A diagnosis changes your life significantly. Many people describe a strange isolation even when surrounded by support, everyone wants to help but nobody quite understands what it’s like from the inside. The exhaustion of endless appointments, the fear that sits underneath even good days, the loss of control over your own body, all of it is real, and support that addresses only the physical side misses a significant part of what you’re actually carrying.
I offer naturopathic cancer support in London and online that runs alongside your oncology team. If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, I can support you alongside your oncology team, helping your body cope with treatment, recover between and after it, and manage the wider physical and emotional toll of the diagnosis. This is support that runs alongside conventional treatment and I’ll always work within what your oncology team advises.
What the evidence for natural therapies to support cancer actually points to
Exercise and nutrition support genuinely reduce recurrence risk in some cancers
Structured exercise after treatment for breast and colon cancer specifically is well evidenced to reduce recurrence risk and improve survival. Nutritional status during and after treatment also affects how well the body tolerates and recovers from chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Nutritional and integrative support for cancer can reduce treatment side effects
Good nutritional status, herbal medicine safely checked for interactions, and supportive therapies are well documented to improve quality of life and treatment tolerance during chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Maintaining nutritional status also helps prevent cancer-related cachexia, the muscle and weight loss that can complicate treatment and recovery, which is a serious concern in oncology nutrition.
Liquid biopsy and advanced testing are monitoring tools, not screening tools
Circulating tumour DNA testing is a genuine and developing technology, useful in some contexts for monitoring alongside your oncology team’s own surveillance.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a Cochrane-reviewed, NHS-recognised treatment for late radiation tissue injury, soft tissue and bone necrosis, and radiation cystitis and proctitis. It works by stimulating new blood vessel growth in tissue damaged by radiotherapy, addressing the underlying vascular injury rather than just the symptom.
HBOT also supports healing after surgery, particularly for compromised or poorly healing grafts and flaps, such as after reconstructive surgery following tumour removal. A 2026 review of 24 studies covering over 2,200 patients found strong evidence for this.”
HBOT and cancer biology intersect more directly where it plays a role in tumour oxygenation and immune modulation within the tumour microenvironment.
Where I see people get this wrong
Supportive therapies are not a replacement for oncology follow-up and surveillance.
Advanced testing is often mislabelled as diagnostic when it’s better understood as one more piece of information alongside standard care.
A mistake I see often, in the opposite direction to medical dismissal, is assuming that because something is natural or herbal it’s automatically safe to combine with chemotherapy or radiotherapy without checking. Some supplements, and many herbs interact with cancer treatment, some antioxidants in particular need timing considerations around chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which is exactly why herbal medicine and supplementation should be reviewed by an expert like myself with training in phytochemistry, checking for interactions.
What naturopathic cancer support actually involves
I support you through whichever phase you’re in, and the right focus genuinely differs by phase. Before treatment, the priority is often building nutritional reserve and addressing any deficiencies, so you go into treatment in the strongest position possible. During treatment, the focus shifts to managing side effects as they arise, nausea, mucositis, fatigue, and supporting nutritional intake when appetite and taste are affected. After treatment, the focus moves to recovery, rebuilding what treatment has depleted, and addressing any lingering effects such as radiation-related tissue injury.
Gut microbiome health is often significantly disrupted by chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and rebuilding it, particularly for patients also on hormone therapies, makes a real difference to recovery and quality of life. I also support general oestrogen detoxification and metabolism pathways using nutraceuticals and herbal medicine, alongside your prescribed hormone therapy. Where evidence supports a specific intervention, structured exercise after treatment being the clearest example, or hyperbaric oxygen therapy, I’ll build that into your plan directly. Testing and strategies are tailored to your individual case and always sit alongside, not instead of, your oncology team’s care.
If this sounds like where you are, apply for a 15 minute consultation, in person or online, and let’s work out the best way forward, alongside your existing medical care.
