Botanical Magic

Botanical Magic

Associates of Integrative Medicine

One of the things I have been working on is using wildcrafted, sustainably harvested dried plants to formulate teas that can change our patient’s lives.

Can a tea be that powerful? 

Oh yes.

For years we have been designing them to help protect your kidneys from chemotherapy. And they work.

We design them to stabilize heavy and irregular periods. And they work.

We design them to calm the spirit and the mind before bed. And they work.

Why do they work? Over the counter teas are questionably sourced and of poor quality, may have contaminants like pesticides and are in micro doses that are not steeped for long enough.

Even if you are using a quality brand like Traditional Medicinals, which has a nice formula for breast feeding, you would need to steep a minimum five bags in somewhat hot water for 20 min and then overnight in the fridge to get a THERAPEUTIC benefit.

In the medical world, a “therapeutic benefit” means to “get it to work”

And just like every person is different, every formula is different. We create individualized formulas for teas for each of our patients. Formulas carefully designed and prepared for them and them alone.

We package them in glass containers to avoid leaching BPAs into these formulas and each jar is then given to a Reiki healer or prayer warrior, depending on the patient’s faith, who packages the blend, with my directions and with healing intention.

The instructions are written to optimize results. We have not yet seen them not work.

Given our success, we decided to curate and design beautiful, effective, stock formulas for common medical complaints:

• Anxiety

• Stress

• Insomnia

• Constipation

• Hormonal imbalances

• High blood pressure and high cholesterol

• Weight loss

• Low libido 

These teas will be made available for your friends, family, neighbors. You are welcome to purchase them for your church, to resell them for your bake sales and we ask that you promote them on your social media.

We debuted them on September 23rd at an awareness event for The Pink Fund and a fundraiser for Impact 100 Oakland County, in the hopes of supporting a local charity. 

If you invite us to your event we will bring them out for you.

Each jar is only $40 and contains enough herb to last 3-4 months of 2 cups a day, daily. That is an extraordinary price for an extraordinary healing product.

But we want it that way. We want it to be accessible, personal and we want you well.

Five Ways to Mend a Broken Heart

Five Ways to Mend a Broken Heart

Sheba Roy, ND FABNO

Last year following a traumatic life event, I was diagnosed by cardiology with “Broken Heart Syndrome”. 

One in six people with broken heart syndrome have been found to have cancer. And these wounded souls were less likely to survive for five years after treatment, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Broken heart syndrome or Takotsubo Syndrome, occurs when the heart’s main pumping chamber, or left ventricle, temporarily enlarges and doesn’t pump well. It is usually triggered by emotional or physical stress.

When we are experiencing a significant and unusual amount of stress our adrenal glands release high amounts of catecholamines. These chemicals help the body respond to stress or fear and prepare the body for "fight-or-flight" reactions. The main catecholamines, epinephrine (adrenaline), norepinephrine (noradrenaline), and dopamine, can result in spasms of the tiny blood vessels that feed the heart, are directly toxic to the heart muscle and can cause heart muscle stunning.

Although the syndrome looks like a heart attack with sharp chest pains, rapid heart rate, swelling of the feet, lower limb pain and shortness of breath, there is no accompanying heart damage and no blockage in the coronary arteries that nourish the heart.

“Patients with broken heart syndrome might benefit if screened for cancer. This may improve their overall survival,” said Christian Templin, M.D., Ph.D., senior author of the study, Clinical Features and Outcomes of Patients With Malignancy and Takotsubo Syndrome: Observations From the International Takotsubo Registry.

“Our study also should raise awareness among oncologists and hematologists that broken heart syndrome should be considered in patients undergoing cancer diagnosis or treatment who experience chest pain, shortness of breath, or abnormalities on their echo [and not just potential cardotoxicity with drugs and radiation].” Templin said.

One in six is remarkable. And it is another reminder that protecting our hearts is essential in the fight against cancer. While physical stressors can precipitate broken heart syndrome, it’s also an important reminder of the impact of emotional stressors.

I am passionate about working in cancer because it demands a holistic approach. By that I mean, it forces us to think about the many ways cancer impacts the health of the whole person, our family and our community; but just as importantly, when we are thinking of survivorship and PREVENTION, we have to consider how the health of the whole person, family and community influences the risk of cancer!

Despite advances in genomic medicine, cancer cannot be described by a single event. If it could, all smokers would get lung cancer or all victims of broken heart syndrome would get cancer. If those looking for a cure were willing to take a multidisciplinary approach to this worthy endeavor and take into account not just oncology, infectious and immunology but metaphysics, we may yet see a radical understanding of how cancer is a reflection of the whole.

Love is the singularly most dangerous activity we can undertake in our lives. Falling in love, loving a leaving child, leaving a loving parent, losing a loving pet…all of these are a risk. But to not risk is to not live.

Ultimately, when we take our last breaths, the sum total of our existence is how much we loved and are loved in return.

But taking this greatest of risks require us to be vulnerable, to be seen, to need. It requires us to give without assumption of reciprocity. It requires us to receive, sometimes without the ability to give back.

And the loss of the person we loved can bring up the most painful of questions, “Was the person he or she saw in me, worthy of love?”

I will share five life lessons I learned in mending my own broken heart.

There is no way around it, you must go THROUGH it.

Grief and Loss, when ignored or suppressed, become powerful obstacles emotionally and physically. “Going through it” means allowing yourself to sit with the feelings. To allow yourself to fully experience them. 

Try the following. Close your eyes, perhaps diffuse a favorite essential oil and hold a crystal or another sacred object in your hand. 

Breathe IN through your nose for a count of 4. 

Hold it for a count of 4. 

Exhale OUT your mouth for a count of 4. 

Hold it for a count of 4. 

Repeat this 4 times. 

Allow the feeling to enter into your body and mind, hold the space, acknowledge it, like a child that may be acting out. 

Identify where the feeling is showing up in your body: Is it behind your nose? Is it under your breastbone? Is it in your fingertips, your stomach? Let the feeling intensify. Is it giving you any information? Do any thoughts come to mind?

Try to practice tolerance for the pain. Breathe into that physical space the pain occupies and then stretch or move in a way that moves that part of the body. 

Practice this daily. 

The body keeps the score, whether we like it or not. So when we have the habit of allowing ourselves a period of months after a loss, where daily we allow feelings to move through us, the world on the other side will not look like the one we left behind, it will be brighter, richer, deeper, more congruent, and we may avoid health conditions associated with grief.

Move.

One of the most powerful predictors of depression is lack of exercise. Sometimes in the land of sadness and grief, we can get stuck and we start to lose a sense of feeling, the brain adapts to a lower level of function. Get up and move. 

Start with a slow walk for 10 minutes a day outdoors, work your way up. Slowly add on. 

Do not set BIG goals. Set SMALL, attainable goals. 

If you set big goals, it’s like looking at the top of the mountain you are trying to climb, rather than the step in front of you. It’s easy to get defeated or to stop before you start. 

Exercise increases the activity of serotonin in your brain, this is your happy chemical. Further, it fosters the growth of nerve cells and supports your heart. You have a beautiful pump wonderfully designed to send blood flow from your head to your feet, but what brings it back up so it can get re supplied with oxygen? Movement. As you move, the muscles in your body compress the veins which contain one-way valves. In this way, the veins inch the blood back up, or in the case of someone who is mid-movement, flush it back up. This takes pressure off the heart and continues to supply the body, including your beautiful pump, with fresh oxygen.

As you begin to gain competence, exercise is a wonderful way to give you a sense of empowerment and restore trust with your body especially following addiction, disassociation, betrayal or medical diagnosis.

Counseling

It’s important to tell your story. A good counselor is someone who can hold unconditionally loving, non-judgmental space for you to process your thoughts out loud. A good counselor can:

• Be an advocate

• Help you uncover your strengths

• Rediscover your voice

• Restore your joy

• Remind you that a healthy relationship is one where you experience security, consistency, joy, and respect

It’s hard to find therapists familiar with the specific issues that cancer patients and survivors face. We staff our mental health with specialists in psycho-oncology. 

Cancer can exacerbate, trigger or make more intense the experience of grief and loss. We lose so much with this diagnosis. First and foremost, the security of being well and being HERE. Many of us don’t realize this, but the most profound loss associated with a cancer diagnosis is the visceral realization that we do not live forever. 

This, regardless of our age, is not a tangible awareness that we live with on the daily, or we wouldn’t live at all. 

The very act of falling in love, building a family, going to school, starting a business, even getting our nails done, planning a meal, painting a wall, walking our dog, every single act as a human, is underlined by hope.

Hope in a future, hope for the next living moment. 

Cancer scares us and robs us of that hope and it can cause many of us to spend our time trying to predict the future. This impossible task has the unintended result of causing us to die a million deaths before our last breath. 

The primary focus of a good counselor educated in oncology is to help his or her patients live for today. As this moment, is all we ultimately have. 

Massage or Therapeutic Touch

At a time when many of us are “skin starved”, human touch is essential. When trust has been broken, with assault, trauma, a medical diagnosis, betrayal, it’s important to reconnect with the experience of safe, therapeutic touch. 

