Integrative Cancer Care with Chinese Medicine: Interview with Dr. Bianca Di Giulio on Gutsy Health Podcast
Podcast Summary
Dr. Bianca: "I started working at her second ovarian cancer recurrence, and there's more metastasis. She cried and said, 'My cancer came back because I had chocolate cake at my daughter's birthday.' That was a pivotal moment in my practice, so I said, 'I think it's more important that you focus on the joy of your daughter's birthday and that you enjoyed that chocolate cake."
Confirming a cancer diagnosis can feel like a death sentence. The fear surrounding it, on top of concern and well-meaning suggestions from family and friends, adds to the confusion and stress of the situation.
That is why navigating a clear path to healing can be challenging, and finding a cancer care plan that is compassionate and humane is a breath of fresh air in nursing the patient back to vibrant health.
Dr. Bianca Di Giulio, L.Ac., is a Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. Co-authoring a book on Integrative Oncology with her husband, they established two clinics in the Bay Area, California, where the medical paradigms and practices of the East and West are married for a safe, holistic and natural way of healing. Dr. Bianca’s 6-week formula of her Insight Cancer Care program has been slowly developed over the past fifteen years. Whether you have a new cancer diagnosis, are receiving active treatment, or are in recovery or remission, beat the Big C with a plan! Listen to Episode 51 of the Gutsy Health Podcast to learn more!
Exceptional Podcast Highlights
“Chinese Medicine is highly individualized, where aside from herbs and nutritional advice, recommendations consider a person's habits, lifestyle, and even state of mind and emotions.”
Cancer care is about more than just physical wellness; emotional wellness is also essential to the healing process. Traditional Chinese medicine is unique in that it addresses the whole person: body, mind, and spirit. Techniques like acupuncture, moxibustion, herbs, nutrition, and exercise can help balance your emotional terrain, promoting calmness and clarity, while also strengthening resolve. You and your body are more than just your physical cancer and we treat you that way in all that we do.
“By targeting specific acupuncture points in combination with chemotherapy and radiation, the synergy among those points is where the medicine is.”
Traditional Chinese medicine improves the body’s capacity to heal itself, strengthening its underlying constitution and resolving energetic imbalances that lie at the root of cancer. We draw on knowledge of both Western and Eastern cancer care to develop an individualized treatment plan tailored to your unique constitution and your allopathic treatment regimen (i.e. chemotherapy, radiation). We also specialize in restorative care after your allopathic treatments have concluded, helping your body to heal and restore balance. We use a wide range of techniques, honed through extensive research in integrative oncology, and work synergistically to promote healing where your body needs it most. Additionally, we carefully coordinate the timing of traditional Chinese medicine treatments so that they complement your allopathic cancer treatments.
“Acupuncture is a pivotal gateway toward integrative cancer care. Aside from empirical research based on 5000 years of Chinese Medicine, PubMed also has thousands of studies supporting it.”
Traditional Chinese medicine not only alleviates acute pain from cancer itself, but also the side effects that result from Western medical treatments, such as nausea and vomiting, mouth sores, fatigue, pain, insomnia, and headaches. There are hundreds of research studies in acupuncture oncology showing the benefits of treating cancer with acupuncture, namely as a way of ameliorating physical side effects. These techniques are designed to reduce pain and discomfort and, maybe most importantly, to ensure you have the physical strength to continue your Western treatment regimens without interruption. For example, moxibustion can be used to increase white blood cell count, allowing you to safely continue infusion treatments.
“Chinese herbal medicine entails putting together multiple herbs that harness their synergy.”
(Dr. Bianca Di Giulio 35:02) Astragalus, or Huáng qí, increases the white blood cells and strengthens the immune system. Dan shen breaks down the cells' fibrin barrier to synthesize and potentiate the radioactive component of chemotherapy. Cordyceps offers a protective mechanism for breast cancer patients who receive Herceptin.
Traditional Chinese medicine is all about enhancing your body’s natural ability to heal itself in body, mind, and spirit. While many treatment approaches address the symptoms of cancer, Chinese medicine is unique in targeting the root of your illness while improving the body’s capacity for wellness and healing. Here at The Wellness Principle, our team of compassionate practitioners is dedicated to helping you in every way we can. We've spent years researching traditional Chinese medicine and its application to integrative oncology, and we're on the cutting edge of new research about how Chinese medicine complements allopathic care in improving health outcomes. We’d love to chat with you about how traditional Chinese medicine could make a difference in your cancer.
Contact us here to set up a 30-minute telehealth consultation about our cancer treatment program in Napa.
