Integrative Oncology

The Metabolic Approach to Cancer 

At Salus Integrative, we believe cancer care must go deeper than treating a tumor—it requires restoring balance to the body’s entire terrain. Cancer cells thrive on sugar (glucose) and rely on dysfunctional mitochondria for energy. In contrast, healthy cells flourish when the body is metabolically flexible and supported by proper nutrition, restorative sleep, stress resilience, and strong immune function.

Why the Metabolic Approach Matters

Over the last two centuries, our environment, food systems, and daily lifestyles have changed dramatically. These changes have strained our genetics and reduced our ability to adapt. The result? Damaged mitochondria, chronic inflammation, and metabolic dysfunction—conditions that fuel disease and, ultimately, the cancering process.

Restoring the Terrain

Every human cell houses mitochondria—the “powerhouses” that generate energy and regulate healing. When mitochondria become damaged by toxins, poor diet, stress, or environmental exposures, they lose their ability to function properly, leading to cancerous transformation. To reverse this process, we must optimize mitochondrial health and re-establish the body’s natural healing capacity.
Rather than focusing solely on destroying cancer cells, we address the terrain in which cancer grows. This means identifying and removing the root causes driving disease, then applying targeted therapies—nutritional, lifestyle, metabolic, and immune-supportive—that restore balance and resilience.

The Salus Strategy

  • Identify what is driving the cancering process in each unique individual.
  • Treat the terrain—not just the tumor—by addressing biological, metabolic, and mitochondrial needs.
  • Support adaptability by strengthening nutrition, sleep, stress management, detoxification, and immune defenses.
  • Integrate therapies that complement conventional treatments, ensuring a whole-person, evidence-informed plan.

Our Promise

The Salus Way is not about guessing—it’s about creating a personalized, innovative care plan that evolves with you. We believe in working with your body, not against it, and empowering you to restore health at the deepest cellular level.
By healing the terrain, we don’t just fight cancer—we transform the conditions that allow it to thrive. Our strategy works.

Test

A comprehensive biomedical workup tailored to you may include:

  • Fresh tissue pathology review (when applicable) and/or liquid blood biomarkers

  • Metabolic and inflammatory panels, nutrient and toxin burden assessment

  • Glycemic and insulin dynamics, lipid particle analysis

  • Microbiome/GI and immune markers (as indicated)

  • Nutrigenomic testing (epigenetic/blueprint insights that inform lifestyle, nutrition, and supplement choices)

  • Thorough history: health since birth, diet, movement, sleep, stress, environmental inputs, family history, and current treatment plan

All the Details on

How It Works

Assess

We translate your data into a clear Terrain Map:

  • Identify priority imbalances and bottlenecks

  • Sequence the right interventions at the right time alongside oncology care

  • Establish meaningful, trackable metrics so you can see progress (labs, symptoms, energy, sleep, body composition, etc.)

Address

Personalized interventions to strengthen your terrain:

  • Therapeutic nutrition (metabolic flexibility, glycemic control, anti-inflammatory patterns)

  • Sleep & circadian support, stress modulation, nervous system regulation

  • Targeted supplements to correct deficiencies and support mitochondrial and immune health

  • Movement plans appropriate to energy and treatment stage

  • Adjunctive therapies (timed in collaboration with your oncology plan), such as mistletoe therapy when appropriate

Adapt

Your biology changes during treatment. We re-evaluate labs, symptoms, and goals monthly and adjust your plan as your oncologist modifies therapy and as your body heals—keeping care nimble and individualized.

Mistletoe Therapy (Viscum album)

Adjunctive support, personalized to your terrain
At Salus Integrative, mistletoe therapy is offered as a complement to standard oncology care (surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy, targeted and/or hormone therapies). Our goal is to support quality of life, treatment tolerance, and whole-person resilience—never to replace your conventional treatment plan.

What it is

Mistletoe therapy uses sterile, pharmaceutical-grade extracts of the white-berried European mistletoe plant (Viscum album L.). Extracts are produced from mistletoe grown on different host trees (such as apple, oak, ash, pine, fir, and elm) and contain a spectrum of naturally occurring compounds (e.g., lectins, viscotoxins, peptides, polysaccharides, flavonoids, lignans, triterpenes, and enzymes). In practice, the combined action of these constituents is what’s sought in care.

Why patients consider it

Mistletoe has been used in integrative oncology for over a century. Contemporary programs use it primarily to help patients:
  • Support immune balance and modulation
  • Improve treatment tolerance and day-to-day well-being (energy, appetite, sleep, mood)
  • Reduce inflammation and oxidative stress as part of a broader metabolic/terrain approach
Research continues to explore potential mechanisms—including immune modulation and possible anti-angiogenic effects. While findings are evolving, the most established intention in care is quality-of-life support alongside standard treatments.

How it’s given

  • Route: Usually a small subcutaneous injection (just under the skin).
  • Frequency: Often 2–3 times per week, adjusted to your response.
  • Duration: Ranges from weeks to years, individualized and reviewed at regular intervals.
  • Monitoring: We track symptoms, vital signs, and relevant labs; dosing is titrated to clinical goals and tolerability. Many patients can be taught self-administration at home.
Common, typically mild and expected responses can include temporary redness/warmth at the injection site and short-lived flu-like feelings as the immune system responds. We’ll review what’s expected vs. what to report right away.

Our clinical approach

  • Integrated with your oncology team: We coordinate timing around surgeries, infusions, and scans.
  • Personalized selection & dosing: Host-tree selection and dosing are tailored to your biology, symptoms, and goals.
  • Part of a bigger plan: We pair mistletoe with metabolic terrain care—nutrition, sleep/circadian support, stress regulation, movement, and targeted supplements—so the whole system is supported.

Safety & suitability

Mistletoe therapy isn’t right for everyone. We screen for medical contraindications, allergies, and potential treatment interactions before initiation and throughout care. We will never advise delaying or stopping conventional therapy in favor of mistletoe.

Quick FAQs

Does mistletoe treat or cure cancer?
 No. It is used adjunctively to support the person going through cancer treatment, with an emphasis on quality of life and resilience.
When should I start?
 Many patients begin during active treatment; others start in recovery/survivorship. Earlier integration can help us align dosing with your treatment phases and goals.
Is it covered by insurance?
 Coverage varies. We’ll provide clear pricing, dosing plans, and receipts for possible reimbursement.

The Core of Our Approach

The Terrain Ten

  • Personalize care using DNA insights, gene expression, and nutrient–gene interactions.

  • Stabilize blood sugar to restore metabolic flexibility.

  • Identify exposures, lower load, and support safe detox pathways.

  • Repopulate and rebalance gut ecology for better digestion, immunity, and signaling.

  • Strengthen and appropriately modulate defense systems.

  • Calm overactivation and protect cellular energy (mitochondria).

  • Support healthy blood flow and angiogenic balance.

  • Optimize thyroid, adrenal, and sex-hormone signaling.

  • Reset nervous system tone and circadian rhythms (sleep/wake).

  • Cultivate resilience, connection, and purpose.