We are bringing on massage therapists with a high level of integrity, a passion for working with a vulnerable population and we pay for continued training in cancer care. 

It can feel like a challenge to pay someone to lay hands on you under any circumstances, but the act of engaging in that therapeutic relationship is an act of forgiveness for yourself and others, and it’s a willingness to be vulnerable in an attempt to heal.

The American Massage Therapy Association has a nice piece on the known benefits to cancer patients which include:

• Reducing pain

• Alleviating stress

• Relieving nausea

• Reducing depression and anxiety

• Improving sleep and lessening fatigue

• Preventing chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy

• Relieving lymphedema

Love Again. Love Anew

C.S. Lewis once wrote, “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”

Loving again is a critical piece of mending a broken heart. I use the Healing Trauma guided visualization from Belleruth Napperstek on healthjourneys.com to help me to connect myself to those that loved me and have passed on and to stay open to those that will love me in the future. 

I visualize the kind of love I want in my life and every day I try to keep my little flame of hope alive for a life filled with joy, family and love.

When I take my last breath, I want my husband and my children to be holding me as I walk into eternal life. I want to remember all of you and I want to be remembered. I want my last words to be, “I love you all.”

Dr. Roy

Battling Cost of Care in Michigan

For most folks, the biggest obstacle to getting care with us is cost. It is expensive to get natural medicine support in the state of Michigan. This has to do with laws that license natural medicine doctors or naturopaths.

In Michigan, anyone can call themselves natural, holistic, integrative, regardless of whether they have a degree or not. It doesn’t really mean anything concrete.

In fact, anyone can call themselves a “doctor” in Michigan. This term is also not regulated. This makes it challenging for vulnerable cancer patients and their families who are trying to navigate the kind of care that they need for support. 

There are a couple of problems with the fact that Michigan is an unlicensed state for naturopaths who have earned a doctoral degree:

1. Supplements are NOT regulated by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) for quality, contamination safety, and efficacy. They are regulated by the US Department of Agriculture, like a banana. 

This means anyone can sell anything and it doesn’t need to demonstrate that it is what it says it is or that it works. If someone framing themselves as “holistic” is not educated on the difference between a “pharmaceutical-grade supplement”, a “doctor’s-brand”, a high quality over the counter supplement, and a low-quality mass-marketed supplement then they can’t protect their patient. And even more importantly, natural medicine providers that do not have sub specialty training in integrative oncology cannot know whether even a multivitamin is contraindicated with chemotherapy (it often is). Naturopathic doctors, as a standard part of their doctoral education, are experts in supplement quality.

2. Natural medicine, complementary and alternative healers, who may not have a formal degree, or may just have a certification, can claim to provide the same level of care as a licensed and doctoral level educated naturopath. Licensure separates life-experience and self study from formal medical training without invalidating the very real need for experience and continuing education.

****************************************************************************************************************

When you live in a state where the state hasn’t determined by law:

• Who is a doctor

• Who has been appropriately trained to provide a specific level and type of care

Then not only are patients at risk, Medicare does not need to cover that service. And Medicare is the determinant as to whether the Blues and other private providers will cover.

This means that to access any natural medicine service in Michigan, you need to pay cash unless the MD or DO or DC codes the visit (often by getting into a gray area) as “medical care”, and throws in some supplements for sale.

**************************************************************************************************************

As of February 1st, 2021, to see myself, Dr. Roy, it costs $379/hour. To see Dr. March, $179-279/hour. The rate to see us approximates the cost of reimbursement from Medicare for the time and level of care we provide.

For many, this is very high. We do understand. And we want you to understand that you ARE empowered to do something about this. Write to your representative. Ask them to Support Michigan House Bill 4531 and Senate Bill 826

If we were covered under your insurance, the cost of this level of care would be anywhere from zero to the cost of co-pays. 

*************************************************************************************************************

Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luCQUjNIp2Y&feature=emb_title to watch a short video on licensure in Michigan.

These states all license natural medicine doctors or naturopaths who have received a four-year combined doctoral degree in conventional medical science and evidence-based complementary medicine, an (ND).

• Alaska

• Arizona

• California

• Colorado

• Connecticut

• District of Columbia (D.C.)

• Hawaii

• Idaho 

• Kansas

• Maine

• Maryland

• Massachusetts

• Minnesota

• Montana

• New Hampshire

• New Mexico

• North Dakota

• Oregon

• Pennsylvania

• Rhode Island

• Utah

• Vermont

• Washington state

• United States Territories: Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands

****************************************************************************************************************

At Associates of Integrative Medicine, our natural medicine doctors are not just NDs. We are also Fellows of the American Board of Naturopathic Oncology or Fellowship candidates.

We are also unique in that we:

1. Have MD supervision

2. Have completed a 5-year hospital or outpatient-based fellowship in naturopathic oncology

3. Are nationally recognized speakers in supportive care for oncology in our field.

4. See somewhere around 2000 patients a year, almost all of whom are cancer patients and their families.

This level of training, exposure, and expertise is not comparable to natural medicine healers who have an intuition and feel for natural therapy. We value these colleagues. We collaborate with them and we refer to them. But when it comes to cancer care, EVERY cancer patient should have access to a FABNO as a standard part of their care just as medical, surgical, and radiation oncology.

• We improve tolerance to drugs and radiation

• We sensitize drugs and radiation

• We avoid contraindicated therapy

• We improve outcomes

• We decrease cancer cell’s ability to resist drugs

• We significantly and profoundly improve the ability for our patients to lower the risk of recurrence and slow progression

There is a powerful lobby AGAINST natural medicine in Michigan. This is mostly from the American Association of Family Physicians who are worried about competition. A typical ND graduate has a broader toolbox from antibiotics to probiotics. And there is push back from natural medicine providers who do not have a formal medical education from an accredited naturopathic medical school who feel that licensing will limit their reach. But it is absolutely the case, at this time in history, that more regulation, rather than less, will help to bring peace, normalcy, and health to our beautiful state.

Michigan has this opportunity to be at the leading edge care only if YOU are active and aggressive in pursuing this level of care. 

We hear your concerns about cost, and as you know, when you are our patient, we do what we need to do to meet everyone’s needs and still deliver a high level of care, but there is no point in complaining to us, we are powerless to move mountains. But you can. 

When you write to your representative, you can copy and paste the points on https://www.michnd.org/licensing/

And state your support for Michigan House Bill 4531 and Senate Bill 826

Fight Cancer the Right Way. Make it a human right to have access to this kind of care and get loud with your representative. These people represent your will, your wishes. So many of us focus on federal decision-makers but the people who impact whether our families get the kind of expert cancer care that will keep them around tomorrow are our LOCAL politicians. Push hard.

Be well,

Dr. Roy

The Virus and Vaccine: What You Need to Know

Hello folks, 

So the news sounds somewhat promising. We do see two vaccines that are ready to roll for adults. 

The CoVID vaccines are likely as safe as any other vaccine, including the flu vaccine. They have gone through a quality testing process independent of Pfizer and Moderna. Further, there is a global effort to find a solution to a problem that threatens us economically and not just health wise. This doesn’t make them failsafe but it may give some some degree of confidence.

There are some, particularly in the brown and black communities that are terming the vaccine, experimental. And in some ways that is correct. It has not been tested over a long period of time in humans. There was certainly a rush to market. We do not yet know long term effects. But we do know the effects of CoVID which are hitting our black and brown communities the hardest. 

Here’s what you need to know. The first round is dedicated to front line health workers. 

The second will likely be dedicated to the elderly. The third for other at risk health workers including home workers. And the fourth line for people who had to work during the pandemic like bus drivers and grocery store clerks.

The plan is to start introducing the vaccine to children following a bridging study in January. This means a study that looks at how to translate the dose and predict how well it will work.

There is some degree of immunity after the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccines, but it's not perfect and we don't know how long it will last. We do know that immunity increases after the second dose and lasts longer.

However, it’s important to note that even if you are vaccinated, you can still get the virus and you can still be a carrier and infect others.

So vaccination, at this time, does not mean we can stop social distancing, wearing masks, not touching our faces and washing our hands.

The rules are simple:

1. Distance from others

2. Wear a mask

3. Don’t touch your face

4. Wash your hands

5. Talk to Drs. Roy and March about your immune support protocol.

The prediction for a general roll out for the vaccine is in the Spring and the prediction for immunity to be passed to most is by early fall of 2021.

Yes, there are new strains of CoVID-19 that can be more aggressive. But the vaccine is thought to address these strains. 

So there are a lot of unknowns still, and people may feel uncertain. It’s an individual decision, but our individual decisions do impact the whole. 

How can you protect yourself?

1. We are managing our CoVID positive patients at home. Please let us know if you have any respiratory or other symptoms new to you.

2. Please make an appointment with us, even if it is for 15 min to review your immune protocol. There is a lot you can do support your immune system which at this time is your only defense when and if you do get the virus.

3. If you are planning on getting the vaccine, make a 15 minute appointment to talk about your health and how you can minimize side effects.

