Episode 049: Nasha Winters ND, L.Ac., The Changing Landscape of Cancer Therapeutics: Why Faith, Purpose and Your Psychological Well-Being Are Just as Important as Diet and Exercise

In Episode 049 of A Medicinal Mind: Wisdom and Well Being, I share space with one of the leading voices in the integrative oncology movement, a pioneer in collaborative and whole person care, Dr. Nasha Winters ND.

Many of you listening to this show have likely heard of Nasha and her work, but for those new to her name and work here is all you really need to know: She is arguably the most widely spoken and passionate clinician I have ever met when it comes to integrative oncology, and simply to whole person care.

She is the founder of Optimal Terrain, an innovative healing venture striving to educate, empower, and assist individuals in knowing their bodies and their physiologic process from a perspective grounded in scientific research and clinical patient care, and above all else, address the root causes of cancer and cancer progression.

While we certainly could have spent the entire show talking about Nasha’ multi-faceted approach to cancer, getting into the weeds of the ketogenic diet and nutrition as well supplements and complementing therapies to chemotherapeutics, much of today’s show is spent in an entirely different realm, a realm science, on its own, will never fully be able to explain.

Starting with a dive into Nasha’ personal life story, we get a glimpse and the real reasons behind her pursuit of a career in medicine, a vulnerable look at her own journey with the cancer, and what she learned along the way that is informing her career now as a oncology physician.

Digging deeper, Nasha answers such questions as

What is the most challenging thing about being a patient? What are some of the best qualities of the most admirable physician, when precisely did you know, you were going to survive?

Delving into the roots of her faith, Nasha, shares her perspective on the role of spirituality, religion and the pursuit of something greater as one traverses the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Even providing her own definition of this terrifying word, Nasha shows us precisely how she enters into the therapeutic space with patient’s and their families, uncovering the real reasons and questions her patients are seeking to answer.

Sharing stories from her clinical experience, the depth an poignancy of this podcast is second to none and left me wondering on more than one occasion, why do we even bother with the science when we have human connection?

This conversation was an absolute blast, and a refreshing dive into spirituality and our connections to something greater, perhaps the real reasons healing is ever possible in the first place.

And with that, let’s dig into the show

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Keep up with Nasha: 
https://optimalterrainconsulting.com/

The Metabolic Approach to Cancer: 
https://www.amazon.com/Metabolic-Approach-Cancer-Integrating-Bio-Individualized/dp/1603586865