By Samuel Mathis, MD, FAAFP, Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Medical Director, Employee Health, UTMB As we enter into this 2nd week of January, our new year’s resolution should be in full swing. Most people are still keeping up with their resolutions. One thing that can help with your (SMART) goal is to understand how habits are formed. In his book, The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg talks about the science behind habits...
By Victor S. Sierpina, MD is the WD and Laura Nell Nicholson Professor of Integrative Medicine, Professor of Family Medicine at UTMB-Health and the John Sealy School of Medicine “Nothing will sustain you more potently than the power to recognize in your humdrum routine, as perhaps it may be thought, the true poetry of life—the poetry of the commonplace.” –William Osler, MD A recent review article by Dr. Donald Abrams, MD of...
By Victor S. Sierpina, MD is the WD and Laura Nell Nicholson Professor of Integrative Medicine, Professor of Family Medicine at UTMB-Health and the John Sealy School of Medicine All disease begins in the gut. –Hippocrates When it comes to cancer, what should I eat? Numerous resources now exist to help us sort through the challenges of how diet and cancer interact. Research in this field is notoriously challenging given the time frame for cancer...
BY Victor S. Sierpina, MD is the WD and Laura Nell Nicholson Professor of Integrative Medicine, Professor of Family Medicine at UTMB-Health and the John Sealy School of Medicine Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity. -Simone Weil I first heard about chronotherapy from Dr. Keith Block, integrative oncology who practices in Chicago. He has long used portable delivery systems for chemotherapy that are timed to coincide with the body’s circadian...
BY Victor S. Sierpina, MD, WD and Laura Nell Nicholson Professor of Integrative Medicine, Professor of Family Medicine at UTMB-Health and the John Sealy School of Medicine In stillness, all things are healed. – Taoist proverb The most recent edition of Explore: Journal of Health and Healing, a leading publication in Integrative Medicine, published a systematic review and meta-analysis by Bahar Aras and co-authors that examined the effects of Tai Chi on functional...
BY Rebecca Burke, MD, FAAFP, Village Medical Hospice and Palliative medicine are team-based medical specialties providing comprehensive treatment of physical, emotional, cultural, and spiritual needs related to serious illness or injury. The goal is to reduce suffering and improve the quality of life for both patients and families. Hospice care is specifically reserved for patients with a life expectancy of fewer than 6 months who no longer qualify or desire therapies of curative intent. As...
By Victor S. Sierpina, MD, WD and Laura Nell Nicholson Professor of Integrative Medicine, Professor of Family Medicine at UTMB-Health and the John Sealy School of Medicine. “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” –Mary Oliver Ask not “What is the matter with you?” Ask instead, “What matters to you?” This is a guiding mantra for the Veteran’s Administration Whole Health Program. Practices such as acupuncture, yoga, massage, tai chi, clinical hypnosis,...
BY Oyetokunbo Ibidapo-Obe, M.D., Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, Women’s Specialist, UTMB-Health Integrative medicine approaches health in multiple ways, including mainstream-conventional medicine and several complementary and alternative approaches to positively impact well-being. Several types of complementary modalities are used in cancer care. This article will focus on breast cancer survivorship and the integrated approach to breast cancer care. Breast cancer, like any other cancer, is a life-changing diagnosis with an impact on every aspect of...
By Victor S. Sierpina, MD, ABFM, ABIHM, WD and Laura Nell Nicholson Family Professor of Integrative Medicine Director, Medical Student Education Medical Director, Island West Family Medicine Clinic University of Texas Distinguished Teaching Professor “Our equanimity is chiefly exercised in enabling us to bear with composure the misfortunes of our neighbors.” – William Osler My Tuesday morning acupuncture clinic is busier than ever. Medicare has in the past couple of years started paying...
By Sagar Kamprath, MD, Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch In a world with so many stressors and decreasing resources, we are left often wondering what to do when faced with further seemingly insurmountable news. For some patients and family members, that news comes as one word: cancer. Advances in the field of medicine allow our patients to survive much longer with targeted treatment options including immunotherapy, biologic treatments, chemotherapy, radiation,...
