Integrative Medicine Program- MD Anderson Cancer Center

Abstract

The Integrative Medicine Program at MD Anderson Cancer Center was first established in 1998. Our mission is to empower patients with cancer and their families to become active partners in their own physical, psycho-spiritual, and social health through personalized education and evidenced-based clinical care to optimize health, quality of life, and clinical outcomes across the cancer continuum. The program consists of three main components: clinical care, research, and education. The Integrative Medicine Center provides clinical services to patients through individual and group programs. The clinical philosophy of the center is to work collaboratively with the oncology teams to build comprehensive and integrative care plans that are personalized, evidence-based, and safe with the goal of improving clinical outcomes. The individual services comprise of integrative oncology consultation, acupuncture, meditation, music therapy, nutrition, and oncology massage. The center also provides a variety of group programs including meditation, yoga, tai chi, cooking classes and others. Over the past 13 years, over 70,000 patients and families have participated in services and programs offered by the center. The research portfolio focuses on three main areas: mind-body interventions, acupuncture, and meditation. This lecture will focus on providing an overview of the Integrative Medicine Program at MD Anderson with a focus on the clinical services provided. Participants will learn about the integrative clinical model and how this is applied to the care of cancer patients at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Current and future research topics will be discussed as well as patient cases.