Changing the Terrain: A Holistic Cancer Research Checklist

The holistic approach starts with the terrain: the whole body that disease grows in. Here's a practical checklist for anyone facing cancer: your team, your labs, hidden stressors like dental infections and toxins, nutrition, supportive therapies, and the questions to ask.

MK Wellness InsightsFounded by Danielle Cordova, Cypress, TX

When you're facing cancer, it's easy to feel like the conversation is only about the tumor. The holistic approach asks a bigger question: what's happening in the whole body, the terrain that disease grows in, and how do you change it?

The idea goes back to the 19th-century physiologist Claude Bernard, whose work on the body's internal environment inspired a phrase holistic practitioners still live by: the terrain is everything. A body that's inflamed, toxic, nutrient-depleted, stressed, and sleep-deprived is a very different place than one that's nourished, clean, calm, and strong. Changing the terrain is where a root-cause approach begins.

We believe people deserve to know about every option, and to make their own choices with good information.

This checklist is a research guide. It's designed to help you organize what to look into, what to ask your practitioners, and what to explore, whatever path you've chosen: conventional, integrative, or holistic. It's not a treatment plan, and nothing here replaces working with qualified practitioners who know your case. Print it, bring it to your appointments, and check things off as you go.

1. Build Your Team

• ☐ A practitioner who knows your cancer. That may be an oncologist, an integrative oncologist, or both, depending on your path.
• ☐ An integrative, functional, or naturopathic physician to help evaluate the whole body and coordinate holistic therapies
• ☐ A nutrition professional experienced with cancer, ideally one open to approaches like ketogenic eating or fasting if you're interested
• ☐ A biological or holistic dentist for a comprehensive dental evaluation (see section 4)
• ☐ Find practitioners near you: the Natural Health Network directory, which MK Wellness is a member of, lists holistic practitioners by specialty, including functional medicine, chiropractic, and dentistry
• ☐ Emotional support: a counselor, support group, or faith community. You shouldn't carry this alone.
• ☐ One place to keep everything: a binder or folder for labs, imaging, notes, and the questions below

2. Gather Your Medical Records

Having all of your records in one place makes every appointment more productive, makes second opinions easier, and helps you spot patterns yourself. You have a legal right to your records, and today it's easier than ever to collect them.

• ☐ Sign up for every patient portal. Most hospitals, labs, and practices use portals like MyChart (Epic). Create an account with each provider you've seen.
• ☐ Use a records app to pull everything together. Apps like Guava Health connect to many patient portals and gather your labs, imaging reports, visit notes, and medications into one timeline, and let you track symptoms and share records with your practitioners. Apple Health on iPhone can also import records from many health systems.
• ☐ Request your full records, including pathology reports, imaging reports, and operative notes. Under HIPAA, providers must give you copies, usually within 30 days.
• ☐ Get copies of your actual imaging (CT, MRI, PET scans) on disc or through a secure link, not just the written reports, so other practitioners can review them.
• ☐ Request your pathology slides or tissue blocks if you want a second pathology opinion or advanced testing.
• ☐ Use AI to help you understand your records. AI assistants can explain lab results and medical terms in plain language, organize your history into a timeline, and help you write questions before an appointment. Double-check anything important with your practitioners, and be thoughtful about privacy: remove your name, birthdate, and ID numbers before pasting records into a general AI tool, or use apps designed for health data.
• ☐ Keep a one-page summary: diagnosis and date, treatments so far, current medications and supplements, allergies, and your care team's contact information. Bring it to every appointment.