To your health, and our future, 

Drs. Roy and March

Botanical Stocking Stuffers For Under $10!

Family, I am super excited about this!

Go to BewellwithAIM.com, and click on Supplements, in the pull down menu, click on:

“Skin & Personal Care”

Yessssss. Hello! We decided to expand what to offer our beautiful patients and their families by making these special products available in time for Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanza.

Browse hundreds of unique products by small herbal companies that offer non toxic skin, hair, nail and beauty products in environmentally sensitive packaging.

MASK BREATH

These breath fresheners could not be more needed when you are stuck under a mask all day:

—Spearmint

—Cinnamon

The beauty of these is you cannot find them over the counter, they make for unique stocking stuffers. They contain essential oils, sustainably harvested by one of the leaders in botanical medicine: Herb Pharm. 

Herb Pharm assures herb identity via macroscopic and organoleptic analysis, then confirms it through methods such as HPTLC fingerprinting specific to each herb.

They are handcrafted in small batches.

MOUTHWASH

Mouth care is really challenging during this season. But healthy gums protect us from heart disease and give a chance at well aging.
Alcohol containing mouthwashes that dominate the market, like Scope and Listerine increase the risk of oral cancer.

Take a look at this beautiful gift:
Daily Swish Oil Pulling

Holding oil in the mouth and gently “swishing” or “pulling” it back and forth through the teeth is an excellent way to support overall oral health and hygiene. 

Based on ancient Ayurvedic healing techniques, this simple practice has been receiving quite a bit of attention in the media lately as a way to remove plaque, whiten teeth, and support healthy gum and mouth tissue. 

Daily Swish is a combination of sesame and coconut oils infused with Ayurvedic herbs traditionally used to support healthy teeth and gums. 

The herbal oil is flavored with a blend of peppermint and spearmint essential oils that leave your mouth feeling sparkling clean. 

TOOTHPASTE

Patients often ask us about “safe” toothpastes. We carefully curaated a collection of 10 options from Emerson to talk to you about.

If you go to BewellwithAIM.com and put in toothpaste, they will all come up.

From the exotic: Neem and Pomegranate

To one made of Manuka honey

All of these contain organic, wild crafted herbs that have historical uses, are non toxic, without dyes or colorants, and safely and beautifully clean and whiten your teeth.

And the best part of all, not only will your family and friends be amazed at your unique choices, but we are able to offer these choices at prices of UNDER $10 a pop.

Happy Holidays!
Stay Safe and Be Well,

Dr. Roy

Digestive Enzymes

In honor of November being pancreatic cancer awareness month, we are featuring two products:

Digestive Enzymes Ultra with HCl from Pure Encapsulations

And

Bromelain 2400 from Pure Encapsulations.

One of the jobs of the pancreas is to make enzymes to help us to digest our food and absorb the nutrients from it. So as the food comes from the stomach to the small intestine, the pancreas dumps trypsin and chymotrypsin - digest proteins; amylase - digest carbohydrates; and lipase - break down fat. The bile duct dumps bile into the same space to assist in the breakdown of fat.

Only when food has been broken down into its macronutrients: fat, protein, carbohydrates, can the wall of the small intestine absorb it and send it to nourish the body.

When we lose parts of the pancreas or the organ is compromised, it’s very hard to digest food and absorb it properly. We may have issues with “dumping” where food just runs right through; weight loss and muscle wasting, and stomach cramping.

Digestive Enzymes Ultra, as a supplement, is a nice addition to pharmaceutical enzymes like Creon. It’s something that can be paired with snacks, taken in between meals, or used to modify dosages of Creon so we rely on less of the drug, less frequently.

For those of us without cancer who struggle with finicky stomachs: bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea or poorly formed stool, skin issues, irritability, weight issues, sluggishness after meals; or for when we indulge in a meal that may be heavier in meat or more difficult to digest, Bromelain is a better choice.

Bromelain is formulated from the hard pithy core of pineapple fruit. It’s a single agent enzyme that acts as a digestive aid. We use it away from food to digest scar tissue and as an anti-inflammatory; but with food, Bromelain tenderizes proteins and making them more vulnerable to powerful pancreatic enzymes and thereby easier to digest.

Talk to Drs. March or Roy to see if either of these are right for you.

You can access either of these supplements at BewellwithAIM.com and for the month of November, we have requested a 10% discount on both.

Holiday Blog

Ahhh the holidays…

We are inundated at this time with visions of pumpkin pies and apple cider, hayrides and family dinners, forgiveness and community…but for many of us, who may not have much in the way of family and friends, or who have lost loved ones, loneliness is the only visitor over the season.

And with Co-VID impacting travel plans and gatherings, loneliness may visit many more of us this year. Like an unwanted guest, she comes to stay, unpacking years of hurt, re wounding, re living pain.

I feel like though many of us experience this, it’s almost a taboo thing to admit, as though in naming this pain, we have failed to create and preserve family and friends. I think unconsciously we believe that that failure speaks to something essentially wrong with us as individuals. As if Loneliness isn’t bad enough, we let her invite over her friend, Shame.

I want to offer a way to reframe for myself and for you and give you some tips for coping with holiday hopes:

— Plan. Plan. Plan.

Don’t wait for things to be on top of you and think when Thanksgiving day comes around, you will just deal with it. Come up with a plan. Even if that plan is that to spend the day alone in your pajamas with takeout, a pint of ice cream, and all your favorite movies lined up, plan that.

This helps avoid disappointment.

—Round robin

If you don’t have anywhere go for Thanksgiving, for example, talk to people you know care about you and ask them, “Would you mind if I stop by to say hi, I wanted to bring a pie.” Don’t commit to one dinner, and plan on cooking what you bring. It can be as easy as boxed brownies. Plan on wearing a mask, socially distancing, wearing warm enough clothes that you can chat outside. Pack a thermos for yourself of cider or hot chocolate and plan on carrying plates from each home, back to your house.

—Minimize

We can’t do everything we plan on anyways this season, and this means keeping it simple. Maybe this year you spend Thanksgiving writing letters to all the people most important to you in your life; maybe you listen to a podcast and do a puzzle; maybe you volunteer for the day.

But remember not to over commit or overdo it when you are struggling with grief or loneliness. Put no pressure at all on yourself. Plan, but don’t worry if you decide to do nothing at all.

—New Rituals

When we have a major loss or are struggling with a new family structure, it’s important to create new rituals. Maybe you decide weekends in November are for doing your holiday cards. Maybe you volunteer every Friday through November with a group you care about doing some sort of CoVID safe activity. Maybe you do a vision board for the following year. Maybe you restructure your bedroom, rearrange, paint walls with no VOC paint, pick up a hobby for the year: learning a new language, painting, doing puzzles. Maybe you start running or walking.

What’s important is you find a way to mark the season that is not connected to the person you lost or the way your family looked prior.

—Support Groups

Support Groups are a great way to connect to others who may be where you are or may have been where you are and are further on the path. We hold a Bereavement group for people who have lost a spouse to cancer and Gilda’s Club, One-to-One, and MIOCA all run programs as well.

Bereavement Support
Gilda's Club
MIOCA
Imerman Angels

—Exercise

Data shows us that movement is critical in managing depression and mood changes and may be as effective as medication in many cases. Consider finding a new trail to safely hike on weekly, aim for 30 minutes of intense exercise, daily.

—Sleep

Aim for 8-9 hours of sleep a night. Sleep helps us cope with what’s coming up, helps us to have the energy and mental strength to face tomorrow. Sleep today to lay the foundation for tomorrow. If you are struggling with sleep. Order CBD sleep gummies, Sleep REM or Theanine from BeWellwithAIM.com. Talk to Drs. Roy and March about how to work on sleep.

—Nourishing

Eat what you feel like eating, and pay attention to how you feel inside. Do you feel full? Do you feel grateful? Do you like the taste, texture, flavor, of what you are eating? This is even more challenging when we are struggling with disordered eating or getting treatment. Talk to Dr. March about your plan for eating over the holidays, this is not a good time to start a “diet”, to “restrict” or “fast”. If these are necessary with your treatment, talk with her about ways to do it without feeling deprived. A good nourishing smoothie daily is an excellent way to stay nourished.

Try the following Pumpkin Smoothie. Blend to your taste:

-Spinach
-Coconut or Almond Milk
-Frozen Banana or whole unsalted cashews
-Frozen Mango
-Pumpkin Puree and seeds
-1/4 teaspoon five spice powder

—Spiritual Work

This time of year is an excellent time to enhance your morning and nighttime routine with things that bring you closer to your Creator and living your authentic life. This is entirely personal and can borrow from all faiths if that is what works for you. When I was little I asked my guru why God has so many faces and she said, “God shows up in billions of ways to touch every individual’s heart, individually.” It’s important to anchor yourself at the end of year with knowledge that you are connected to something greater than yourself. And when things are challenging, to know that a Great Spirit, however you know it, walks with you.

Ask the Doctor: Pumpkin Seed Oil and Preventing Prostate Cancer

Ask the Doctor:

Q: Is Pumpkin Seed Oil or Extract good for men trying to prevent prostate cancer?

