radiation support

Providing safe, personalized care to help you manage and recover from the side-effects of radiation

How We Can Help

We’re so you’re here! Chances are you’re preparing to go through radiation or have completed treatment and are struggling with uncomfortable side-effects. If you’re looking to ways to take control of your health as your go through radiation, or are in recovery and can’t seem to get over the lingering impact, you’re in the right place. Our team is here to provide you with a personalized support plan that’s not only safe and effective, but realistic for your life.

Common Ways We SUpport Radiation

• Helping you prepare for radiation: we make sure you aren’t taking anything that will interfere with radiation, while also ensuring you utilize natural support that has the potential to help make treatment even more effective

• Supporting you during radiation: the two main areas of focus are preventing and/or reducing side-effects of radiation and improving radiosensitivity (i.e. improving tumour cell sensitivity to radiation)

• Recovery after radiation ends: initially we focus on reducing side-effects of radiation, since recovery from these can take a long time, and then we address your risk of long-term damage from treatment which vary depending on where your radiation occurred:

  • Brain: cognitive changes, speech changes, ataxia

  • Head and Neck: cataracts, cavities / tooth decay, difficulty swallowing

  • Chest: heart / vascular issues, cardiomyopathy, hypothyroidism, lung disease / fibrosis

  • Abdomen and Pelvis: infertility, malabsorption of food, gut dysbiosis

Radiation & Its Impact on Your Body

Radiation is one of the most common treatments for cancer. Unlike chemotherapy, this is a localized treatment, which means how radiation affects your body varies depending on where your tumour is located. 

two primary types of radiation

1. External Beam Radiation: this is the most commonly used form and is done over a few weeks as an outpatient procedure (meaning you do not have to stay in the hospital but will be traveling to and from home daily).

2. Internal Radiation (aka. Brachytherapy): this is when a radioactive source is placed inside the body, either into or near the tumour. It is often done in the hospital and requires an overnight stay, but it can be given to you as an outpatient as well (depending on the type, dose, etc).

What To Expect

At The Clara Clinic we promise to provide you with balanced, realistic, individualized support that will actually work with your radiation regimen. We recognize that every patient and situation is going to be different, so we spend extra time with you, collaborate with your oncologists, and stay up-to-date on current research to ensure your treatment safe and as customized your situation as possible.

If you’ve been affected by breast cancer and want to learn more about integrative breast cancer care, we offer complimentary 15 minute consults with our Naturopathic Doctors focusing on integrative oncology, Dr. Hayhlee Clarence, ND or Dr. Monica Velletri, ND.