3. Know Your Baseline

Ask your practitioners which of these make sense for you, so you can track how your body responds over time:

• ☐ Complete blood count (CBC) and comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP)
• ☐ Vitamin D (25-hydroxy vitamin D)
• ☐ Blood sugar and insulin: fasting glucose, fasting insulin, HbA1c
• ☐ Inflammation: hs-CRP
• ☐ Iron and ferritin
• ☐ Full thyroid panel
• ☐ Omega-3 index
• ☐ Tumor markers and imaging, as recommended for your type of cancer
• ☐ Genetic testing, if relevant to your family history (for example, BRCA)
• ☐ Circulating tumor cell or ctDNA testing, which some integrative practitioners use to track changes over time
• ☐ Nutrient levels: magnesium, zinc, copper, B12, folate, and omega-3s
• ☐ Hormone panel: estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, cortisol, and DHEA, as relevant
• ☐ Liver and kidney function, important for supporting detox and for any therapy you choose
• ☐ Organic acids or other functional testing, if your practitioner uses it, for a deeper look at metabolism and nutrient needs

4. Change the Terrain: Hidden Stressors to Investigate

This is the heart of the holistic approach. Holistic practitioners look for the underlying burdens that weigh on the immune system and the whole body, so they can be found and removed. These are areas to have evaluated:

Dental health

• ☐ A comprehensive exam with a biological dentist. We recommend this for anyone working through a health condition. See our biological dentistry recommendation.
• ☐ Root-canal-treated teeth, checked with a 3D cone beam CT (CBCT) scan for hidden infection. See root canals, both sides.
• ☐ Cavitations: areas of jawbone where teeth were pulled that some biological dentists evaluate for poor healing or infection
• ☐ Mercury (amalgam) fillings, and if you choose removal, a dentist trained in safe removal. See implant toxicity, both sides.
• ☐ Gum disease and overall oral health

Environmental exposures

• ☐ Mold in your home or workplace, especially after water damage. Consider a professional inspection. See mold illness and the non-toxic home.
• ☐ Water quality: test your water and consider a quality filter
• ☐ Household products: fragrance, cleaning chemicals, and personal care products. Resources like the Environmental Working Group's databases can help.
• ☐ Plastics: reduce heating food in plastic and storing food in plastic
• ☐ Pesticides: choose organic for the most-sprayed produce, using EWG's Dirty Dozen list
• ☐ Heavy metals: ask your practitioner about testing if you have a history of exposure
• ☐ Radon: an inexpensive home test, since radon is a known lung cancer risk
• ☐ Indoor air: a quality air purifier with a HEPA filter, and opening windows regularly
• ☐ Cookware: swap nonstick coatings for stainless steel, cast iron, or ceramic

Other root-cause areas

• ☐ Implants, if you have breast implants or metal-on-metal joint replacements. See implant toxicity, both sides.
• ☐ Gut health, including the microbiome and digestion. See how to repair, then rebuild the gut.
• ☐ Chronic infections your practitioner may want to evaluate, such as Epstein-Barr virus, Lyme disease and co-infections, H. pylori, or parasites
• ☐ Sleep and breathing: undiagnosed sleep apnea lowers oxygen levels at night, and a sleep study and an airway-focused dentist can check for it
• ☐ Chronic stress and trauma, which affect the immune system, hormones, and healing
• ☐ EMF exposure: many holistic practitioners suggest reducing wireless exposure, especially in the bedroom at night
• ☐ Hormones, including thyroid and sex hormones
• ☐ Blood sugar and insulin resistance. See Dr. Bikman on insulin resistance.

5. Rebuild the Terrain With Nutrition

• ☐ Whole, organic, unprocessed food, built on vegetables, quality protein, and fruit
• ☐ Cutting added sugar, alcohol, and ultra-processed foods. See what drives inflammation.
• ☐ Ketogenic eating, being studied especially for brain tumors
• ☐ Fasting or a fasting-mimicking diet around treatment, researched by Dr. Valter Longo. See ketosis and fasting.
• ☐ Clean, filtered water and good hydration
• ☐ Maintaining strength and muscle. Whatever approach you choose, unintended weight loss is important to track and discuss.

6. Supportive Therapies to Research

These are therapies holistic and integrative practitioners use. Research each one, and ask how it fits your situation and timing. Our alternative and integrative cancer therapies article goes deeper on several of them.

