From the President

Dear SIO Members and Friends,
I can’t believe this is my last Newswire to you as President of SIO! It’s been a bit of a wild ride these last two years, from co-chairing the 2021 hybrid Baltimore conference with 100 people in person and 200 online, to Scottsdale in 2022 where 200 attended in person, and now looking forward to Banff with close to 300 making the journey to Canada in just over a week! I am beyond excited to host everyone in my backyard reconnecting, learning, laughing and strengthening our Integrative Oncology community. It will be balm to the soul after the last few months when instead of sailing into the sunset of my Presidency, I (and all of the EC) have been working flat out to rebuild the society after being financially defrauded by our management company. It has not been easy, but we are getting back on track and the tremendous support from you, our members and friends, has made all the difference. In that vein, keep scrolling below for details of how you can support SIO by making a secure donation.

Despite all the hard work, of course I made time this summer to be with my family in the great outdoors, and we had some fun adventures!

 

New SIO-ASCO Guideline Published

 

Another highlight of my term as President has been co-chairing (alongside Dr. Julia Rowland) the Expert Panel for the SIO-ASCO joint anxiety and depression guideline, “Integrative Oncology Care of Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Adults With Cancer: Society for Integrative Oncology–ASCO Guideline,” which was published in August in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Since August 15, 2023, the publication has been downloaded over 4,500 times and has appeared in 23 news outlets, scoring in the top 5% Altmetrics score of all scientific articles. We strongly believe the guideline is on its way to making an impact in the way we manage psychosocial symptoms experienced by people with cancer. Click on the “Supplements” tab to discover resources including slides, treatment algorithms, information for people with cancer, and the visual abstract below. To read more about SIO’s history of guideline development, click here.

 

SIO 20th International Conference

After more than a year of planning, the 20th International SIO Conference in Banff, Alberta, is almost here! Close to 300 registrants will join us in person, and so far over 60 will attend virtually. 

If you’re attending in person, make sure to book your shuttle or other transportation between the Calgary International Airport and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Check out more travel tips, including how to stay safe around the wildlife in the area, by clicking on the conference website tab, “Traveling to Banff.” There are still a few tickets left for the Gondola Gala – if you didn’t pick yours up yet, contact John@funnel.ca. It will certainly be a night to remember atop beautiful Sulphur Mountain!

While at the conference, be sure to pick up a print copy of the August issue of the Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine (JICM) at registration. JICM is a partner journal of SIO, and this issue contains a new commentary from SIO experts on advancing health equity, inclusion, and belonging in integrative oncology as well as other high-profile research articles. Read it online now by clicking here. 

Can’t travel to Banff for #SIO2023? Don’t worry, you don’t have to miss out. Join virtually to gain access to live streaming of all the talks and events in the main ballroom, and access to recordings afterwards. Registration fees also include continuing education credits, so it’s a great deal! To register for online attendance, please click here, and check the appropriate “Attendance Type” option. See the screenshot below.

Not a member of SIO yet? Click here to join today and qualify for lower registration rates. 

In addition to our usual social media contests, we are debuting “Voices of SIO” which will feature a person with lived experience of cancer, a clinician, a researcher and a nurse educator who post their thoughts on social media. More info in Banff! Follow the conference hashtags #SIO2023, #SIOCelebrates20 and #integrativeoncology on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

 

Donation Campaign

Has SIO changed your life? Helped you professionally? Made you feel at home in the field of integrative oncology? Please consider giving back to SIO as we celebrate two decades of integrative oncology excellence. (In fact, that’s the title of the ebook we’ve put together, which will be given to all conference attendees as a special gift). You can make your donation securely through the SIO website by clicking on the “Support SIO” tab at the top. You may also donate by mailing a check (preferably via certified mail) to the address below:

Society for Integrative Oncology
℅ Dr. Ana Maria Lopez
502 Addison St
Philadelphia PA 19147

In conclusion, I’m both excited to pass the reins of the Presidency to Dr. Santosh Rao, who I have no doubt will do wonderful things in the position, and sad that my time at the helm is coming to an end. However, I will still be around and a member of the EC for another two-year term as Past-President, so you haven’t seen the last of me yet! All the best, and of course always keep your eye on the prize, which is our mission to advance evidence-based, comprehensive integrative healthcare to improve the lives of people affected by cancer.

Linda E. Carlson, Ph.D., R.Psych.              
Enbridge Research Chair in Psychosocial Oncology
Professor, Department of Oncology, Cumming School of Medicine  
Co-Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Psychosocial Oncology Research and Practice (official journal of the International Psycho-Oncology Society)
President, Society for Integrative Oncology

 

Board of Trustees Announcements

SIO 2023 Board of Trustees Election

Please join us in congratulating the three members elected to serve a second three-year term (Dr. Eran Ben-Arye, Betsy Glosik, and Leigh Leibel) and the five newly elected members of the SIO Board of Trustees Dr. Julie Deleemans, Dr. Moshe Frenkel, Smitha Mallaiah, Dr. Santhosshi Narayanan, and Susan Veleber. We look forward to working closely with you to advance the Society’s mission and goals. 

