NBT People: Integrative Oncologist Stacy D’Andre, MD

Stacy D’Andre, MD is a board-certified internal medicine specialist and oncologist who sees patients at Sutter Health in Northern California. She is also a Principal Investigator for National Cancer Institute-sponsored oncology group clinical trials and studies supported by the Sutter Institute for Medical Research. She has authored numerous publications, book chapters, and abstracts on emerging treatment options for gynecologic and GI cancers. She has also been an NBT client for the last two years.

In this interview, Stacy and I talk about her recent switch to an integrative medicine approach to cancer treatment. She describes some of the progressive cancer therapies she uses in her practice, including lifestyle change, cannabis, and turkey tail mushrooms. She also shares several case studies in which integrative treatment strategies made the difference for her patients.

Here’s the outline of this interview with Stacy D’Andre:

[00:00:53] Background as an ice skater.

[00:06:06] Health problems: Keto diet, thyroid problems.

[00:10:00] Gut problems.

[00:10:23] Book: Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, by Greg KcKeown.

[00:10:43] The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM).

[00:15:00] Book: Payoff: The Hidden Logic that Shapes Our Motivations, by Dan Ariely.

[00:18:05] Answers to, “Why do you think you got cancer?”

[00:19:19] Sutter Health.

[00:20:05] People with high fiber diet 5x more likely to respond to immunotherapy, while those taking probiotics do worse: Study: Spencer, Christine N., et al. "The gut microbiome (GM) and immunotherapy response are influenced by host lifestyle factors." (2019): 2838-2838.

[00:24:02] Calm; Headspace.

[00:24:49] Dealing with stress at the source vs at the target.

[00:27:03] Cannabis; Marinol.

[00:28:05] Synthetic vs natural cannabis.

[00:29:21] Chemovar profile (“strain” of cannabis) is critical for treating specific types of cancer. Study: Russo, Ethan Budd. "The Case for the Entourage Effect and Conventional Breeding of Clinical Cannabis: No “Strain,” No Gain." Frontiers in plant science 9 (2018): 1969.

[00:29:50] Cannabinoids effective in glioblastoma multiforme; Study: Twelves, Chris, et al. "A two-part safety and exploratory efficacy randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study of a 1: 1 ratio of the cannabinoids cannabidiol and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (CBD: THC) plus dose-intense temozolomide in patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM)." (2017): 2046-2046.

[00:31:29] Epidiolex, a high-CBD strain for the treatment of seizures in childhood epilepsy.

[00:34:22] THC vs. Cannabidiol (CBD).

[00:35:13] Terpenes - some are sedating, some are activating.

[00:35:34] Pinene - activating.

[00:36:41] Case study #1 - male with metastatic pancreatic cancer.

[00:38:43] Patient #1 - Slides (graph is on page 23).

[00:39:36] Metformin; HumanOS podcast: Does Metformin Block the Health Benefits of Exercise? Podcast with Ben Miller.

[00:40:28] Turkey Tail mushrooms improve natural killer cell function. Study: Torkelson, Carolyn J., et al. "Phase 1 clinical trial of Trametes versicolor in women with breast cancer." ISRN oncology 2012 (2012).

[00:41:04] Real Mushrooms.

[00:42:03] Book: Radical Remission: Surviving Cancer Against All Odds, by Kelly A. Turner, PhD.

[00:42:25] Meaning vs purpose.

[00:43:22] Book: The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle.

[00:44:23] Case study #2: Female with triple-negative breast cancer.

[00:45:36] Elevated bilirubin: Gilbert's syndrome; nutritional treatments.

[00:47:51] Hormetea.

[00:49:00] Case study #3: female with breast cancer.

[00:51:04] Case study #4: 75-year old female with breast cancer.

[00:51:59] Neuropathy and high B6; CBD for peripheral neuropathy.

[00:54:26] Methylmalonic Acid (MMA) test to assess for B12 deficiency.

[00:55:13] Case study #5: 59-year old female with recurrent uterine cancer.

[00:59:15] Anti-cancer properties of green tea and curcumin.

[01:02:08] Preventing cancer: diet, water, exercise, manage stress, sleep.

[01:02:57] Contaminants in drinking water as a contributor to cancer. Study: Evans, Sydney, Chris Campbell, and Olga V. Naidenko. "Cumulative risk analysis of carcinogenic contaminants in United States drinking water." Heliyon 5.9 (2019): e02314.

[01:03:31] Book: Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, by Robert Sapolsky.

[01:04:39] Integrative medicine training courses for doctors: IFM, Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M).

[01:05:49] Working within the existing health system.

[01:10:43] Work with Stacy at Sutter Health.

[01:11:48] Find a doctor: Society for Integrative Oncology; IFM practitioner database.

[01:12:56] Upcoming speaking engagements: (email Stacy for evites):

• Integrative Oncology - Sacramento (10/19/19)
• Intro to Medical Cannabis - Nevada City (11/14/19)
• “Mini Med School” series - Mills Peninsula (2/13/20)