Using Lifestyle Management to Improve Cancer Outcomes
At the Center for Cancer Lifestyle Management (CCLM), we believe that all data-driven strategies shown to slow or reverse cancer progression or stave off its recurrence should be made available to anyone who hears the words “You have cancer.”
We believe that the growing body of scientific research which documents the significance that social connection, emotional well-being, stress management, plant “driven” nutrition, physical activity, and a sense of greater purpose all have on improving cancer outcome, makes these areas critical and necessary components of contemporary cancer treatment – not “alternative” or “complementary” to patient care.
Our program incorporates these six essential factors to maximize the effectiveness of the medical treatment you have chosen to pursue – whether conventional, integrative, or naturopathic.
CCLM partners with you to design a personalized lifestyle-management plan that addresses the specific needs of your individual biology and diagnosis. We offer a full range of stress management, nutrition, movement classes, social and emotional support services, and various cancer-education workshops that you need to support your recovery.
Services are available in either a whole program or an a-la-carte format. CCLM staff will communicate with your physicians to ensure that your care is coordinated, not fragmented.
Please see our program offerings for details.
CCLM provides psychotherapy that is attuned to the depression, anxiety, fear, and regret that often emerge with a cancer diagnosis, along with the longstanding emotional issues that often weigh people down for years. We are committed to helping those diagnosed with cancer to focus on how improving their overall emotional state could boost their immune system.
Our licensed therapists provide individual, couples, and group counseling that is oriented to help you heal emotionally while integrating important lifestyle changes.
We realize that a diagnosis of cancer can make you feel like your world has turned upside down. An important part of what we do at CCLM is help build community for the folks who walk through our doors. Even for those who already enjoy a strong social network, finding a like-minded cohort can strengthen resolve. If cancer is anything, it is a long haul. We invite you to examine the programming on our website and contact us with any questions that you might have. We will respond with compassion and our staff will work with you in a warm, caring, and supportive way.
The key to a positive cancer outcome isn’t limited to your medical care. It is also about optimizing your body’s wellness and making it less hospitable to cancer cell growth. We work closely with our patients to maximize the effectiveness of the medical treatment they have chosen to pursue – whether conventional, integrative, or naturopathic – by addressing the impact of emotional, social, physical, dietary, stress load, and positive mindset factors on their health.
CCLM offers highly customized programming in each of the six areas above – all in one location – with a dedicated focus on care coordination and taking the confusion out of often competing and conflicting healing claims.
Our program is shaped by research published in mainstream scientific journals which document the significance that lifestyle management can have on cancer outcome.
The key to overcoming cancer isn’t just about medical treatment. It is about making your body less hospitable to cancer cell growth.
The Center for Cancer Lifestyle Management (CCLM) has created intensive 3, 4, and 8 -week programs to take your lifestyle regimen to the next level. Whether you are at a place where you have no evidence of disease (NED) and are concerned with staving off a recurrence or still dealing with active disease, the program is designed to be of use to you.
You will learn both big and small ways to fine-tune your “food as medicine” routine. Our enhanced nutrition experts have a vast and keen knowledge of the impact that food has on the body and of the targeted use of supplements. Anyone on our team will be able to explain to you what they recommend based on peer-reviewed published data. At CCLM, we lean hard on research.
You will also be given a “toolkit” to “unpack” issues that have been weighing you down for years – what we call short-term strategies for long-term issues. At CCLM, we emphasize the importance that mindset and emotional well-being have on every cell in your body. We believe, if your emotional health is compromised (unresolved trauma, depression, anxiety, loneliness, limited social connection), so is your ability to heal.
You will be able to immediately put into practice what you are learning in a variety of stress reduction and movement classes and in an emotional well-being breakout group.
Our programming is meant to build a strong sense of “tribe” in the small cohort that you will “travel” with during this intensive. A recording will be made available for sessions that if you need to miss a session.
Please read about the program below in further detail and feel free to be in touch, should you have questions.
If you have out-of-network insurance benefits, subject to the terms of your policy, the cost of the program should be reimbursable.
The 3-week immersive experience offers a systematic overview of 6 Key Areas of Lifestyle Management that work synergistically together to Improve Immune System Function, Decrease Inflammation, Improve the Metabolism of Whole Nutrients, and Optimize your Body’s wellness to thwart cancer cell growth.
Attend workshops that address the impact of 6 “gateways” to your body…
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Emotional Well-being
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Social Well-being and Connection
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Stress Reduction
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Enhanced Nutrition
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Movement and Physical Exercise
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Positive Mindset
Each workshop is set up to allow plenty of time for Q & A where you can inquire about your individual circumstances.
Participate in cancer-specific stress reduction activities and physical movement classes …
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Two yoga classes to practice movement and breathing techniques
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Three meditation sessions to help promote inner peace and calm
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A movement class to take you through easy to implement physical movement routines
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An Emotional Wellbeing breakout group led by a psychologist aimed at helping you to “unpack” some of the turmoil you have been carrying around in a highly targeted way
In Total – The Program Includes…
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Six Workshops
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2 Yoga Classes
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3 Meditation Sessions
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A Movement Class
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An Emotional Wellbeing Session
All delivered in a small group setting so a participant’s individual situation can be addressed.
The experience will deepen your knowledge of your specific lifestyle management needs so you can feel more informed and confident about making decisions about your health, whether you are new to the subject or already have a sophisticated sense of these content areas. We think you will see that our team of experts have an amazing breadth and depth of knowledge and are easy to relate to.
**Some or all of the program cost may be reimbursable if you have Out-of-Network Insurance Benefits (upon completion of attendance you’ll be given an invoice that you can submit to your insurance company).
Upcoming: It’s Your Health Series
Tuesday, November 9th
8pm to 9pm EST
Depression and Cancer:
What the current research says
Dr. Cindy Ness brings an impassioned and informed determination to improving the care and experience of individuals diagnosed with cancer. Her training as a psychologist and an anthropologist – Doctorates from Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania, respectively – affords her a unique lens with which to understand the emotional world of individuals who are living with a physical illness and to interpret the organizational culture of the healthcare systems that are tasked with treating them.
Dr. Ness’ introduction to the world of cancer was an outgrowth of her own cancer diagnosis. After surgery and radiation, she did what she could to cobble together a regimen with the goal of lessening the likelihood of recurrence. Immersed in a sea of competing and conflicting health claims and with no unified guidance, she began to envision a program that she wished she could have found for herself – bringing together the care that she wanted all under one roof. This was to become The Center for Cancer Lifestyle Management.
Dr. Ness feels strongly that anyone who hears the words “You have cancer” deserves to be made aware of all data-driven strategies that can improve the outcome. She is keenly interested in the growing scientific body of research that has documented the impact that lifestyle management can have on staving off cancer recurrence and reversing cancer progression. She envisions the inclusion of lifestyle management – social, emotional, and physical wellbeing, stress reduction, enhanced nutrition, and positive mindset – as becoming a part of Contemporary Cancer Care best practices – not “alternative” or “complementary”.
Dr. Ness has several publications including two books: Why Girls Fight: Female Youth Violence in the Inner City (2010) and Female Terrorism and Militancy: Agency, Utility, and Organization (2007).
For more information about CCLM or questions about the program, contact us at:
www.cancerlifestylemgmt.com
Facebook Page @thecclm
Instagram @cancerlifestylemgmt
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