white paper on ‘Integrative Oncology and Wellbeing in Cancer Care’. Watch the live interview with A/Prof Judith Lacey and Consumer Advocate Barry Du Bois discuss the benefits of Integrative Oncology on Studio 10 here!

You can find the link to the paper here: https://bit.ly/3hBsqll

The Executive Committee of the Society for Integrative Oncology is highlighted in the latest OpenAccessGov publication, discussing how integrative oncology is changing the way cancer care is provided.

Follow the link to learn more: https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/integrative-oncology-transforming-cancer-care-patients/150645/

Jan 5, 2023

Cross-cultural perspectives on the role of integrative oncology in palliative care

February 8, 2023

Members, click here to watch the webinar. Not a member? Join today and gain access to our member’s only recordings! 

The webinar will present a cross-cultural perspective to integrative oncology from East-Asia, India, and the Middle East. Drs. Eran Ben-Arye and Dr. Lorenzo Cohen will co-chair the session guided by a real clinical case. Dr. Kenji Watanabe from Japan will present the Kampo medicine approach; Dr. Rammanohar Puthiyedath from South-India will present the Ayurveda perspective; and Dr. Maryam Rassouli from Iran will present the unique Iranian Medicine perspective. Dr. Orit Gressel from Israel will present her own narrative as the integrative oncology physician who treated the patient on her long journey. Each of the speakers will address the patient-centered approach that includes the psycho-spiritual perspective. Audience participation will be encouraged. This webinar provides a wonderful opportunity to learn from practitioners across the world in order to improve the lives of those with cancer.

Click here to view this month’s digest. 

Mission Statement 

The Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) affirms the dignity, equality, and equity of all people. We recognize that all are not treated with respect, and we commit ourselves to working for justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging among both internal and external stakeholders. With this in mind, SIO and the SIO Health Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Committee (HEI&B) commit to the following core values:

• Uphold the inherent equality of persons of every race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ability, location, nationality, socioeconomic experience, and any other difference through respectful and kind interaction.
• Acknowledge that modern integrative oncology therapies have their roots in the health traditions of indigenous peoples of many nations, cultures, and ethnicities through the use of appropriate images, wording, and actions in all SIO activities and events.
• Practice inclusivity and belonging by inviting and welcoming members from underrepresented communities by supporting inclusion and belonging and identifying and eliminating barriers to participation.
• Create a system to continuously educate ourselves about cancer health inequities, their etiology, and how to dismantle the structural and systemic factors that sustain them. This includes exploring and monitoring our own biases and privileges.

The HEI&B Committee supports the SIO in being an inclusive, just, and diverse organization that promotes equity and belonging by taking the following actions:

• Assessing the makeup of SIO leadership and membership through demographic surveys.
• Promoting inclusion by identifying inequities within the SIO, including power inequities, and recommending changes to counter these inequities.
• Identifying justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion training and other resources for SIO members and requiring that Board members participate in such training.
• Conducting annual reviews of the SIO’s entity reports, surveys, and other assessments deemed appropriate.
• Developing and implementing a mechanism for SIO members to safely bring concerns about aggressions and microaggressions experienced within the Society.
• Supporting the SIO in creating a safe and compassionate space to work for justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging.

We also acknowledge the fluidity of our understanding and commit to adapting our language and actions to our intentions as we continue to learn. We recognize that the language of health equity continues to evolve over time as our society processes current and past events. 

Acai has been promoted, starting in the 1990s, to reverse aging, to reduce high cholesterol, treat heart disease, for weight loss, and as an anticancer agent. It is marketed in the form of juice, energy drinks, 

tablets, and as an ingredient in cosmetics. Acai berry, rich in anthocyanins, demonstrated antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumorigenic effects in vitro and in animal models.

A small study suggests that acai may benefit overweight men by improving vascular function. But the claims of disease prevention and cure have yet to be substantiated. Due to its antioxidant property, acai may interfere with the actions of certain chemotherapy drugs. Read more

This resource is provided with thanks to the Integrative Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, which maintains a free web site, About Herbs.

We chose acai berry for this issue because of its popular use for promoting health and as an anticancer agent. A small berry that grows on a palm tree, acai is indigenous to the Amazon region and in Central and South Americas where it is consumed as food, and used in traditional medicine.

Please fill out the virtual conference application form. 

Deadline to apply is 11:59pm ET, Friday, September 18, 2020.

Awardees Conference Scholarship Application SIO2020VirtualConference will be notified by October 2, 2020.

SIO Wellness Wednesdays Series 2021

SIO is thrilled to announce our popular Wellness Wednesday series will return this summer with two webinars per month from June through August. Each Wellness Wednesday will include a free, live, one-hour informal lunch conversation with cancer subject matter experts who will illuminate the challenges faced by people touched by cancer, particularly those in underrepresented communities. Our goal is to highlight the benefits of integrative medicine in the context of equitable cancer care.

Click here for information on Episode One. 

Click here for information on Episode Two.

Click here for information on Episode Three.

Click here for information on Episode Four.

Click here for information on Episode Five.

Click here for information on Episode Six.

SIO Wellness Wednesdays Series 2020

SIO Wellness Wednesdays Series Available on YouTube

In case you missed our 2020 summer series #WellnessWednesdays – or, if you want to watch an episode again, visit SIO’s YouTube channel to access recordings and the meditations and yoga practices.