Taking Back Control: Lifestyle Medicine Through the Cancer Journey

Welcome to another episode of Flip Your Script, a vodcast by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, hosted by ACLM President Dr. Padmaja Patel. In each episode, we explore five key takeaways on how lifestyle medicine is helping clinicians and leaders reimagine the future of healthcare.This episode, "Taking Back Control: Lifestyle Medicine Through the Cancer Journey" features Dr. Amy Commander, a breast oncologist and Medical Director at Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute, and Dr. Urvi Shah, a hematologist-oncologist and physician-scientist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Both leaders share their unique paths to lifestyle medicine—from Dr. Commander’s marathon-running inspiration to Dr. Shah’s personal battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma—and how those experiences transformed their approach to oncology.The conversation explores why nearly 40% of cancers are linked to modifiable risk factors and how lifestyle medicine can serve as an active therapeutic tool during and after treatment. Dr. Shah breaks down groundbreaking research on the gut microbiome, explaining how dietary fiber acts as a form of "original immunotherapy" to improve diversity and treatment outcomes.You’ll also hear insights into the rising "epidemic" of early-onset cancers, particularly colorectal cancer in adults under 50, and the critical role of the Western diet in this trend. Dr. Commander highlights how lifestyle medicine provides a sense of empowerment to patients facing a whirlwind of clinical protocols, giving them tangible ways to "take back control" of their health and long-term survivorship.If you’re interested in oncology, the science of the microbiome, patient empowerment, or how evidence-based nutrition can improve cancer outcomes, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.Subscribe to ACLM on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsjJsNjWtUf30LiofumGRfQThe American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) is the medical professional society for physicians and other professionals dedicated to clinical and worksite practice of lifestyle medicine as the foundation of a transformed and sustainable healthcare system.Lifestyle medicine is a medical specialty that uses therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a primary modality to treat chronic conditions including, but not limited to, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Lifestyle medicine-certified clinicians are trained to apply evidence-based, whole-person, prescriptive lifestyle change to treat and, when used intensively, often reverse such conditions. Applying the six pillars of lifestyle medicine—a whole-food, plant-predominant eating pattern, physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances, and positive social connections—also provides effective prevention for these conditions.Connect with ACLM Online!Visit lifestylemedicine.org: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lifestylemedicine.org/Find ACLM on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lifestylemed/Find ACLM on X: https://x.com/ACLifeMedFind ACLM on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aclifemed/?hl=enFind ACLM on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-college-of-lifestyle-medicine/