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A woman practicing meditation yoga at home.

Moffitt Cancer Center focuses on delivering comprehensive care for patients, which means not only offering world-class clinical services, but also providing safe and effective supportive care to treat the whole patient, promoting overall well-being and quality of life.

What is integrative medicine?

Integrative medicine is simply a different approach to care – one that centers on healing and wellness across all factors that can impact a person’s health. In addition to physical needs, emotional, social, mental and spiritual influences are also considered in a patient’s care. Supportive care that complements clinical treatments is typically a natural and noninvasive means of therapy.

"Integrative medicine" should not be confused with "alternative medicine." "Alternative medicine" refers to therapies that replace conventional treatments entirely.

Therapies for managing cancer symptoms

Moffitt Cancer Center’s Integrative Medicine Service offers several supportive care options for reducing the side effects and symptoms associated with many cancer treatments. Our services include:

  • Massage therapy – Therapeutic massage can reduce physical pain as well as lower stress and anxiety, and can be beneficial for cancer patients who are currently undergoing treatment, in recovery or in remission.
  • Acupuncture – This ancient Chinese practice involves the insertion of fine needles at strategic points throughout the body to improve blood flow and stimulate the central nervous system. Acupuncture is known to reduce pain and anxiety, as well as minimize some cancer treatment side effects, like nausea and vomiting.
  • Yoga – Our program offers gentle, restorative yoga, which involves the use of chairs and props. This type of yoga is mild enough to practice during cancer treatment and can be helpful for managing stress and anxiety, as well as increasing energy.
  • Meditation – Designed to improve emotional well-being, meditation emphasizes relaxation and calming the mind by focusing attention on breathing or on particular words or phrases.

For more information about the Integrative Medicine Service, please call 813-745-6052 or email patientwellness@moffitt.org.