I am a California licensed and NCCAOM certified acupuncturist, practicing in the Banker’s Hill area of San Diego since 2000. I have a Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling and previously worked as a medical case manager, vocational rehabilitation counselor, and substance abuse counselor.
As an endurance athlete, I am historically focused on providing treatment to other athletes. I worked mostly with people who have had athletic or work-related injuries. I healed my own back injury after a waterskiing crash with yoga, meditation, chiropractic, and massage, so I know I can help other athletes.
I specialize in integrative oncology, menopause support, and pain management. I am a patient and provider educator on subjects including evidence-based management of chemotherapy-related side effects, neuropathy, pain, vaginal dryness, hot flashes, muscle mass and bone maintenance for health, and clinical use of full-spectrum hemp products. I am skilled in Acupuncture, Therapeutic Massage, Nutritional Counseling, Therapeutic Movement, and Herbal Medicine.
I have my Master of Science (MS) focused in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine and have done post-graduate coursework in acupuncture orthopedics (Lerner Education), integrative oncology (Memorial Sloan Kettering and University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine), and functional nutrition (Apex Energetics).
In 2017, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Despite being very early stage 1, I had a high-risk tumor and a time bomb in my genetics, so I went through not just a lumpectomy, but chemotherapy, radiation, and ovary removal as well. As I went through my own treatment, I found it astonishingly difficult to find complementary services for myself. Other acupuncturists, massage therapists, and even chiropractors I talked to were afraid to treat me. It took a lot of research to assemble a team of practitioners who both could and WOULD help me on my journey to recovery.
I discovered a world of chemically or surgically-induced early menopause, bone density concerns, painful intercourse, chronic joint pain, systemic inflammation – all not just in “older” women, but even in women in their 20s and 30s. My own experience has led me to find solutions to these issues which do not stimulate hormone production since many breast cancers thrive on estrogen and hormone blocking is a standard part of maintenance treatment.
While undergoing treatment, I took a series of integrative oncology courses through institutions including Memorial Sloan Kettering and Arizona State University’s Center for Integrative Medicine. Combined with nearly 20 years of clinical experience and my history working as a counselor, I offer a unique skill set for helping other cancer patients navigate the physical and emotional challenges of going through treatment from early diagnosis to end of life.
While I will always continue to work with athletes, injured workers, and the veterans I love to serve, I am building a holistic treatment center focused on helping breast cancer patients to navigate their way through allopathic treatment with all the support I can provide. Services include acupuncture, nutrition support, Chinese herbal medicine, and craniosacral therapy. The clinic offers monthly community education classes, and I have created a program for managing vaginal dryness and pain without hormones.
I also offer telemedicine and cannabis medicine consultations.
Since I have personally experienced diagnosis, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and hormone therapy, I know exactly what my cancer patients are going through. This puts me in a unique position to help them not just survive their own journeys, but come out thriving.
ACCEPTS VIRTUAL CLIENTS
Balboa Park Holistic Wellness Center
San Diego, California
https://balboaparkholisticwellnesscenter.com
lisa@
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