Mind-Body Healing

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This month, Memorial Cancer Institute on the campus of Memorial Hospital West in Pembroke Pines will begin seeing patients at its new, $125-million, 125,000-sq.-ft. facility. One of the building’s hallmarks is an integrative medicine office suite and a serene sanctuary for yoga and meditation.

The institute is at the forefront of integrative medicine. Ashwin Mehta, who leads its integrative cancer survivorship program, recently co-authored new national guidelines in the Journal of Clinical Oncology that recommend cancer patients use mind-body techniques — yoga, hypnosis, acupuncture, music therapy, relaxation exercises — to ease anxiety and depression both during treatment and after.

Sharon Jorge was referred to Mehta upon being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020. Over 18 months of cancer treatment, the Hollywood dental hygienist received acupuncture and learned meditation to help with the anxiety that came with the illness and dealing with unpleasant treatments and side effects. She also took CBD oil.

Jorge, 49, is happy she went for the mind-body care. Without it, “I think I would have been depressed. They’re a great support system. You need all of them to help you. To this day, I see them. I want to lead a long, healthy life.”

She’s a fan of acupuncture. “For somebody diagnosed with cancer, going through cancer and even after cancer, definitely acupuncture helps with a lot,” she says.

Mehta says a common question is which is superior: Meds or mindbody techniques? The guidelines don’t cover any comparative studies that argue for one over the other, he says. “They simply affirmed that mindfulness-based techniques are scientifically sound and should be recommended,” Mehta says. “It’s not meditation vs. medication, but a comprehensive and multidisciplinary use of both in tandem that yields the best results to treat anxiety and depression in cancer patients." 

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