Dr. Lena Suhaila, ND, FABNO
WORKING WITH A NATUROPATHIC ONCOLOGIST
What it looks like to work with me
A cancer diagnosis brings more questions than anyone is prepared for. If you or someone you love is looking for naturopathic oncology services that take a more complete view of what comes next, here’s how I work.
PART ONE The Work
Who this work is for
I work with patients at any of these points:
- Those recently diagnosed who want to prepare their body before treatment begins
- Those currently in treatment who want to better understand and influence how their body is responding
- Those who have completed treatment and want a structured approach to reducing recurrence.
- Those years out from treatment who want to keep building the conditions for long-term health
- Those facing recurrence who want a deeper evaluation of what has changed and how to respond to it
The focus is the same in each case: working on the internal terrain that shapes outcomes over time.
What I do that conventional oncology doesn’t
Conventional oncology focuses on the tumor. I focus on the terrain that allowed it to take hold.
Cancer develops in a specific physiologic environment. Blood sugar and insulin signaling, chronic inflammation, mitochondrial function, hormones, gut health, nervous system regulation, sleep, and the long patterns of stress you have been carrying all shape that environment. They influence whether cancer cells find the conditions to grow or whether your body keeps them in check. They also shape how your body tolerates treatment, recovers between cycles, and holds off recurrence over time.
These conditions are modifiable. That is the work I do.
I order the markers your oncology team didn’t. Fasting insulin. Hemoglobin A1c. Continuous glucose data when clinically appropriate. Comprehensive inflammation panels. The full thyroid and adrenal picture. Gut function workup. Methylation data. These give us a picture of the metabolic terrain that doesn’t appear on a standard oncology workup.
Through detailed review of your labs, pathology, and treatment history, alongside nutrition, lifestyle, and physiologic assessment, I build a plan specific to your case. The plan works to:
- Improve how your body tolerates treatment
- Reduce the burden of side effects
- Support physiologic function during chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery
- Influence long-term outcomes, including recurrence risk
This level of work sits outside what conventional oncology is structured to address.
The terrain isn’t just metabolic
The work also includes the somatic and emotional dimensions of healing. Polyvagal regulation, Internal Family Systems, and Compassionate Inquiry shape how I practice, and that lens is present in the medical work itself. For patients who want to focus on this dimension directly, dedicated visits can be arranged.
The nervous system is part of cancer biology. The chronic stress most patients have been carrying, the unprocessed grief, the trauma the body has been compensating for, all of it is biologically interacting with the tumor environment through measurable signaling pathways. The research has been clear about this for over a decade. The conventional oncology visit isn’t structured to address it. This work is.
How this work is different
There are no templates. Every recommendation is built from your diagnosis, your labs, your treatment plan, and your physiology. What I recommend for one patient may be completely inappropriate for another.
This also means real work on your end. I design the plan and walk it with you. The day-to-day execution is yours. Diet, sleep, stress patterns, and the long-standing things you have been carrying are what shaped the terrain in the first place, and tending to them is your part of the work.
If you have decided against conventional treatment
Some of the people I work with have chosen not to pursue chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery. That decision belongs to you, and my job is not to make it for you. My job is to give you my honest medical opinion and then support you as the person living with this. When I believe conventional treatment is your best chance, I will tell you so directly, even when it is not what you want to hear. What you do with that is yours to decide.
What I work with is the whole person, the conditions that shape how your body functions and how you feel day to day, and that has value whatever you choose. I will ask one thing: stay connected to medical care and monitoring, so your decision is based on a current picture of what is happening in your body.
PART TWO. WORKING TOGETHER
The intake
All care begins with the Foundation Intake.
The starting point for every new patient relationship.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
- A complete review of your medical records before we meet (pathology, imaging reports, labs, treatment plans, prior provider notes)
- A 75-minute initial consultation that builds your full clinical picture
- Dedicated clinical work between visits to design your plan
- A 45 to 60-minute follow-up visit about a week later, where I walk you through the plan in detail
Foundation Intake $2,500
After the Intake
Follow-up visits $600/hour
45 to 60 minutes, scheduled as your case requires.
During active treatment, the cadence depends on what your body is going through. We may meet more frequently in the heaviest stretches and less often in the quieter ones.
After treatment, visits typically move out to every three or four months. My goal is to teach you, not tether you. By that point you should have the framework to keep doing the work yourself, with me as a periodic check-in.
How this fits with your oncology team
You are the connector between your conventional oncology team and your naturopathic care. I provide clinical documentation you can share with your oncology team if you choose to, and when your oncologist is open to it, I can collaborate directly with your care team. Most oncologists range from open and curious to ambivalent about integrative work, so direct collaboration happens case by case. Either way, what gets shared, and when, is your decision.
The work I do with you doesn't require your oncology team's participation. It requires yours.
Further Reading
If you'd like more context on how I think about this work before applying:
Integrative oncology and the cancer biology standard care doesn't have time for
On metabolic terrain, the microbiome, the nervous system, and the gap between current research and the visit you actually get.
What conventional oncology gets wrong about healing
On trauma, emotion, the war metaphor, and the dimensions of human experience that the standard biomedical model leaves out.
What patients have said about working with me
Stories from those navigating cancer who chose to bring naturopathic oncology services into their care.
Working together starts with the Application to Work Together. Take whatever time you need with it.
I take a limited number of new patients. If your case isn't one I'm able to take on, you'll hear that clearly and soon. Otherwise, my team will be in touch within a few business days to schedule your first visit.