Cancer Coaching & Personalized Cancer Wellness Coach

Qualified integrative, holistic cancer coaches will have extensive knowledge in an array of areas including comprehensive knowledge of conventional and integrative approaches to treatment, management, supportive care, and survivorship. The ideal coach will possess well-developed interpersonal skills and have connections to leading conventional and integrative oncology experts across the country. A seasoned coach engages with actionable information, and displays patience and empathy at all times.

A breakdown of those qualities (and more) appear here:

Outstanding Listening Skills

An excellent communicator focuses on understanding each client’s story. They operate without distraction, to completely comprehend then respond to diagnosis, prognosis, and expectations. The gold standard in an integrative, holistic cancer coach is one who thoroughly listens and ‘hears’ the needs of their client.

Proven Track Record

Independent references and referrals are invaluable to the decision to engaging a specific coach. Don’t hire based solely on face value. Evidence of ongoing professional development, verified testimonials, and access to references are vital to the selection process.

Responsive and Responsible

Every candidate for the job of integrative, holistic cancer coach must possess a high degree of empathy for a client’s physical and emotional wellbeing, wherever they are on their cancer journey.

Integrative, holistic cancer coaches will be keenly aware of their client’s needs and goals, and their personal position on those needs, including: breadth and depth of seeking additional opinions, including from academia, choosing quality of life over invasive treatment protocols, exploring a variety of modalities and integrative healing methods. Responsiveness, trustworthiness, and dedication must be consistently delivered when supporting each step of the patient journey.

Proactive, Positive, and Realistic

The ideal coaching philosophy is that of inspiration, motivation, and optimal outlook in each interaction—and with each actionable recommendation and decision—while balancing realistic expectations based on the specific particulars of each client’s unique situation and needs.

Team Approach to Care

Successful coaches know how to lead, and teach empowerment and leadership. They can share their organizational skills with clients so that the clients, as managers of their A-Team (of which the coach becomes a member), are fully comfortable, confident, and aware of everyone’s roles, including their own.

Thoroughly Informed

Coaches who prioritize being up-to-date with evidence-based integrative oncology, the medical literature, and are current with NCCN guidelines, can help their clients weigh all options for conventional and integrative care. The more informed a cancer coach, the more productive the discussions regarding potential treatment options, and proactive survivorship.

Access to Top Clinician-Scientists and Integrative Providers

A cancer coach who knows who the experts are within integrative oncology and conventional cancer settings, including in the academic arena, provides a significant advantage to procuring the best diagnostics and treatment options. These include specialists at NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers which focus on specific types of tumors, including rare diseases.

A coach who applies their research skills and maintains valuable professional connections will know how to access appropriate trials and developing therapies, including off-label drug plans.

The Medicine of Lifestyle Behavior

Top integrative, holistic, cancer coaches are proponents of embracing complete wellness. They invest in evaluating the roles of diet, sleep, stress management, fluid intake, toxin reduction, and social connections, and how those roles affect each client’s life. They know lifestyle is medicine. These approaches have correlated to higher efficacy of conventional treatment, reduced side effects, and to longer periods of progression-free survival, and overall survival.

Service Provider Expertise: a 360 Degree View

The most effective integrative, holistic cancer coach sees the big picture, and can empathetically address various combinations of complexities that often arise for clients, and make suggestions for specialists as necessary. These include:

• Ongoing hardship which can lead to anxiety and/or depression.
• Financial challenges—troubleshooting strategies in repayment schedules, clarifying health insurance coverage issues, and access to organizations which provide funding, subsidies, or sponsorship.
• Intimacy and sexual health challenges post treatment.
• Reconditioning and achieving a higher level of fitness and vitality after treatment.
• The undeniable sadness of dealing with feelings of abandonment when friends are unable to cope with, or otherwise meaningfully support, a cancer survivor’s journey.
• Fear and all the ways it manifests.

The Ultimate Connection: Being Coached by a Survivor

A coach who is thriving in their own cancer survivorship has valuable insight. Clients who engage with these coaches often find comfort in working with someone who has ‘been in their shoes’. Those who have successfully navigated their own journey, and possess a wide range of supportive skills, can be excellent in assisting with decision-making in all key areas.

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An integrative, holistic cancer coach can make a marked difference in your journey. Deeply examine your needs and expectations and take the necessary time to see if they match with the coach you are considering.

Because each person is a unique host to the cancer type for which they have been diagnosed and each cancer is distinctive in its unique host…

… and because the time and energy to handle life ‘post-diagnosis’—emotionally, logistically, and physically—is demanding and overwhelming, let alone managing the massive amount of information which needs to be interpreted in an accurate and timely manner.

When someone receives a cancer diagnosis, they may feel that their whole world stops. But the whole world does not.

Pre-diagnosis life continues to run alongside post-diagnosis life.

Post-diagnosis life includes having to navigate many avenues involving confirmation of an accurate diagnosis, and possibly seeking a second and even a third opinion. All decisions need to be made from an informed position, including those regarding integrative, holistic, and lifestyle modification approaches to help ensure a comprehensive care plan.

