Anticancer Living. Making Changes, Moving Forward

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1 Anticancer Living The Anticancer Lifestyle Program is a lifestyle transformation program for people diagnosed with cancer who are ready to make some positive lifestyle changes. Evidence shows that a healthy diet, adequate physical activity, lowered exposure to toxins, social support, and stress management all help to maximize the body's natural defenses to fight cancer. After 12 weekly sessions, participants will have essential tools and information needed to sustain these desirable lifestyle changes. Anticancer Living is not structured as a quick fix, but is focused on building a new way of living based on the best available evidence. This program is meant to serve as a complement to the care you are receiving from your medical team and cannot replace a physician s opinion. We want to help you make sustainable changes in your lifestyle to reduce your risk for cancer growth or recurrence and create your own personal blueprint for a new way of life. This is not an easy task but we think you will find the effort is well worth the renewed sense of purpose and energy directed to taking care of yourself. Making Changes, Moving Forward The Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre is running the Anticancer Lifestyle Program in partnership with the Anti Cancer Lifestyle Foundation. We want you to understand what your lifestyle changes should be, how to make them and why they are so important.

2 About the Book Anticancer: A New Way of Life by Dr. David Servan-Schreiber This program is inspired by the research and principles outlined in Anticancer: A New Way of Life. In his book, Dr. Servan-Schreiber describes natural methods of health care that bolster treatment or contribute to preventing the development of cancer. Anticancer: A New Way of Life is available at most bookstores and online at Start living your healthiest life today: ACLP 12-week program: Contact Sarah Young at syoung@oicc.ca or ext. 204 for more information, or visit Learn more about programs at the Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre at Trying to decide if ACLP is right for you? Below is a list of frequently asked questions: 1. Who should attend? This program is intended for any person who has received a cancer diagnosis. Past participants have included both men and women of all ages and diagnoses. 2. Where are the sessions held? All sessions are held at the Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre in the Multi-Purpose room. Please note the program is only offered as a 12 week course. Individual sessions are not open to the general public. 3. How much will it cost for OICC participants? The 12-week session costs $285 and includes instruction, course materials, a copy of Dr. David Servan-Schreiber s book Anticancer: A New Way of Life, snacks at sessions, and reduced and free services from local businesses.

3 4. How will I learn? Our faculty uses a variety of teaching methods, group activities and discussion to keep you interested and provide a lot of opportunity for hands-on learning both inside and outside of the classroom. Over the course of 12 weeks we will focus on each of the four pillars of our program: diet, fitness, mindset and lowered exposure to toxins. Additionally, throughout the session we allow plenty of time for participants to socialize, share and learn from each other s experience and provide support. Outside of the weekly classes, your learning will continue with peer coaching and individual work designed to support class discussion. 5. The 12-week sessions are held at the OICC three times a year. To register, contact Sarah Young at syoung@oicc.ca or ext. 204.

4 OICC Faculty Mindfulness Instructors Anne Pitman M.Sc. Human Kinetics, EYRT Yoga Alliance Certified Anne Pitman has a Masters in Kinesiology and has been guiding people to be present in their life, through dance, yoga and fitness, for over 30 years. She has extensive experience in compassionately accompanying people who are facing cancer, both in weekly gentle and restorative yoga classes, as a Yoga Therapist (one on-one-yoga) in clinic, and as a Care Coordinator at the OICC. She co-leads the Babes4Breasts Head Start, a program for those newly diagnosed with breast cancer, bringing a wide array of mindfulness and yoga practices to work with fear and anxiety. Anne is also the co-director of the Ottawa School of Embodied Yoga Therapy ( She has long been a teacher of teachers, designing studies for certified Yoga Teacher Training from a Scaravelli and somatic or body-centered listening approach. She is a graduate and ongoing scholar at the Orphan Wisdom School where she learns to compassionately support both living deeply and dying well. Recently, Anne released a (4 cd) set entitled 7 Short Practices; A Gentle Companion for Yoga Home Practice and a meditation cd, Into the Body, a fundraiser for the OICC. Rabia Wilcox Rabia Wilcox is a Certified Conscious Living Coach who studied with Katie and Gay Hendricks out of Ojai, California ( She encourages patients to take a creative and active role in their healing as they move to vibrant emotional health and well-being. Rabia supports patients who have serious illness or those who have experienced loss. Her focus here at OICC is due to experiencing her own serious illness in 1996 where she was given three months to live. It was a powerful and significant time in Rabia s life and inspired her into her coaching career. Patients comment that Rabia s compassionate nature, simple techniques and intuitive talents empower them to loosen the grip of fear, anger or sadness surrounding their diagnosis, and move them towards discovering their unique gifts, authentic expressions and joy.

