Healing and Cancer: A Guide to Whole Person Care

Healing and Cancer ushers in a revolutionary approach to oncology. Authored by esteemed physicians Wayne B. Jonas M.D. and Alyssa McManamon M.D., this important book advocates an approach to treatment that encompasses not just the physical but also the mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing of the person with cancer.

Structured to Guide and Empower:

1. Navigating the Cancer Journey:
   From initial diagnosis through the continuum of care to post treatment, this section offers strategies to support healing at every stage, from diagnosis through treatment and into survivorship and beyond, tailored for both people with cancer and their caregivers.
2. The Philosophy and Science of Whole Person Care:
   Explore the foundational concepts behind a more compassionate approach to cancer treatment. Understand the compelling research that supports treating the whole person to enhance the effectiveness of conventional therapies.
3. Implementing Whole Person Care:
   Access an array of practical tools and resources designed to seamlessly integrate whole person care into healthcare settings, enriching the patient's treatment experience and supporting healthcare professionals.

Challenging conventional care models, Dr. Jonas and McManamon address the limitations of the current healthcare system with this book, advocating for a shift towards a more empathetic and inclusive treatment model. With advances in science showing that the environment around a cancer cell—including the immune system, body inflammation, and lifestyle factors -- contributes and plays a critical role in the disease, this essential work illustrates how such care improves patient outcomes and enhances the satisfaction and wellbeing of healthcare providers.

Alyssa McManamon, MD, is a practicing hematologist-oncologist and retired US Air Force colonel. She is an associate professor of medicine at Boonshoft School of Medicine-Wright State University and clinical faculty at the Dayton VA Medical Center. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in sociology before attending medical school at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. Alyssa trained in cancer medicine at the National Capital Consortium, completing a research year at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). In 2021, she was one of 100 practitioners selected to complete the NCI-funded University of Michigan Integrative Oncology Scholars Program and founded a first-of-its-kind VA Whole Health Oncology clinic. She resides in Dayton, Ohio.

Wayne Jonas, MD, is a board-certified, practicing family physician, an expert in integrative health and whole person care delivery, author of How Healing Works, and a widely published scientific investigator. Dr. Jonas is currently the president of Healing Works Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the integration of healing and curing in routine health care delivery. Dr. Jonas was the director of the Office of Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health, and prior to that served as the director of the Medical Research Fellowship at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. His research has appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of the American Medical Association, Nature Medicine, the Journal of Family Practice, the Annals of Internal Medicine, and The Lancet.

About Healing Works Foundation:

Healing Works Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to shifting health care delivery toward whole person care. Whole person care addresses full dimension of a human being—physical, behavioral, social and emotional, mental and spiritual—and it is delivered in a person-centered way. Led by President Wayne Jonas, MD, a family physician, researcher, and author of hundreds of peer-reviewed journal articles on health and healing, Healing Works Foundation is committed to helping clinicians and patients access the resources that add health back into health care. Learn more at www.HealingWorksFoundation.org.