Lifestyle Medicine in Cancer Care with Amy Comander, MD

Oncology Overdrive

In this episode, host Shikha Jain, MD, speaks with Amy Comander, MD, about incorporating lifestyle changes for cancer patients, developing lifestyle pathways for survivors and more. • Welcome to another exciting episode of Oncology Overdrive :58 • About Comander 1:14 • The interview 3:40 • How do you manage to incorporate running on such a high level into your day-to-day life? 4:04 • Tell us about what lifestyle medicine is and why it is so important to include in patient care? 6:43 • How do you suggest oncologists who are interested in integrating lifestyle medicine into their treatment plans communicate these changes to their patients? 10:06 • Jain and Comander on the importance of physical activity in cancer care. 12:09 • Do you have standard recommendations you give to patients to begin incorporating physical activity and exercise to their treatment plan? 13:34 • About Comander’s patient, and her Walk with Me movement. 16:13 • How do you incorporate lifestyle health into survivorship discussions after treatment? 17:12 • Jain and Comander on the evolution of medicine allowing there to be more metrics for holistic care and empowerment for patients. 19:02 • What types of clinical trials are there for lifestyle medicine? 21:19 • Comander on The Diet, Exercise, Lifestyles, and Cancer Prognosis Study (DELCaP). 21:45 • How do you talk to people who may not understand lifestyle medicine or its impact? 23:33 • Can you talk about the PAVING the Path to Wellness program? 24:54 • What is the training process for physicians looking to become a lifestyle medicine specialist? 28:40 • Is there an optimal way to incorporate these specialists in patients’ day-to-day without it being a burden for them? 31:11 • If someone could only listen to the last two minutes of this episode, what would you want them to take away? 33:13 • How to contact Comander 34:26 • Thanks for listening 35:37

Amy Comander, MD, is a breast oncologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to Dr. Jain at [e-mail]. Follow Healio on X, formerly known as Twitter, and LinkedIn: @HemOncToday and https://www.linkedin.com/company/hemonctoday/. Follow Dr. Jain on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ShikhaJainMD. Comander can be reached on via the MGH Cancer Center website, on Instagram and Threads @dramycomander or on X, formerly known as Twitter @DrAmyComander.

Disclosures: Jain and Comander report no relevant financial disclosures.