A: Okay so the real question here is, given the confusing, contradictory claims about supplements, and the money we need to spend on essential supplements, “Is pumpkin seed the best “bang for our buck”?

It’s worth starting with how we evaluate data in what we call an “evidence-based approach” at Associates of Integrative Medicine.

We do not use anecdotal or preclinical data when we are treating you.

Anecdotal data is:

● “First Nations people used pumpkin seeds to treat urinary problems and intestinal issues which led the United States Pharmacopoeia to list pumpkin seeds as an official medicine for parasite elimination from 1863 to 1936.”

● “In traditional Chinese medicine, pumpkin seeds are used as an anti-parasitic and to treat high blood pressure.”

● “Mexican herbalists have used pumpkin for metabolic control.”

These things are historically true. Anecdotal data is powerful, moving, and suggestive. Meaning, it gives us a ton of clues as to how a plant can be used.

Preclinical data is:

“Researchers at the University of Nottingham, England, applied pumpkin seed oil to prostate and breast cancer cells in a controlled setting and found a 20-70% decrease in the rate of cell growth.

Authors conclude that the cell growth inhibition for fast growing cells together with the cell growth inhibition of prostate-, breast- and colon cancer cells corroborates the ethnomedical use of pumpkin seeds as a treatment of benign prostate hyperplasia and potential adjunct for treatment of prostate cancer.”

Preclinical data is exciting and gives well-funded groups an incentive to try the plant on people.

But neither anecdotal or preclinical data are strong enough for us to use it in treating you or making supplement recommendations.

When WE look at data at AIM, we look at clinical trials in humans. And we look to see what factors contributed to the conclusions, were nutrition, stress, lifestyle, sleep and other issues taken into account. And further, we look to see if that data is reproduced consistently over time.

On the other hand, it’s also not true when your oncologist tells you that there are no natural therapies with human data! What IS true is you have to know HOW to look….but enough on data.

Let’s get to some nitty gritty on prostate cancer.

The prostate is a gland that sits like a cushion between the bladder and the penis. The urethra, which carries urine from the bladder out, travels through the prostate and is also the tube by which we transport semen out of the penis.

The prostate’s job is to produce prostatic fluid, which is a nourishing and protecting liquid that suspends sperm (which are produced in the testicles) and supports them in movement. During ejaculation, the prostate contracts and the prostatic fluid joins the sperm to make what we call semen (sperm + prostatic fluid).

As we age, the prostate can become enlarged because of several conditions. The three most common prostate problems are

1. benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH);

2. prostatitis, an inflammation of the prostate sometimes caused by an infection;

3. cancer

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide with 1.2 million new cases. It’s analogous to breast cancer in women, as the prostate, like the breast, is a glandular tissue that relies on hormonal regulation, is partnered to reproductive development and is vulnerable to environmental and dietary stress.

As such, both breast and prostate cancer are typically diseases of aging. If we autopsy 100 men over age 90, we will find prostate cancer in almost all of these men.

Heads up, guys! There is a ton of money devoted to preventing and treating breast cancer because women are well organized and vocal behind their collective health. Men need to model themselves here and really work towards opening themselves up to talking about their intimate health. Get vocal! Like early stage breast, if caught early, prostate cancer is a curable disease.

Your life and that of your brothers is worth fighting for.

I know, I know, what about pumpkin?! I promise I will get there.

Sigh. It’s expensive to see us, and there is so much that goes into how we formulate an individualized approach to treatment, that we need to use every minute to design the highest performance strategy unique to YOUR circumstances, so we rarely get a chance to teach to all these pearls that we think are necessary to live your best life.

Back to the Great Pumpkin Debate. For those of you impatient for the answer, pumpkin seed has NO clinical data that it is effective in the treatment of prostate cancer.

But there is MORE to the story which means there are more sophisticated ways to look at the data.

To know where to look, a good doctor needs to understand what pumpkin seed is. Pumpkin seed is a phytosterol. Phytosterols are plant-based compounds found in:

Pumpkin seeds > soy beans > green peas > sesame > kidney beans > pistachio nuts > lentils > cashews > oranges > almonds > olive oil > banana > brussels sprouts.

Phytosterols are like kryptonite to cholesterol. When we consume them, they interfere with the intestinal absorption of cholesterol in our diet and they also cause the body to increase the amount of cholesterol we dump in our poop.

Clinical data DOES conclusively show us that daily consumption of phytosterols from food can significantly lower our serum LDL (low density lipoprotein). An average phytosterol intake of 2 g/day lowers LDL by up to 10%.

Why does this matter? Right now, older drugs are being repurposed and used in an experimental way to prevent prostate cancer. One of these is a class of drugs called statins. Epidemiologic findings suggest that statins use may have a beneficial effect on the risk of prostate cancer progression and death. This gives us some indication that the root cause of prostate disease may have something to do with inflammation in the microenvironment due to how we use fat and sugar.

So can we conclude a supplement high in at least phytosterols in our clinic is at least protective by virtue of lowering LDL and perhaps getting at the root cause of prostate disease? Perhaps. But we would want that same supplement to be high as well in phytoestrogens.

What are these?

Phytoestrogens are naturally occurring plant compounds that are hormone modulators. Genistein and daidzein, the predominant phytoestrogens in human nutrition, are derived mainly from soybeans, lentils and other legumes.

Phytoestrogens may reduce prostate cancer risk by favorably altering the hormonal milieu or by inhibition of 5-alpha reductase (5-AR), which decreases concentrations of the more prostate-active androgen dihydrotestosterone (DHT). It’s this potent DHT that causes accelerated growth of prostate cells and may result in more cell errors (cancer).

The higher intake of soy products among Asian men has been hypothesized to be one reason for the lower incidence of prostate cancer among these men. In humans, most of the case-control studies have shown a modest protective benefit of soy on prostate cancer risk.

Okay so we are making some progress here!

We have narrowed our recommendation to supplements high in phytosterols and phytoestrogens AND at the same time we have expanded our investigation to look at nutritional strategies that may modify cholesterol and hormonal health.

How does THIS data look? Are nutritional strategies protective? Conclusively YES!

A diet high in animal fat may be an important factor in the development of prostate cancer. In particular, intake of large amounts of alpha-linolenic acid and low amounts of linoleic acid appear to be associated with increased risk; this combination is common in red meat and some dairy products. High intake of cruciferous vegetables (particularly broccoli and cauliflower) was associated with a significantly lower risk of extra-prostatic tumors. More recently, an analysis of a prospective cohort of 51,529 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study has suggested that dietary intake of lycopene (found in cooked tomatoes) is associated with a lower incidence of prostate cancer and a decreased risk of lethal prostate cancer.

Okay, so now we know we need to look at a combination supplement that contains plant sterols and phytoestrogens and partner it with strategies that help our guys shift towards a plant based diet high in beans and legumes.

But can we pin pumpkin seed specifically here?

Knowing that breast and prostate are analogous and there is poorly funded and not readily available data on prostate and phytosterols, at AIM, we would expand our search to include breast.

A series case control studies in Uruguay found that dietary phytosterol intakes were lower in people diagnosed with stomach, lung, or breast cancer than in cancer-free control groups. Case-control studies in the US found that women diagnosed with breast or uterine cancer had lower dietary phytosterol intakes than women who did not have cancer.

Although higher intakes of plant foods containing phytosterols may be associated with lower cancer risk, it is not clear whether potential anticancer health benefits can be attributed to phytosterols or to other factors in eating plant foods (for example, we cannot account for vitamins, minerals, fiber, spiritual associations with avoiding animal fat).

So let’s back it up a bit, if the conclusions are so difficult to draw, what led researchers to look at phytosterols in the first place?

Well, we found that the investigation was based on robust animal data that looked at a type of phytosterol that inhibits prostate cancer. That phytosterol is sitosterol. So now we have only one more question: Does pumpkin seed contain high amounts of sitosterol?

Moderate amounts. Avocados contain much more. All nuts and seeds, oranges, beets and brussels sprouts are excellent choices. But avocados exceed every other choice in this category. If you eat one-half of an avocado, or about 2/3 cup of cubed avocado, you’ll consume 76 milligrams of beta-sitosterol, compared to 13 mg in a similar portion of pumpkin seeds.

A lot of men’s health blogs like Dr. Michael Murray, Livestrong, Life Extension, and urology blogs, discuss the content of zinc in pumpkin seed as being protective but in fact, the clinical data on zinc (supplementation) is mixed. Some studies show zinc as protective. Some show supplemental zinc as contributing to higher grade more aggressive lesions at diagnosis.

Okay, I know you may be confused. Don’t be. I am going to give you the takeaway.

Supplementation is tricky, and to us, it cannot replace good nutrition.

Supplements can only do two things:

1. Augment nutrition

OR

2. In high doses, from a high quality source, with human data, be used as a therapeutic.

Pumpkin seeds are an EXCELLENT food choice. They play a minor role in prevention, but as a targeted supplement are not necessarily your best choice for fighting prostate cancer alone.

