Welcome to CIOFM
Dr. Jamie K. Waselenko, MD, FACP, FICT, is the medical director and founder of Cincinnati Integrated Oncology and Functional Medicine (CIOFM). She is board-certified in internal medicine, hematology, and oncology. After leaving the Christ Hospital in 2021, she acquired additional expertise in integrative oncology and functional medicine. This has radically changed the way she approaches cancer. She now incorporates a terrain-based approach to support the body’s amazing ability to heal. She directs therapies and lifestyle modification at the patient’s specific vulnerabilities/root causes that have allowed cancer to develop and grow. Dr. Jamie believes altering the terrain is a missing link in improving patient outcomes.
She also has recruited a team of like-minded individuals with comprehensive oncology care expertise.
The focus at CIOFM is really on the integrative oncology and functional medicine aspects of care for patients with cancer, those at risk of developing cancer, or those who have concerns about cancer recurrence. CIOFM offers a much more comprehensive approach, examining prior treatment, exposures, and root causes and integrating holistic treatments along with lifestyle modification, which not only significantly improves cancer outcomes but also will likely help patients live healthier lives.
Dr. Jamie, as her patients call her, is also happy to work with your conventional oncologist if you desire. She believes that there is a role for conventional oncology and practices allopathic oncology at other locations. However, she believes better outcomes likely necessitate the combination of conventional and terrain-based therapies.
Each patient undergoes a 2-stage consultation, including a comprehensive examination and a functional medicine assessment by Dr Jamie. It is divided into two visits because of the amount of detail involved. This may take up to 90 minutes of face-to-face time with you, an examination of your records, and at least 60-120 minutes of Dr. Jamie‘s time after the visit, examining your particular antecedent risk factors, triggers, and mediators as they pertain to cancer risk. This approach allows Dr. Jamie and the patient to look at root causes contributing to their cancer journey and offers the hope of discovering unique solutions. Moreover, Dr. Jamie dives into terrain susceptibilities to ensure each patient is aware of areas that will require additional focus in their healing journey. She spends additional time with each case as every patient is unique.
The importance of this cannot be understated. This may help prevent or delay recurrence and improve multiple other health challenges, and because of her functional medicine training, she takes a systems-biology approach, allowing her to address multiple root causes that likely led to cancer development as well as other chronic inflammatory conditions.
Dr Jamie also approaches patients with active cancer, utilizing a terrain-based approach pioneered by Dr. Nasha Winters, an internationally recognized naturopathic oncologist, and cancer survivor. Treating cancer as a metabolic disease and targeting the terrain, we feel, is critical in improving cancer outcomes. Most cancers are heavily sugar fed yet most allopathic oncologists are not aware of this and many patients are eating cookies and drinking soda as they get there chemotherapy! In fact, many studies suggest patients receiving chemotherapy or radiation therapy have less side effects and improved efficacy with some form of fast prior to, during, and after their treatment. Importantly, here at CIOFM, we don’t guess. We test and address these vulnerabilities to direct your ideal anti-cancer strategy. Dr. Jamie also uses repurposed medications, food as medicine, or supplements to improve long-term cancer outcomes.
Patients will also work with the rest of our team, including a nutritionist who specializes in functional medicine and a healthcare coach to support long-term meaningful changes. It takes a village and we are here to help direct and be part of your support during this critical journey.
Mission Statement
CIOFM offers cutting-edge functional medicine testing, a thorough examination of each patient’s functional medicine matrix, terrain vulnerabilities, and high-quality integrative and functional medical care that is focused on each client’s needs.
We pursue personalized, thoughtful, and innovative care for each individual we partner with, always committed to thinking outside of the box and leaving no stone unturned as we walk alongside them in their journey.
Our Approach
We target the cancer terrain (the patient’s body/environment) by addressing key elements that play a critical role in cancer prevention and healing.
The top ten of these elements, often referred to as Terrain Ten™, were published and developed by Dr. Nasha Winters, a naturopathic oncologist.
These include:
Genetic, epigenetic, and nutrigenomic modifications
Blood sugar balance
Toxic burden management
Repopulating and balancing the microbiome
Immune system maximization
Modulating inflammation and oxidative stress
Enhancing blood circulation while inhibiting angiogenesis and metastasis
Establishing hormone balance
Recalibrating stress levels and biorhythms
Enhancing mental and emotional well-being
Our team includes a seasoned nutritionist trained in integrative/functional nutrition and the ketogenic diet for cancer patients, as well as provider guided detoxication of each patient using deep nutrition, after appropriate testing.
Consider working with Dr. Jamie at CIOFM if you have been affected by cancer and are concerned about recurrence, you are considered at high risk for developing cancer, or you are actively undergoing cancer treatment at this time. Dr. Jamie uses a metabolic terrain-based model for patients dealing with active cancer or at high risk for recurrence. She incorporates critical lifestyle changes and integrates conventional medication and novel holistic treatments to support patients in their healing journey Because she has the unique ability to merge both and offer the best of both worlds.
Traditional Oncology practices have a mill-like atmosphere, leaving patients dissatisfied and ill-equipped for the changes that need to take place to offer better treatment outcomes. Most oncologists do not appreciate the need to alter the cancer terrain because it is not part of traditional oncology fellowship training. I believe Yahuah (the Hebrew name for God) has given us these incredible bodies that are capable of much self-healing if we can lessen our toxic exposures, identify the areas of need, and address them.
Here at CIOFM, we meet patients where they are. We are dedicated to a personalized approach that is thoughtful, compassionate, and integrative, and we are dedicated to coming alongside each patient to improve cancer outcomes, lower the recurrence risk, replenish the immune system, improve mitochondrial and gut health, and ensure they are doing deep detoxification using deep nutrition. We embrace the terrain model outlined by Dr. Winters.
While I wish all patients could experience this type of medicine, we are limited in the number of patients we can accept, given the commitment we make to each patient, especially during their initial 2-stage consultation and their membership. As such, we are a concierge, membership-based practice. This allows us to take time with each and every patient instead of the typical 10-15 minutes per patient, which has become common in a typical Oncology Clinic. This often leaves patients ill-equipped with the foundational lifestyle changes required to root out unaddressed health issues that may have fostered their cancer. We, here at CIOFM, plan on changing that one patient at a time.