Post-diagnosis life comprises an adjustment period of epic proportions, including reorganization of professional roles (as a colleague, employee, sole breadwinner, or business owner); home roles (possible need to travel for treatment, children, elderly parents, spouse); or strategizing for those who do not have an established, strong support system.

Post-diagnosis life is when you ideally become a bona fide ‘cancer thriver’! This can be achieved more easily when working with a professional, integrative, holistic cancer coach who focuses on troubleshooting and reducing the new stressors that often arise:

• Monetary—understanding, prioritizing, and troubleshooting issues associated with medical bills, insurance companies, and fee schedules.
• Emotional—balancing phases of a cancer journey, dealing with expectations, coping with a range of ups and downs.
• Physical—options for rehabilitation related to limitations.
• Decision making—understanding the spectrum of care and options within conventional oncology, and integrative and holistic therapies (and providers).

An experienced coach can manage all stages of the cancer journey.

1) 75 minute, one-on-one Comprehensive Cancer Coaching Consultation (CCCC)

Ideally, and optionally, followed by:

2) 6 Month Coaching Program (bundle) comprising 5 follow-up sessions of 30 minutes over a 5 month period (prerequisite: initial CCCC).

Intensive, proactive, information-packed sessions, customized for a client’s unique situation and cancer type, focus upon:

• Assessment of the client’s current oncology team.
• Evaluation and consideration of further specialist academic opinions.
• Overview of current and historical management and treatments—conventional, integrative, holistic, and functional.
• Dialogue focused on emotional and physical status.
• Supplementation protocol details.
• Thorough evaluation of lifestyle—diet, exercise, sleep, hydration, stress, exposure to toxins.
• Review of integrative cancer team and further recommendations.

For more information see Glenn’s coaching page.

No, because an introductory call would require gathering personal information and having various documents signed, which is all facilitated during the onboarding process prior to the 75 minute Comprehensive Cancer Coaching Consultation (CCCC).

Glenn Sabin is a highly-skilled communicator and leader whose experience has led to the development of the CCCC. As a well-regarded professional integrative, holistic cancer coach and longtime cancer thriver, he has created the process (CCCC and bundle) based on what he knows has been most effective.

Glenn Sabin is an advocate of evidence-based integrative oncology.

Glenn also supports evidence-informed integrative oncology on a case-by-case basis. Evidence-informed is a situation when the literature is not strong or conclusive, yet clinicians and their patients regularly report positive results from a specific intervention or interventions.

Glenn does not endorse standalone ‘alternative’ cancer care in lieu of conventional oncology therapies proven to be safe and effective.

Exceptions may include:

• Situations when a client has run out of conventional options.
• When a client is unable to physically receive conventional treatment.
• When approved conventional therapies are known to be ineffective for some of the most insidious, challenging diagnoses.
• Alternative routes when the client has thoroughly explored and obtained necessary information and completely understands the risks, and agrees to undergo close monitoring to track the progress of the plan.

Understanding Integrative Oncology

Integrative oncology includes the most thorough and current, conventional oncology (imaging, diagnostics, and therapeutic approaches that may include targeted therapies, immunotherapies, hormone blockers, surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy)…

combined with…

… lifestyle approaches such as diet, exercise, stress reduction techniques, sleep, and hydration. It may incorporate select nutritional supplementation, off-label, repurposed drugs, nutrient infusions, acupuncture, therapeutic massage, and mind-body work.

Further thoughts on ‘alternative’ cancer care versus integrative oncology are in this article by Glenn.

Definitely. Glenn Sabin strongly favors additional expert opinions for those hosting newly diagnosed disease, and those with relapsed disease. It can be critical to obtain a second, and often third, opinion by specialized clinician-researchers at NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers or, if outside the US, comparable facilities.  

Lifesaving actions…

Worldwide, there are many misdiagnoses. Second and third opinions can facilitate clear diagnoses through accessing major cancer centers which are more specialized than private practices or community oncology settings.

Note: it is almost impossible for general oncologists and hematologists to remain current with the massive amount of newly published medical literature that is continually coming at them. Academic cancer centers comprise teams of scientists focused on a specific cancer type.

These same clinicians are often the principal lead investigators focusing on the science, or participating in trials led by their colleagues. Their singular goal is to improve cancer care and positively change outcomes for the specific type of cancer that you or a loved one are hosting.

For Glenn Sabin’s view on the value of obtaining additional opinions at leading academic cancer centers, read this article.

Glenn Sabin understands there are often detours in daily life.

For the initial 75 minute Comprehensive Cancer Coaching Consultation (CCCC): a full refund is offered as long as there is more than 24 hours’ notice.

Rescheduling sessions requires no less than 24 hours’ notice before scheduled appointment time.

The same ‘no less than 24 hours’ flexibility is applied to the Bundle Program (five, follow-up sessions at 30 minutes per session).

All terms are detailed during the online coaching onboarding process.

www.glennsabin.com is built with a secure content management system platform. The data captured during the intake process lives within the site, hosted on secure servers. Your private information remains protected at all times. It is never shared unless a written request is received for it to be forwarded to an external party.

Prefer not to send data electronically?

No problem. An arrangement can be made for Glenn Sabin to receive all client intake information, food journal, signed copies of the disclaimer and terms of agreement, via regular post or overnight mail.