The most effective strategies involve understanding what causes prostate cells to:

1. Grow too fast, and

2. To make mistakes when they do grow

The following would be a good evidenced based and general primer for one of our guys who is on the younger side and is looking at prevention or risk reduction in survivorship.

So is Pumpkin Seed Oil or Extract good for men trying to prevent prostate cancer?

Yes, it has some benefit but a truly effective approach needs to be comprehensive and personalized.

If you cannot get 2 handfuls of organic high quality raw and unsalted pumpkin seeds into your diet daily, please consider the following:

✔ Men’s Pure Pack from Pure Encapsulations

✔ Prostate Support from Gaia

✔ Saw Palmetto Plus from Pure Encapsulations

✔ Prostate 5LX from New Chapter

From BewellwithAIM.com

You can put pumpkin seed in the search, and they should come up, or look them up individually. We hope this settles the Great Pumpkin Debate for good and gives you a lot more confidence in how we make decisions for our guys.

Each one of you are dear to us.

Dr. Roy

PMID: 31091784
PMID: 18660852
PMID: 15767233
PMID: 19091798
PMID: 12022711
PMID: 25281467
PMID: 16566972
PMID: 26976217
PMID: 10070940
PMID: 16678047
PMID: 11142085

Whole Plants as Powerful Healers

By Sheba S. Roy, ND FABNO

WARNING: May contain triggers for those who have been a victim of personal violence

We are in the process of building an herbal dispensary. Our plan is to offer whole, organic, locally sourced, carefully curated herbs, in clinic. Dr. March and I are skilled in putting these herbs together into personalized blends tailored to each patient’s unique needs.

When I was a young adult, I experienced a traumatic incident at my first doctor’s visit without my parents. This resulted in high levels of stress which changed the way my immune system responded to the world around me. Unknown to me and to my doctors, my body stopped making a type of immune compound that was necessary to protect my gastrointestinal (GI) and genitourinary (GU) tract.

Like our patients who may be immunocompromised, I fell victim to all kinds of illnesses. Managed by well-meaning, excellent medical doctors with a 10-year cycle of antimicrobials, I experienced crippling side effects and that caused more damage to my fragile system for which I required more and more medication.

Private pain became my constant companion and my ability to form intimate relationships was impaired. I had always been on a conventional medical tract and worked hard to succeed despite my disability.

As God would have it, I met a naturopathic doctor who figured out what the medical doctors had missed. She listened differently to my history of trauma; her training as an ND mandated that she consider how our state of mind impacts our physical body and she tested my immunoglobulins. 

Sure enough, I wasn’t making an immunoglobulin integral to mucosal health. In addition to support for PTSD, she designed an herbal tea for me and had me drink 3 cups a day for 365 days. My body responded to these herbs. The integrity of my GI and GU tract were restored and my immune system came to life. I never experienced this illness again. The freedom from pain and the experience of true cure was transformative for me.

It is this level of liberation that I aim toward for all of our patients.

The interplay between plants and human health has been documented for at least 5000 years. Herbs delivered as a tea can be a powerful, healing force because they have an entourage effect. They gently shift a person’s health over months and years with little to no side effects.

Both pharmaceutical drugs and supplements are most commonly sourced from natural substances. 25% of all drugs in use today are derived from rainforest plants. Consider that some of the most common drugs we use in cancer care: aspirin, opioids, chemotherapeutics: Taxanes, Vincristines, Vinblastines, and the Irino-and Topo-tecans come from Willow Bark, Poppies, Pacific Yew tree, the Madagascar Periwinkle and the Chinese Happy Tree, respectively.

Many people feel that the most important difference between drugs and supplements is the way that they are regulated. That is an important difference but not a relevant issue for our patients as we are careful to direct you to supplements that are safe, well sourced and not contaminated.

The most important difference for us is that drugs are derived from a single constituent or portion of a plant. That compound is then usually synthesized or mimicked in a lab setting.

For example, the plant, Cannabis Sativa, has gotten a lot of recognition lately.

Cannabis has two main strains or daughters. One is THC (Tetra-hydro-cannabinol) and the other is CBD (cannabidiol).

The THC strain is what we refer to as the marijuana drug.

CBD, on the other hand has no psychoactive or hallucinogenic effects and has become popular as an anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) and analgesic (pain reliever).

CBD, because it is a whole plant, has an entourage effect. There are at least 100 chemical parts (cannabinoids) that act together to balance each other out, enhance each other’s effects, and help each other’s effects to shine. The plant itself is a tiny ecosystem in and of itself. Like a fine wine, the whole plant has textures, tastes, flavors, personality. So when we ingest whole plants we experience slow, gradual impacts that are long lasting and gentle.

Marinol is a pharmaceutical drug where scientists mimic a cannabinoid found in THC in a lab, suspend it in sesame oil and deliver it by capsule. Marinol, looks like THC and acts like THC. It helps with appetite, sleep and weight gain and is commonly prescribed in cancer care. The problem is because it’s a single agent, divorced from all of it’s other parts, it has a sledgehammer-like high, people feel heavy headed on it and wake groggy. Without it’s sister parts, it’s impact, like most drugs, is immediate, effective, short acting and does have side effects.

CBD is excellent as a therapeutic for anxiety but there are many other herbs in our arsenal. One to highlight is Chamomile. In the daisy family, it’s one of oldest herbs known to mankind. Interestingly, it was revered by ancient black and white peoples alike. There are papyri demonstrating that ancient African peoples believed the herb to be sacred. Among Saxon peoples it was used for religious ceremonies as the “Mother of all Herbs”. We know that spiritual healers, regardless of origin believed it powerful in purification and protection.

Medicinally, Chamomile, as a whole plant, has the best data in:
—Initiating Sleep
—Aiding in Digestion
—Helping with Anxiety
—Treating inflammation

In general, using chamomile as a tea, at bedtime, after dinner, and for at least 3 months, we can see powerful shifts: a sense of peace; an inner stillness, and an ability to stay present that may not have existed before.

You can experiment with Chamomile by purchasing the tincture through BewellwithAIM.com from Herb Pharm or Wise Woman Herbals.

Things came full circle and I recently testified in a large trial about that assault. I was one of 18,000 women in a class action suit brought against the institution that protected that predator for 20 years. Afterwards, I went for the longest walk, talked to Dr. March, took an Epsom salt bath with Lavender flowers, covered myself from head to toe in an oil mixture of castor, almond oil and lavender essential oil, and had a cup of very strong Chamomile tea.

I slept a dreamless, restful night.

Recipe for chamomile tea:

Equal parts:
—Chamomile
¼ part:
—Fennel
—Lavender
—Licorice Root (exclude if you have hypertension)

2 tsp of manuka honey
¼ tsp of vanilla extract

Can be made in a large mason jar and refrigerated for a week.
Do not steep herbs for longer than an hour or it can cause nausea.

References:
PMID: 21132119
PMID: 27790360
http://abc.herbalgram.org

Ask the Doctor: Xanax Vs. Natural Alternatives

Q: I’ve been thinking about Xanax for anxiety, are there natural options?

A: Anxiety is a global issue in the cancer community. Not just for patients but for caregivers as well. And understandably so.

As natural medicine doctors, we look at problems holistically. This means we are looking at the root not the symptoms.

Anxiety is a SYMPTOM. And it works on two levels: the mind and the body.

On the mental end, anxiety is the product of thinking about the Past or the Future.

Mindfulness techniques are to keep our minds from ruminating about the past or projecting into the future. In other words, techniques to train our minds to stay present in the moment we are in, and then as that moment passes, to stay present in the next moment we are in, and so on.

It gets easier with practice.

There are spiritual disciplines that focus ONLY on mindfulness, every moment of every day for that disciple’s entire life!

It’s not worth taking drugs or supplements for anxiety without looking at mindfulness first. Respond to us with your favorite resources. Here are some of ours:

—Mindfulness Meditations; websites: SimpleHabit.com; Mindful.org; Headspace.org
—Create a place for meditation, reflection, and prayer, perhaps using an altar, a shawl, a blanket, a mat, incense, crystals, a tasbih or rosary
—Use musical tracks that help you to create this level of presence: Album: Mother Divine; Youtube: Biaural beats; Healthjourneys.com
—Exercise for 30 minutes daily and try to do it (safely), to the point of being breathless
—Yoga: Hatha, Heated, Yin

On the body level, we have 12 big cranial nerves that run from the brain through the body and manage all executive function.

The 10th is called the vagus nerve. It manages the heart, lungs, stomach, small and large intestine, and rectum. It also manages anxiety. This is why anxiety causes an upset stomach, diarrhea, constipation, breathlessness, hiccups, and chest pain.

It’s also why stomach issues, heart problems, and respiratory issues cause anxiety.

It’s important to work on bowel, heart, and lung function, AND we can redirect nerve stimuli from the anxiety pathway by doing things like focusing on Breathing.

In fact, a review of all the clinical data conclusively shows that a twice-daily, 10-minute practice of mindfulness meditation, breath work, and yoga reduces anxiety.

