From Silos to Synergy: Advancing Belonging in Integrative Oncology (IO) Through Interprofessional Collaboration
Description/overview:
The expansive growth of evidenced based research and guidelines in IO over the past 20 years has driven the need to establish IO focused programs nationally and internationally. The Society for Integrative Oncology’s (SIO) Clinical Practice Committee (CPC) has been focused on providing tools and resources to support growing IO centers and presented a successful Workshop at the 2025 SIO Annual Meeting (Paving the way to Integrative Oncology: Essentials for Integration into Clinical Practice) highlighting the critical aspect of the IO consultation as an anchor to developing programs supported by the SIO-CPC’s publication.1 Led by members of the SIO CPC, this workshop will build on the previously established foundational elements needed to prepare for the IO consultation to a focus on the practice of IO as a team-based interprofessional experience that includes the patient trained as a patient advocate and/or patient research advocate to improve outcomes for survivors, thrivers, and the care team.
Learning Objectives:
1. Describe how diverse members of a multidisciplinary IO team (patient advocate and/or patient research advocate, acupuncturists, pharmacists, health coaches, therapists, oncologists, supportive care health professionals) collaborate to build cohesive, resource-sensitive IO care models across national and global contexts.
2. Operationalize the patient advocate and/or patient research advocate as a central member of the IO team, integrating shared decision-making into consultation design and care planning.
3. Design strategies to build therapeutic communities, reduce barriers and promote collaboration for both patients and clinicians that foster belonging, reduce siloing, and improve patient outcomes and workplace experience
Target Audience:
Current integrative oncology program leaders, managers, trainees, integrative health professionals, patient advocates and thrivers seeking to further develop the multidisciplinary approach to developing an IO based care plan.
Facilitators:
Dr. Alissa Huston
Dr. Alissa Huston is Board Member of SIO and Co-Chair of the Clinical Practice Committee. She contributed to integrative oncology clinical guidelines alongside SIO-ASCO collaborations, including care for anxiety and depression in adults with cancer. She is a Professor of Medicine at the Wilmot Cancer Institute at the University of Rochester, where her clinical efforts are focused on breast cancer. She is also the Co-Medical Director of the Pluta Integrative Oncology & Wellness Center and Co-Director of the Breast Survivorship Program. Her research efforts focus on how integrative modalities can mitigate symptoms for cancer patients, methods to increase integrative oncology education for providers and trainees, and ways to expand access to integrative services throughout underserved regions.
Chun Sing Lam, PhD
Chun Sing Lam (Jason) is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Integrative Medicine and Wellness Service in Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He is a registered pharmacist in Hong Kong with a Master of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Chinese Medicine. He received his PhD in Pharmacy from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and his research focuses on the real-world use, effectiveness, and safety of integrative medicine, particularly herbal and dietary supplements and supplement–drug interactions.