You Should Have a Naturopathic Doctor on Your Healthcare Team

This week (May 16-20) is Naturopathic Medicine Week which is the perfect time to share the principles of naturopathic medicine and how I utilize this system to help my patients decrease their risk of developing cancer and other chronic diseases.  I am a naturopathic physician focusing on integrative cancer care although I provide general naturopathic medicine as well.  I see patients ages 16 and older.

The Healing Power of Nature
Naturopathic medicine recognizes that the body is connected and has an innate, self-healing ability. As a naturopathic physician, I identify factors hindering the body’s healing ability and aid my patients in removing those factors to support the body’s self-healing process.  This principle applies to decreasing your cancer risk.  We’re all making cancer cells every day and I identify factors in patients that may contribute to cancer development and work with my patients to treat those potential contributors.

Identify and Treat the Cause
I work with my patients to identify and treat the factors contributing to their disease process instead of applying a band-aid and suppressing their symptoms.  Here’s an example.  You have a headache, so you take ibuprofen.  Was your headache caused by an ibuprofen deficiency? No, it was caused by an underlying cause like being dehydrated or having muscle tension.  In the same way with more complex cases, I identify and treat the underlying, contributing factors.  The one scenario where I treat symptoms is cancer patients going through standard of care treatment.  While it is extremely effective, standard of care treatments can cause debilitating side effects like neuropathy, mouth sores, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and many others.  For these patients, I utilize therapies to minimize their symptoms that do not interfere with the effectiveness of standard of care treatments.  

First Do No Harm
As a naturopathic physician, I utilize treatments and therapies that minimize the risk of harmful side effects, I avoid symptom suppression whenever possible, and I acknowledge and support the body’s self-healing process.  I have extensive training in nutrition, herbal medicine, physical medicine, Chinese medicine, and many other minimally invasive therapies that are safe and effective treatments.

Doctor as Teacher
I educate my patients about their health.  No matter what diagnosis or condition a patient has, I identify and teach them about their contributing factors AND the factors in their life that may contribute to health problems down the road.  With my cancer patients, I spend a significant amount of time determining their contributing factors and educating them on why those factors contributed.  Cancer is multifactorial and it’s important to identify every single factor to make necessary changes to improve their health and support them while they go through their cancer treatments.  Another way I educate my patients is teaching them how to be advocates for themselves.  Something I’m always telling patients is “You are the driver of your bus, I’m just handing you a map with different routes.” I like to ensure all my patients know that they have a choice in their healthcare options, and they do not have to let their healthcare happen to them.

Treat The Whole Person
As a naturopathic doctor, I will look at you as a whole.  You are not just a collection of symptoms.  With each patient that comes through my door I evaluate and assess many factors including mental, emotional, social, physical, and environmental factors.  Every single one of those factors contributes to your health in some way, whether that’s positive or negative and I will work with you to support the positive factors and minimize or change the negative factors. 

Prevention
Finally, I emphasize prevention with all my patients.  For patients that already come in with a chronic disease, like cancer, I work with them to prevent long-term complications and support their quality of life.  For patients that come in seeking to prevent cancer or other chronic diseases, I assess their risk factors, family history, and other factors in order to give them the best chance of reducing their risk of developing a chronic disease.

The best investment you will ever make has nothing to do with money and everything to do with how you treat your body.  If you’re looking for a naturopathic physician or want to learn more, give my office a call at 360-695-8800.

Yours in Health,

Charissa Bausch, ND