Breathwork can be something as simple as square breathing.
1. Inhale through the nose for a count of 6
2. Hold for a count of 6
3. Exhale through the mouth for a count of 6
4. Hold for a count of 6

After trying these approaches, if we aren’t seeing anxiety completely remit, it’s a good idea to add in natural therapies. Natural medicine doctors follow a therapeutic order with prescription from least invasive/impactful towards most, so often, unless anxiety is acute, we will start here.

The great thing about natural therapies for anxiety is that they are gentle, rarely interact with any other medications and supplements, and have little to no side effects. All of the therapies listed below are available through BewellwithAIM.com. Please remember, natural therapies are not necessarily safe over the counter. They can be contaminated, have source issues, can be contraindicated with a lot of medications, or can even contain carcinogens. If they are safe to get over the counter, or from alternative brands, then I will place a little “s” next to them for “safe to purchase” over the counter.

—Lavender (as an essential oil, capsule, or tea)
—Theanine (as a gummy, capsule, or tablet) (s)
—GABA (as a capsule)
—Passionflower (as a tea) (s)
—Hops (as a tea) (s)
—CBD (as a capsule, tincture, capsule)
—Chamomile (tea) (s)
—Skullcap (capsule)
—Ashwagandha (capsule, tea)
—Magnolia (capsule)
—Magnesium Glycinate (as a powder, capsule, liquid) (s)
—Melatonin (LOW DOSE only, capsule, gummy) (s)
—Lemon Balm (tea, tincture)

It’s not always so simple as just taking one of these things over the counter. We use combinations based on a holistic, individualized approach. As examples:

—If a patient is tired and wired, we may use a formula like Calm Restore from Gaia for 6 months to correct adrenal issues
—If the anxiety is manifests as difficulty sleeping, a lack of energy, cognitive fog and weepiness, we may use a combination called R.E.M. from Priority One.
—If a patient is waking up between 2 and 4 am, crashes in the afternoon, and is feeling burnt out or exhausted, we may try Cortisol Manager from Integrative Therapeutics.
—For sleep initiation, we may combine a formula with 100-400 mg of L-theanine and Lavender essential oil or Chamomile Tea.

Xanax, starting with a 0.25 mg dose, can be quick and effective for anxiety that comes on suddenly and based on a new situation. As in, “I’m having surgery the next day and can’t stop my mind from running.” It’s also a good conversation to begin with a psychiatrist or internist.

But Xanax is not a great drug to take for chronic anxiety (feelings that persist for more than 2 weeks), because we can become dependent, what looks like anxiety may be something else, and most IMPORTANTLY, if we START with Xanax, we don’t learn what mindfulness has the opportunity to teach us:

We only really have this moment.

It may be a surprising thing to realize, but this simple statement is perhaps, the only absolute truth that exists. 

If we can get current with this moment, and experience it, fully, we can face life in a far more meaningful way than we can imagine. 

Regretting the past and obsessing about the future, means we don’t live at all.

Go to BewellwithAIM to purchase supplements for anxiety but make sure to talk to Jessica (covered by your insurance) about mindfulness training and talk to Dr. Roy or Dr. March for personalized, individual strategies to manage anxiety.

Have a question for the doctor? Email us at Dr.Roy@aimnatural.com. We will publish the answer on Facebook, and our website.

Chadwick Boseman

I know sometimes for our patients, hearing about a high profile person like, Chadwick Boseman, pass from cancer, can be both painful and scary. It reminds us of how perilous the road is ahead.

I want to both acknowledge and reassure. It’s okay to be scared and also EVERY individual has a unique and distinct set of circumstances. His circumstances are NOT yours.

I know for many, Mr. Boseman was a hero and an earthly king, and it seems this was a fight he "should" have won. But in many ways he did. And regardless of how things appear, cancer behaves very differently in one individual than it does in another.

I ask that our patients acknowledge their personal fear and also their sadness. Let yourself feel it. Close your eyes and find where it shows up in your body and then breathe peace and intention to that spot, roll your shoulders, open your mouth, and stick out your tongue. Breathe again.

Remember, regardless of how many days God gives us, we only have this moment right now. If there is any lesson here, it is live. The road only SEEMS perilous because we don’t know what lies ahead. So. Live! Live! In this moment. Never for tomorrow.

With love,
Dr. Roy

A Love Letter

As doctors, it’s critical that we dig deep into our beliefs, desires, motivations and reflect on who we are as contributors and citizens. Personal and spiritual growth grounds us to be truly present with those who are suffering, but as importantly it prevents us from making the kinds of mistakes that come from a lack of personal clarity.

All of us make mistakes but mistakes when you hold a position of influence can have greater consequences to a wider group of people…and so the onus is on the physician, to “heal thyself”. To that end, I consider the personal work that I do to show up for each and every one of you to be as important as the medical and clinical expertise I bring to your care, and with that in mind, I share on Father’s Day.

For years I have thought of my dad as my hero. This may sound romantic, but it has its deficits. Limiting beliefs muddy the waters and impact how I show up. My father’s hurt was my hurt. His shame, mine. And as he has faced health challenges, I have been plagued by an intense fear of losing the one person on earth that I know truly loves me. I saw myself as an extension of my father. He is and therefore I am. This false belief forced me into spiritual work to unlearn and instead, draw close to my true Father, my God. 

This doesn’t mean that I abandon my dad. Learning to separate out my identity from daddy, has actually deepened my love for him as I see him more clearly now, a person in his own right, human, broken, himself a dear child of God.

My father, as many of you know, was a physician. His worldview was impacted by his work with those who were sick or in need. He was both deeply loving and an unyielding taskmaster. I was raised at a time where parents thought, “Spare the rod, spoil the child,” but I also was raised at his hip, my hand always in his. I did everything with him, and really, for him, for years. 

In some ways this was a great blessing, to me, and now, to my practice. Because he gardened and curated my character, I am disciplined, hard-working, and service-oriented. Core principles around faith and what is true and good are drivers for almost every decision I make. I am highly self-reflective as I know that there is much I do not know and this humbles me where I would be arrogant. 

I am a servant. 

But in learning to see my dad from the eyes of a woman, and leaving the child behind, I have also seen where I could continue to grow. And this gift of sight has, in turn, deepened my desire to come closer still to God. 

My father is almost 80 now and his vessel is failing. Where he once walked 10 miles a day, he now can’t walk for more than half a mile. He is bent at the waist from pain, and the mornings are excruciating. He uses a cane or a walker to toilet, and falls are his greatest challenge. He is thin, the muscle in his legs, reedy and soft. He has few real teeth. He sleeps poorly, in spurts, like a cat. He is post-stroke, blind in one eye, and needs frequent dilation for esophageal stricture. But his mind is viciously robust. He wants to move. He wants to work. Even now, he dreams to build a school for poor children and to teach. He dreams of buying tracts of land and building tiny free homes for the poor. 

When I was last in Florida, he insisted on driving to a property he was working on and working all day. The property is a rental intended to provide income for my mother in case he was unable to ambulate after his most recent surgery. So work all day he did. Cleaning, sweeping, moving bricks, weeding, cutting back brush. At some point in the day, his legs gave out, and he shuffled on his bottom and continued to work. He worked until he almost literally couldn’t move. As he got in the car so I could drive him home, lifting his leg to sit in the passenger seat was a time consuming effort, and yet lift his leg he did, using both hands, hooked around under his knee, yelling and refusing my help.

I have never seen someone work like that. As his child, I can look at my father’s failing health and be convinced he should be coddled towards his near death…but as a woman, I see that my father wills himself to live. His mind is in the driver’s seat. He will not go gently into the good night. It is painfully beautiful.

As the sun trailed an arc over the blue, blue sky, all manner of people came by. They called him “Papi”, “Baba”, “Doc”, “Man”…and they were from all walks of life. Primarily poor, and clearly people with histories of addiction, criminality or migrants; some disabled, some able; some blue collar…all salt of the earth, all with a lot of lived life behind them, these people saw him as their equal and he saw them the same. 

When my father was in practice, he wore a pressed suit with neat creases down the front of each leg, a clean white shirt and one of 100 beautiful silk ties daily. When he left medicine he took to wearing dirty sneakers, soccer shorts, and fishing hats. My sisters and I have to beg him to get dressed up and while he will sometimes concede the point, and throw on long pants, he never takes off that stupid hat.

He is unfussy, unfiltered, and uncouth, and so are his people. When he spoke about them, Jodi, Harry, Gabe…he spoke of them in glowing terms. “Jodi is the hardest worker I have ever seen, never complains, always smiles, such a very good girl, oh I feel so bad inside that I can’t give her more.” When I met Jodi, I was surprised to meet a young lady, who looked older than her years, clearly recovered from methamphetamine and alcohol, with several teeth missing, a sheen of sweat on every visible surface. My dad doesn’t see race, color, creed, history, he sees the spirit within. He is present with people on a level I have never witnessed. My father is a humanitarian, not in intellect, but in practice. He is non-judgmental, he is not separate, he doesn’t use clothes or class or education to de-identify with his brothers and sisters. And still and yet, he knows he is privileged. Both are equally true for him. At the end of the day, he gave all the food in his fridge to a mentally disabled boy who he had paid to keep him company. Two large hefty bags of food, unopened jugs of milk, Costco sized bags of frozen patties, silver bags of chips…

As I got him home and he curled up in his bed, his dog jumped in and laid beside him. Patches is a pit bull and a sweetheart. I am afraid of dogs and this was the first dog I had ever met that I felt nothing but peace around. As I rubbed pain medication into my dad’s hands and feet, he said, “I wanted a dog so I went to shelter. All the dogs were barking and shouting and this guy was sitting completely still and quiet. He looked straight at me and I looked at him and I knew, he was my dog.”

