Insight Naturopathic Clinic: Integrative cancer management

Insight Naturopathic Clinic
Integrative cancer management

By: Timothy Avery
Issue: September 2010

Insight Naturopathic Clinic’s Integrative Cancer Care Program is looking for more room to accommodate the hundreds of patients it now has on file, says founder Dr. Jill Shainhouse.

The clinic, in a medical building at Bayview and Eglington in Toronto, has three consult rooms and an IV room, staffed on a typical day by two naturopathic doctors, a registered massage therapist, as well as students and visiting doctors. Their mission is to provide safe and effective support for cancer patients during or after conventional therapies such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, says Dr. Shainhouse.

The clinic has been running for six and a half years and has treated patients for a broad spectrum of cancers, “including some rare types that other oncologists can’t treat,” said Shainhouse.

She has a special interest in treating cancer and chronic disease. She is the co-ordinator and associate professor for the Adjunctive Cancer Care Program at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine. She is currently the only naturopathic doctor in Toronto to become board certified in naturopathic oncology. Shainhouse is additionally certified in intravenous therapy and has completed additional training in central vascular access. She holds a BSc degree from the University of Western Ontario and graduated from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine in 2004. She was on the staff of the Toronto Medicor Cancer Centres as naturopathic oncology consultant until the birth of her son in 2008 left her with “too much juggling of time.”

The goal of Insight’s clinic is to facilitate the body’s ability to heal, while improving quality of life. Each patient’s protocol is individualized to meet the patient’s needs. Programs include vitamin and mineral supplements (administered orally and/or intravenously), herbal or homeopathic remedies, nutrition counseling, acupuncture, stress-management techniques and strategies for prevention of recurrence. All natural prescriptions given along with conventional therapies are well-researched to prevent possible interactions. IV treatments include vitamin C, mixed essential nutrient cocktails, European mistletoe, and others.

The goal, Shainhouse says, is to improve patients’ quality of life, prolong life and stabilize the disease.

A typical course of treatment, including consults, IVs and oral supplements can cost $3,000, says Shainhouse. None of that is covered under Ontario’s provincial health insurance plan but private insurance plans may cover most of it. Shainhouse says the clinic tries as much as possible to use tests done by medical doctors, which are covered by the provincial insurance plan.

Co-operation from traditional medical practitioners is somewhat uneven, Shainhouse says. While oncologists in Ottawa are “very open” to the clinic and there have been studies conducted on the IV use of vitamin C at McGill University in Montreal, there has been “a bit of resistance” from doctors in Toronto to the clinic’s work, she says.

Most of the clinic’s patients find their way there through word of mouth from other patients or naturopathic doctors, Shainhouse says. “Medical doctors in Toronto are more likely to say: “Don’t do that, we don’t know enough about it.” she says. But Shainhouse says she’s confident the clinic “is doing the work to get that acceptance.”

Insight Naturopathic Clinic at a Glance:
586 Eglinton Ave. East, Suite 606
Toronto, ON M4P 1P2
416-322-9980
www.insightnaturopathic.com

Team:

• Jill Shainhouse, BSc (Hons), ND, FABNO - Founder
• Moira Kwok, BSc (Hons), ND
• Dale Blacker, RMT
• Katy Howard, BSc (Hons), ND (Cand) - Assistant and Receptionist