Integrative Patient Navigation

What Is Integrative Cancer Care Individual Navigation for patients Training For Health Care Professionals

Welcome to the Institute for Integrative Oncology Navigation (IION) at Smith Center.

Our mission at IION is to ensure that individuals facing cancer, along with their caregivers, receive the support they need from trained navigators who:

Provide support that addresses the needs of the whole person throughout their cancer journey.
Facilitate access to evidence-based integrative cancer care resources, working in conjunction with their medical treatment.

We have set several goals to achieve our mission:

Educate navigators on delivering high-quality integrative cancer care and holistic navigation.
Establish integrative navigation as the standard of care for oncology navigation programs across the nation.
Increase awareness of integrative oncology navigation among medical professionals, the cancer survivor community, and the general public.

For Patients

Personalized Patient Navigation

Our dedicated team of integrative navigators is committed to providing education, information, community connection, resource assistance, and emotional support, enabling each person to take an active role in their healing and overall well-being.

For Health Care Professionals

Patient Navigator Training

Smith Center’s innovative Integrative Oncology Patient Navigator Training offers the country’s only comprehensive learning experience in the practice of integrative cancer care navigation.

A social worker talks to a trainer from the Patient Navigation Training focused on integrative navigation

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For Health Care Professionals

I am grateful for the opportunity to witness the power of a paradigm. Smith Center is setting the standard for what integrative navigation can be, a paradigm for the field to follow.”

Kent, Integrative Oncology Patient Navigator Training Alum

What is Integrative Cancer Care?

Integrative cancer care is an increasingly recognized approach that combines conventional medical treatments with complementary therapies, driven by growing institutional interest, patient demand, and compelling research on its personal and economic value in healthcare.

The Society for Integrative Oncology defines integrative oncology as “a patient-centered and evidence-informed field of cancer care. It integrates mind and body practices, natural products, and lifestyle modifications from various traditions alongside conventional cancer treatments. The goal of integrative oncology is to enhance overall health, improve quality of life, and optimize clinical outcomes across the entire cancer care continuum. It also empowers individuals to prevent cancer and actively participate before, during, and beyond cancer treatment”
Clinical Practice Guidelines for Integrative Oncology

Integrative cancer care entails the appropriate utilization of evidence-based complementary therapies as adjunctive support for cancer patients and survivors. Extensive research demonstrates that modalities such as acupuncture, bodywork, nutrition, mind-body skills, exercise, and emotional counseling, when used alongside Western medicine, provide a deeper level of support throughout the challenges of cancer.

These therapies offer a wide range of benefits, including therapeutic anti-cancer effects, management of treatment side effects, stress and anxiety reduction, and emotional and spiritual support throughout the cancer journey.