The next morning, I walked on the beach with my dad and Patches, but he wouldn’t let me take the leash. As other dogs neared, my dad knelt, crowned the dog with his whole body, the way you would cradle a small child and spoke softly to him. Other owners seemed cautious but open and would let their dogs trot up. My dad would coach his dog, keeping a firm hand on his shoulders, his voice dulcet and low, singing, “It’s alright, you are okay, good dog.” Daddy never seemed worried or tense. 

Later I asked him, “Why did you do that with Patches?” And he said, “He doesn’t like other dogs. One day I was on the beach and a big, big dog came by and Patches attacked him, and the other guy had to go to the hospital. I paid all the bills.” Stunned, I said, “Why did he do that?” My father answered, “It is his nature. He cannot help what life he has lived, so I just love him through it.” 

Daddy has an unusual capacity to tolerate pain, an equanimity of spirit, a gift of egalitarianism, a generous heart and a wild will. I am learning from these now. But I would not have seen these things if I had not had the spirit to see my father, as not my leader, my divine mind, or my hero, rather as my brother, himself a unique creation of God. 

As we celebrate Father’s Day, I encourage us to see our fathers as men. Men who make mistakes, who love and fail, who have fragile places and joys all their own. I encourage those of us whose fathers may be absent, abusive or distant to still honor this day. I encourage those of us whose fathers are ill or who have passed, to remember them as much as men…more than who they were to us as children and less than who we make them to be in our minds. 

We came through them, but we are not of them, and they, not of us. Our fathers, are perhaps more so, our brothers…and ultimately our friends, in this thing we call life. 

In this way, for many of us, we may be able to offer our dads on this day, the true gift of forgiveness, admiration, and respect they deserve. It is no small thing for a man to have to model our Heavenly Father on Earth...for them to fail is human and for their children to love them not despite, but for it, is truly divine.

UPDATE: What’s Changed and What is Our Greatest Weapon

It may feel as the weather warms up, and time passes, like we can relax the guidelines around social isolation. We cannot.

Please continue to wash your hands, don’t touch your face, avoid contact with others and stay home except to exercise outdoors.

I know that the extension of the quarantine through May 15th and possibly through the end of May, is challenging for many, and not in the least, financially.

If you know someone who is struggling financially, I encourage you, as we move through this time, to share resources, blankets, food, medicine, toiletries, encouragement. To share gifts of time: tutoring, mentorship, prayer and neighborly acts like yardwork or food shopping for others.

It may feel with social isolation, like you want to lean back.

Lean in. There is so much you can do to share what you have without being in contact, and for many, we can’t get through without gifts from others.

We, at Associates of Integrative Medicine, are modifying our protocols to the following. If you have any symptoms that are unfamiliar to you, not just respiratory symptoms, please call Dr. Roy on her cell phone immediately. (248) 260-8866.

Perhaps some of you have seen new information about the virus that it can precipitate stroke in younger individuals (30s and 40s), who are CoVID 19 positive. We do not know yet if this represents an emerging feature of how the virus behaves, but a stroke needs to be addressed in the first six hours of symptoms.

Symptoms include slurred speech, blurry vision, inability to use one side of your body, drooping in the face. They happen immediately. If this happens, to you or a loved one, you must call 911 and/or go to the nearest emergency room immediately.

Do NOT take aspirin. Aspirin is helpful if the stroke is due to a blockage that is caused by a clot in the blood vessel. It is not helpful if the stroke is due to a ruptured blood vessel in the brain. Without an image we cannot tell the difference.

If you are currently on aspirin therapy as part of your supportive care, you must call the office at (248) 798-2942 or contact us at aimnatural.org, to make a 10-15 min appointment to restructure your plan.

As a doctor, it’s tough to balance between giving you the right kind of information and keeping you calm, grounded and without fear. It’s forcing me to continue to share philosophically as much as I am sharing clinically.

Because that’s where I want you, calm and grounded. If I can’t keep you fearless, at the very least, let us consider that Fear is the rich fertile soil for Faith.

If we cannot avoid it, we can at the very least, lean into it, and rely on our faith. Faith doesn’t have to mean a belief in God, but faith in something…the universe, a greater consciousness, absolute good, is necessary to keep you well. And choosing to have faith may represent a radical step forward in your own healing.

It’s important to remember that faith is actually a practice. It requires looking without our eyes, hearing without our ears, attuning ourselves to how the world around us is gifting us with answers all the time.

When the material world is giving us information all the time that IT is the reality, faith requires us to consider that the material world is “A” reality, NOT the reality.

Did you know every single thing on earth, from the coffee maker on your countertop, to your beating heart, is made up of different combinations of 118 elements?

Did you know that the human body is made up of mostly a combination of only six of these elements? Yup. Oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. Put them in one combination, they make a nose. Order them differently, they make a hand.

Let’s consider my hand.

If I look at my inelegant hand, what do I see?
Stubby fingers, wrinkled knuckles, plain wedding band, skin and nails.

If look closer, let’s say with a magnifying glass, what would I see?
Ridges, oil glands, hair.

How about under a microscope?
Cells and nuclei, and all the machinery in a cell, mitochondria, golgi apparatus…

What if I used a really, really, powerful microscope, perhaps one not invented yet, that could freeze a moment in time?
I would see atoms with electrons circulating around it.

That means, friends, my hand is, at its most basic level, just energy.

This may be mind bending for you, but it’s a quantum principle and leading edge in scientific discovery. If we look at matter at its deepest level, we find we are just energetic beings in an energetic world. It’s pretty extraordinary. And it begs the question, is radical healing possible without radical thought?

I’d like you to turn off your tv. Turn off the radio. Turn off your feed. Tune out social media on the virus. What we read, listen to, watch, has an impact on our ability to hear, see, experience what is outside of our known world. It makes us believe that only what we can see is real. But this
is not ever true. Certainly not scientifically. We can’t see a virus, can we?

In faith, thinking of ourselves as energetic beings, studies have shown, people achieve radical results in healing. Isn’t it possible, that faith is not the province of the uneducated or the foolish, rather is a frontier of truly understanding the human body on a level that can result in radical healing?

Our ancestral cultures held no separation between healing and a connection to the sacred. It is only today, within in this “American” culture that we draw a line between what is rational and what a deep engagement with the mystery of what we cannot see.

If faith seems hard, begin your practice with meditation or guided visualization. These can teach you to be still enough to experience something outside of your knowing.

For many Healing Trauma from Healthjourneys.com is a great place to start.

For others, the 21-day beginners meditation with the Chopra Center is an option.
https://chopracentermeditation.com

Meditation has been found to:
—Lower blood pressure
—Lower heart rate
—Alter levels of melatonin and serotonin
—Suppress cortisol
—Decrease inflammation
—Reduce pain
—Reduce anxiety

But perhaps most importantly, it’s been shown to IMPROVE our IMMUNE response.

Interestingly, spiritual meditation has been found to be superior to secular meditation and relaxation in terms of decrease in anxiety and improvement in positive mood, spiritual health, spiritual experiences and tolerance to pain. And a recent study published in the British Journal of Psychology looked at 35 studies that examined whether the intention of one person, prayer or positive thought, can interact with and influence the health of another person. They found a statistically significant positive difference across all 35 studies.

If you are struggling financially and you need to see one of us, choose Dr. March. She is a less expensive and just as skilled a responder as Dr. Roy. And every one of us should be using the nutrition and counseling benefits offered by insurance at this time. Make an appointment with
Jessica to start to work through grief, anxiety, depression, marital stress, stress eating, boredom, and let your insurance pick up the cost. We are waiving co pays for May so it is NO COST to you.

I want you calm, grounded and fearless. But if I can’t get you fearless, I will accept that fear, at this moment in human history, is necessary, especially if faith is its flowering fruit.

Faith that gives us the eyes to see that we are not our bodies. We are our souls.

Faith that gives us ears to hear the voice of all consciousness.

Faith that gives us hands, not to touch our face, but to touch others with no contact at all.

To your radical healing,

Dr. Roy

UPDATE on the Resistance to the Stay at Home Order

Dedicated to Miss Aquilla and Miss Belinda

I know many of us are over it.

NOT staying at home is a gamble. Every time you leave your home and risk exposures to others, you are taking a risk. The risk is to you, but more importantly, the risk is also to others.

It’s hard to trust decision makers, especially when we hear conflicting advice about whether we need to shelter at home. It’s hard to worry about paying the mortgage, putting food on the table. It’s hard to be cooped up with a spouse and kids. It’s hard to not see people we love.

It’s hard to fight an invisible enemy.

