Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine opens first integrative cancer centre in Eastern Canada

The Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre (OICC), which is both a treatment clinic and an integrative oncology research centre, has opened its doors to provide multi- disciplinary complementary medicine and whole-person care for people with cancer. It is the first integrative oncology and research centre in Eastern Canada to provide whole-person cancer care that includes complementary medicine. The Centre’s clinical practice and visionary research agenda is led by Dugald Seely, ND, MSc, FABNO, the executive director and founder of the OICC who also serves as the Director of Research and Clinical Epidemiology at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (CCNM).“Providing complementary therapies in an evidence-based manner, supporting conventional medicine, is both desired by patientsandismuchneededinthecancer community,” says Seely. “Well over half of all cancer patients embrace complementary therapies alongside conventional treatments during their cancer journey and this proportion is growing. Often patients do not communicate their complementary care choices with conventional oncologists. A common concern among oncologists is the potential for complementary medicine to interfere with conventional therapies such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The OICC is committed to working with patients, their families and their health-care providers to develop a complementary, non-interfering therapeutic program to optimize overall wellness,” adds Seely.