 

Herb of the Month

GINKO

Ginkgo is one of the oldest living trees. Its leaf extracts are used to enhance memory and to treat mild dementia, peripheral vascular disease, tinnitus, and sexual dysfunction.

Clinical studies generally show that supplementation with ginkgo does not improve cognitive performance or prevent Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Also, current data do not support use of ginkgo for lowering the risk of cancer and studies on whether it can help tinnitus are mixed. More research is needed. Because ginkgo increases the risk of bleeding, it is generally advised to discontinue use at least 36 hours before surgery … link to our monograph.

The last two decades have seen a significant increase in dietary supplement use by cancer patients. Despite the proliferation of websites that contain information about dietary supplements, finding a reliable source can be overwhelming. 

The Integrative Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering developed and maintains a free website “About Herbs” (www.mskcc.org/aboutherbs) that provides objective and unbiased information about herbs, vitamins, minerals and other dietary supplements, and unproven anticancer treatments.  Each of the 290 and growing number of entries has healthcare professional and patient versions that are regularly updated with the latest research findings.

Join over 1,000 colleagues and patients who downloaded the Android version of the About Herbs app. For iOS devices, download at App Store.Download at the App StoreDownload at Google Play 

REGISTER TODAY for #SIO2023
SIO 20th International Conference
September 14-16, 2023
Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity
Banff, Alberta Canada

View the schedule at a glance on our page here!

Your Support Benefits Integrative Medicine Everywhere!

SIO welcomes your support of our Society, which helps us develop projects and educational programs to realize our mission of advancing evidence-based, comprehensive, integrative healthcare to improve the lives of people affected by cancer.

 

Message from the President

Dear SIO Members and Friends,

I usually begin these monthly updates with photos of my outdoor adventures over the past month, but this month has been a voyage of another kind. The SIO Executive Committee has been fully occupied since May 10, 2023, after learning that Graham Hauck, the principal at the Hauck & Associates nonprofit management company engaged by SIO since 2021, pleaded guilty to embezzlement from another nonprofit organization. 

As I mentioned in my message to members on May 22, 2023, we immediately terminated Hauck’s contract with cause. We engaged forensic accountants and outside counsel to assist the SIO in identifying the extent of any misappropriation of SIO funds and pursuing restitution, and that work continues. Through our outside counsel, we are cooperating with federal law enforcement in reviewing Hauck’s dealings with SIO. While the timing and result of any government investigation is unclear, our top priority remains the recovery of funds misappropriated by Hauck.

Since Hauck’s termination, members of the Executive Committee have devoted extraordinary efforts to stabilizing and maintaining the SIO’s operations. I want to recognize and thank each one of them – Santosh Rao (President-Elect), Ting Bao (Immediate Past President), Ana Maria Lopez (Treasurer), Jodi MacLeod (Corporate Secretary), Channing Paller (VP Advancement), and Eugene Ahn (VP Communications) – for their tireless service and unwavering commitment to SIO. We have grown much stronger as a team personally and professionally. 

A particular focus has been to ensure that preparations for our Banff 2023 Conference are not disrupted. We are happy to announce we have engaged with Funnel Communications, Inc. to undertake all conference planning duties moving forward. They have extensive experience in conference planning, even hosting a similar conference at the same venue in 2019.

Through it all, we have remained united as an EC and Board of Trustees, upholding core leadership values of Accountability, Transparency, Vision and Compassion as we forge a path forward which will protect SIO from future vulnerabilities.

I want to thank the Board of Trustees for their continued support of our efforts, the members and friends of SIO, and our generous benefactors, for your understanding and patience as we navigate this transition. 

We encourage all of you to join us at our Banff 2023 Conference to celebrate our 20th Anniversary as a community. We will have much to celebrate this September in Banff as SIO moves into its third decade as a stronger, more united society, focusing, as always, on our mission to advance evidence-based, comprehensive integrative healthcare to improve the lives of people affected by cancer.

Linda E. Carlson, PhD, SIO President

Conference Planning

Conference planning activities have resumed full force with the switch of conference planning companies. The call for late-breaking poster abstracts is open here until June 9th. Don’t miss your last chance to participate in the conference as a presenter!

All presentation acceptance notifications from our earlier call for abstracts went out in early May, but some abstract submitters seem not to have received them. Please check your junk and spam folders as the notification would have come from Oxford Abstracts, our abstract management system, not SIO directly. If you submitted an abstract and have not heard back from us, please send an email to: info@integrativeonc.org and we will check its status and email you the notification once again.

Scholarship and New Investigator forum applications have been received, and we will be reviewing these and sending outcome notifications within the next month. 

Earlybird registration rates are in effect until June 30th – make sure you register now here, and don’t forget to purchase your ticket for the conference gala atop the Sulphur Mountain gondola! It will most certainly be one to remember. 

We look forward to seeing you for an exceptional 20th Anniversary conference in Banff!