And

It’s hard to fight for others.

But most of you have battled cancer or walked with someone who has. You are used to hard.

Here’s what we know, almost 90% of the people who are infected are between 30 and 80 years old. But the older you are, the greater the risk of passing. There is a growing sense that this is not the worst thing in the world as “we all have to pass of something.” But today’s 65 is YOUNG. But just not to this virus. 80% of deaths are happening in those 65 and older.

As people are dying, we are learning more about how the virus works and the high-risk criteria has expanded to include hypertension and obesity.

1 out of every 3 American adults have high blood pressure. 10.5% have diabetes, 40% are obese.

Most people will do well. Even cancer patients can survive the virus. But many don’t. And that is tragic for those they leave behind.

As importantly, the health care system is “blinded.” So whether you present in the emergency room at 30 or 80, you will be treated. The result is our health care workers are at serious risk, they have multiple exposures, little rest, poor self care and are getting sicker at a fast rate than any other population.

WHY does this matter?

The result is we don’t have enough staff to care for patients in the hospital. And it’s not just the man power, even where we do, we do not have enough personal protective equipment to protect the workers we do have.

So where we once had 10 workers, we now have 2.

Emergency rooms nationwide, on an average year, see 139.0 million patients a year. 14 million of these patients are admitted to the hospital for further treatment. Let’s say a significant percentage of those are for scheduled for emergency surgery.

For one surgery, we need schedulers, nurses, surgeons, anesthesiologists, operating and surgical technicians, a surgical services assistant, janitorial, a sterile reprocessing specialist, an instrument technician, surgical supplies stocker and so on.

Before this crisis, a surgical center with more than four operating rooms performed 25 cases per day, now we simply don’t have the staff to man these surgeries. If we have limited the number to 4 surgeries a day, we have to pick and choose which surgeries we do.

Why does this matter? It may not for you. But it does matter to many of our patients. Delivering cancer care during this crisis is challenging given that our population is immunocompromised.
—Hospitals are delaying surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation.
—There is a push to have patients who are healthy and have curable cancers, delay treatment.
—Surveillance requiring stents, catheters, imaging and physical exams is suspended

These decisions can have serious consequences to many individuals. In our practice we are SEEING these patients. We are beefing up and modifying anti neoplastic protocols and nutrition. We are helping those who have delays in treatment choose when to push and when to hold back. We are doing increased surveillance on patients who can’t get in for standard of care.

Dr. Roy is a guest on Facebook Live of Molly Macdonald and The Pink Fund at 5:30 pm on Thursday, April 23rd.

We will be talking about what steps all cancer survivors can be taking during survivorship to lower their risk of recurrence EVEN under the shelter at home order.

On Monday, April 20th at 6 pm, Dr. March will be speaking virtually at the Gilda’s & Lakehouse about Nutrition Strategies during the CoVID Crisis to Fight Cancer.

Visit aimnatural.org or email us at dr.roy@aimnatural.com to learn more.

But we need your help. For our population alone, your decision to stay at home, while inconvenient, expensive and boring, IS life saving.

It’s an invisible enemy and it may even be one that doesn’t have you in it’s sights, but doing the “right” thing is what takes your measure. There are many forms of resistance. As Dr. King famously said, “the measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

80% of deaths are happening in those 65 and older. And with so many of us facing hypertension, obesity and high sugars, let’s try to transform our perspective on this time off of work….with nothing to do. This is a PERFECT time to REVERSE these outcomes.

Those risk factors are wholly the result of our LIFESTYLE choices and now we have an opportunity to do something about it. And obesity is the number ONE contributor to risk of cancer behind age and cigarette smoke exposure.

Like you, I am struggling to find my way, and I am OVER it. But I have made a plan for the next five weeks to make a commitment to weight loss and model for you. I have never had a patient with Dr. March who is trying to lose weight not be successful. So sign me up. It’s what I should have done years ago.

If you are well and ambulatory, tie a bandanna over your nose and mouth, get your butt outside and walk “with” me.

That’s ALL you have to do to be someone’s invisible hero against an invisible enemy that’s creeping on us for the very thing we never had enough of…enough time to do nothing but play outside.

Drs. Roy and March

Updated Recommendations and Battling the Blues

Update: It was brought to our attention by our Jewish friends that our original message did not include Passover. Regretable, not intentional, our deepest apologies. And Chag Pesach Sameach!

As we see the data shifting, we are updating our recommendations for our patients:

1. Wear a cloth covering like a bandana over your nose and mouth and wear glasses when you are going places where you cannot maintain a 10-15 foot distance from others like the grocery store. Do NOT use medical masks

2. Choose a person in your family or friend circle to “buddy” with. That person should be someone you check on by phone, facetime or skype regularly to help them not feel so isolated.

3. Get a three month supply of medications that you take regularly

4. Get a three month supply of supplements that you take regularly

5. Our patients, who are ambulatory MUST walk 40-50 minutes daily outdoors. If you are on well travelled paths, wear a cloth covering over your face.

6. Wash your hands frequently.

7. Do not touch your face

8. Avoid congregating at all, especially in public venues that have seating, like the lobby of your apartment building.

9. Our lung patients (COPD and Cancer), MUST make a 15 minute appointment with us to get a preventive protocol in place right away.

10. Avoid people who are sick. If you have a family member who is coughing or ill, you must isolate them in their own room, preferably with their own bathroom. Text Dr. Roy at 248 260 8866 with the words: 911: Name: symptoms and we will issue you CDC guidelines modified to your situation.

Finding the joy during the quarantine has been challenging. Here’s where it is for me: it has been a beautiful thing to telemed and see patients in their homes. I have had the opportunity to talk to an artist in her studio, to see rare pieces of china passed down from grandmothers, to see babies I have never met, and photographs of ancestors. It has been an honor.

What I have noticed is we are all anxious and vulnerable, our marriages are strained, our kids are stir crazy, home schooling doesn’t work for many of us, and many of us are “over” the “trauma/drama” of the news. People are starting to experience anxiety and depression in ways we haven’t seen before and it’s all of us.

The common driver seems to be grief and all of its stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance as people struggle with adapting to social distancing. We have lost a lot that we take for granted: our jobs, our routines, our favorite swim class, our yoga studios, our body work
people, our social connections.

Some resist the precautions, frustrated that spring has rolled around without the usual burst of socializing and activity. And with Spring comes birthdays, graduations, Palm Sunday, Easter, Ramadan, Passover….we are lost without the joy of gatherings, hugs, handshakes, and eating together. For
some of us it’s been weeks since we experienced a friendly touch.

For those of us with elderly relatives or far away loved ones, the challenge is more patent. I myself worry about my father in Florida. I cannot fly to see him without putting him and my patients at risk. I have made the difficult choice of watching him from a far, knowing that if he has another fall, a stroke, another event, he may not get swift care. He struggles with excruciating pain for which he was in physical therapy and water aerobics. My chest hurts as I think of how vulnerable he is to this crisis. And as a health care worker, not on the front line, but working nonetheless, Dr. March and I are devastated by unnecessary losses as our patients cannot receive the care we once took for granted.

And for many of us, isolation brings to the surface other triggers. I know many of you would give your kids away if you could now, and in fact, many of my colleagues have had to send their kids to live with relatives while they manage the very ill. My husband and I have not seen our nine year old son in 6 weeks as we both have risk of exposure and two of our son’s family members are front line health care.

For me, not having children has never felt like more of a failure than it does now, and where my relationships with my sisters or cousins may have already been weak, I feel a peculiar loss as I realize how petty our grievances may have been.

First off, stay the course. Many of you have heard that if the government instituted a mandatory nationwide complete shut down of everything including grocery stores and kept us in a stay at home order with enforcement for THREE weeks only, we would halt the virus in its tracks. Know that avoiding others is doing your part. And when you give up and give in, you give the virus ground to keep us out of work and out of touch.

Secondly, while we are in the midst of this viral pandemic, we have a massive mental health pandemic brewing in the shadows, and none of us are immune to it at this point. I talk to all of my patients about the fact that we are waiving co pays for April and May of 2020 and you have insurance coverage for mental health. This is a boon at a time where we have little resources.

Even if you have never spoken to a mental health therapist before NOW is the time. And it is NO COST to you. We have two excellent resources:

Michael Morris
o Masters level, in practice for over 45 years, has an existential approach that looks at “reframing your experience”

Jessica Blodgett
o Masters level, acute listener, very focused on gentle guidance to journey through your inner life.

Both are specialists in crisis, anxiety and depression.

Email us at dr.roy@aimnatural.com TODAY and we will set you up for a casual chat to check in and see if you feel comfortable talking further. If you don’t like either Jessica or Michael, we will find you someone you do.

Call at (248) 798-2942 for an appointment.

And try this meditation on gratitude in the mornings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSM6hVkYhIs

We are all grieving, and it’s okay to not be okay. Now is the time to support each other, let each other cry, and lean on each other emotionally. Through our collective acceptance of our need to seek help, we will emerge as more grateful, grounded, and whole.

Drs. Roy and March, Jessica and Michael