5 Nutrition Experts Ellen McDonell, ND Ellen McDonell is a naturopathic doctor focusing on integrative cancer care. In her clinical practice, she uses evidence-based therapies to decrease side effects of conventional therapy, adjunctively treat and prevent cancer, and optimize overall health. Therapies include clinical nutrition and supplementation, exercise, botanical medicine, lifestyle counseling and acupuncture. Ellen is also involved with the research department at the OICC, where she works to bridge the gap between conventional and complementary healthcare by studying the effects of an integrative approach to cancer care. She strongly believes in the combination of conventional and complementary healthcare, and works alongside conventional treatment to optimize positive results. Gillian Flower, ND Gillian Flower is a naturopathic doctor at the OICC. Prior to joining the OICC, Gillian divided her time between a dynamic family practice, and her work as a research associate at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (CCNM) in Toronto. Gillian s practice focuses on her interest in cancer care. Gillian is a member of the Oncology Association of Naturopathic Physicians and is pursuing the designation of Fellow of the American Board of Naturopathic Oncology in the future. In her clinical practice, Gillian firmly embraces the naturopathic principle of treating the whole-person and commits herself to supporting the mental, physical and emotional health of her patients. Gillian has focused her research exclusively on oncology and has included a series of systematic reviews and is a regular contributor to Alive magazine. Fitness Specialists Sarah Grant, Physiotherapist Sarah Grant is a registered physiotherapist with supplemental training in cancer rehabilitation. She earned her Master's degree in Physical Therapy at Queen s University. She began her career in long-term care and hospital settings which led her to develop an interest in oncology. Sarah has pursued post-graduate education in Acupuncture, Myofascial Release, CranioSacral Therapy as well as cardiorespiratory physiotherapy to better provide whole-person care to her patients. She is currently studying to become a Certified Lymphedema Therapist in order to safely and effectively treat those with lymphedema through manual lymphatic drainage, compression therapy, individualized exercise prescription and self-care education. She is passionate about improving the ability of the patient/family to cope with the effects of cancer and/or its treatment on their functional capacity and quality of life.

6 Green Living Experts Sarah Young, MA As Outreach and Program Coordinator for the OICC, Sarah develops and maintains partnerships with cancer stakeholders, works alongside OICC therapists to create dynamic programming for people living with cancer, and liaises with patients to help educate and enrich their lives. Sarah co-facilitates the B4B Head Start program and the Anti Cancer Lifestyle Program. Her passion is in the role of the environment and the need to inform participants and the general public of increased cancer risk with particular environmental toxins. In conjunction with the research team at the Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre Sarah focuses her research on environmental medicine and public health policy as it intersects with cancer control. She has coauthored a chapter on increased breast cancer risk and endocrine disruptors in a book called Our Chemical Selves, by York University Press. Group Facilitators Anne Pitman M.Sc. Human Kinetics, EYRT Yoga Alliance Certified Anne s full bio appears in the above Mindfulness Instructor section. Sarah Young, MA Sarah s full bio appears in the above Green Living Experts section. Physician Champion Dugald Seely, MSc, ND As founder and executive director of the Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre (OICC), Dugald is pioneering a contemporary cancer treatment model based on scientifically grounded, evidenceinformed complementary medicine. With the establishment of the first integrative cancer care and research centre in Eastern Canada, Dugald and his team are providing whole-person integrative care to people living with cancer and addressing research gaps in whole-systems of cancer care. Dugald completed his M.Sc. in cancer research at the University of Toronto and is a Fellow of the American Board of Naturopathic Oncology (FABNO). As a clinician scientist, Dugald has been awarded competitive grant and trainee funding from CIHR, CBCRA, the SickKids Foundation, the Lotte and John Hecht Memorial Foundation, the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation, and the Gateway for Cancer Research. Dugald has led numerous research projects and most recently secured funding for the largest integrative naturopathic cancer care clinical trial ever conducted in North America. In addition to clinical research, Dugald has conducted and supervised dozens of synthesis reviews and meta-analyses with the goal of building on the growing body the evidence that supports integrative oncology.