What is lifestyle medicine?

What is lifestyle medicine? What does lifestyle medicine mean?

So lifestyle medicine is a board certification where you use evidence based information specifically about six pillars of health.

So nutrition, exercise, sleep, stressors, relationships and substances.

And so really across the spectrum of medicine, these are areas that are of increasing interest, particularly as obesity is the second leading cause of cancer.

And there may be evidence that supports progression from precursor disease can be related to specifically visceral or abdominal fat.

And also, we know that obesity is a risk factor for multiple myeloma. So when we think about integrative medicine, I think more so of lifestyle medicine and trying to use evidence based data to support good lifestyle practices that may augment a person's health and ultimately their outcomes when going through cancer treatment.

I think it's really important. And that's why I started this clinic. That's why I'm doing it. I think it's a moment you talked about you were at a moment in your life where you're willing to do anything. I think a lot of people feel that way. I didn't even know that fruits and vegetables didn't come out of a can until I was 20, I think.

You know, so a lot of this, I have tried to have to figure out for myself.

It should be part of cancer care. And I think providing having accurate information to help people and to hear them, I think that's what's nice about even doing a consultation is to hear what they like, what they don't like, what their circumstances are, who they're cooking for, what time of day, what job they have.

There's so many factors that affect people's ability to take care of themselves.

But I think providing them information and some resources is a really important part of cancer care.

We haven't studied it well enough in myeloma and that's part of the problem.

But for other cancers there are data that show improvements in outcome breast cancer, colon cancer, for example, if you meet the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines and American Cancer guidelines, there are improvements in risk of recurrence, in overall lifetime like lifespan outcomes and cancer specific mortality as well.

So other cancers do have data supporting the long term impact of these interventions or these lifestyle choices. Myeloma, we have less of that and we need more.

So there is something called the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, which physicians can be certified in there are practices within well coaching where you can have ACLM certifications.

But any provider, any doctor who's trained in internal medicine can speak to lifestyle considerations and provide counseling on how best to address some of these considerations.

And that includes nurse practitioners and other health care providers as well nutritionists, physical therapists.

These are things that are broadly applicable to all the disciplines of medicine.

Most of it is complementary from our cancer center. And then only the visit with the provider is a follow up visit. It's not a new patient consultation or billed at that level.

My goal is really to try and make this free and accessible to all patients