• ☐ High-dose IV vitamin C, given by a qualified provider
• ☐ Ozone therapy, including transdermal options like our HOCATT. See ozone therapy explained.
• ☐ Hyperthermia: using heat to raise body or tissue temperature, used in integrative programs, especially in Germany. Sauna is a gentle everyday form.
• ☐ Red light therapy (photobiomodulation): international cancer supportive care guidelines recommend it to help prevent painful mouth sores (oral mucositis) during some cancer treatments.
• ☐ Frequency therapies: PEMF, frequency-specific microcurrent (FSM), developed by Dr. Carolyn McMakin and studied for pain and inflammation, and multi-frequency devices like the BioCharger. Holistic practitioners see frequency and light as a growing frontier in supporting the body's own energy and healing.
• ☐ Lymphatic drainage, especially after surgery or lymph node removal, with a trained therapist
• ☐ Acupuncture, which has research support for nausea and other treatment side effects
• ☐ Massage, meditation, and mind-body practices for stress, sleep, and quality of life
• ☐ Fever and immune-focused approaches your integrative practitioner may use
• ☐ Regenerative therapies like stem cells, exosomes, and peptides. For clients in the Houston area, we refer to Dr. Tina Hills, D.O., and her practice, PHMX, in Katy, and we're happy to connect you.

7. Supplements to Discuss With Your Practitioner

Some supplements can interact with chemotherapy, radiation, and other treatments, so review every one with your team. Commonly researched options include:

• ☐ Vitamin D, based on your lab level
• ☐ Omega-3 fats
• ☐ Curcumin (from turmeric)
• ☐ Medicinal mushrooms, such as turkey tail, whose extract (PSK) has been used alongside cancer care in Japan for decades
• ☐ Melatonin, studied for sleep and supportive care
• ☐ Probiotics, with extra caution if your immune system is suppressed
• ☐ Quality matters: look for third-party tested brands

8. Support the Whole Person, Body, Mind, and Spirit

• ☐ Sleep: seven to nine hours, dark room, consistent schedule. See what affects sleep most.
• ☐ Stress and the nervous system: breathing, time outdoors, prayer or meditation. See the nervous system reset.
• ☐ Gentle movement that fits your energy
• ☐ Sunlight and fresh air
• ☐ Community: people who support your choices
• ☐ Purpose and joy: time for what makes life meaningful

9. Questions to Ask Any Practitioner

• ☐ What's your experience with my type of cancer?
• ☐ What does the research show for this therapy, and what have you seen in practice?
• ☐ How will we measure whether it's working?
• ☐ Does it interact with anything else I'm doing?
• ☐ What are the risks and side effects?
• ☐ What does it cost, and what's included?

10. Track Your Journey

• ☐ Keep a simple daily log: energy, sleep, appetite, digestion, pain, mood
• ☐ Keep copies of every lab and imaging report, or let a records app like Guava Health do it for you
• ☐ Track labs over time, not just single results, to see the direction you're heading
• ☐ Review your progress with your team regularly, and adjust as you learn

Where MK Wellness Fits

We don't diagnose or treat cancer. We're a place of support: a calm, caring space for comfort, relaxation, and quality of life, whatever path you've chosen. Several items on this checklist are things we offer, including sauna, ozone through our HOCATT, red light, PEMF, frequency-specific microcurrent, the BioCharger, and lymphatic therapy, and we'll talk through with you which fit your situation and timing. Our Cancer Support page explains how we approach it.

You deserve every option, respect for your choices, and people in your corner. We're here for you.

MK Wellness services are non-medical and not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent cancer or any other condition. This checklist is for general education and research, not medical advice, and deliberately includes no doses or protocols. Please explore every item with qualified practitioners who know your case, and let your whole care team know about any therapy or supplement you use.

The Cancer Support Protocol at MK Wellness

We build this goal around modalities that work better together. The core of the protocol:

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