GOSHEN, Ind. (WANE) – When undergoing treatment for breast cancer, you may face symptoms you never expected. From mouth sores to rashes, the Goshen Center for Cancer Care is using naturopathic therapy to treat the symptoms.

Naturopathic therapy is meant to make a patient feel better, but it’s also meant to empower a patient to take control of their well-being.

“I have dry mouth, so I get cavities a lot easier now. Let’s see, oh, my fingernails turned black and kind of pulled away from my skin,” says Darlene Pinion, a breast cancer patient at the Goshen Center for Cancer Care.

Darlene was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, and received another diagnosis in 2018.

“Emily of course came along with what I could do, which made a difference in me,” says Darlene.

Dr. Emily Moore is a naturopathic doctor and manager of the integrative care team at the Goshen Center for Cancer Care.

“The nice thing about naturopathic medicine there isn’t a specific protocol that fits every patient. We actually meet with patients and get to know what their goals are, and then we work with them each step of the way to make those goals happen,” says Dr. Moore.

For Darlene, that’s making sure she could do something about her breast cancer diagnosis.

“The chemo and radiation, that’s what is being done to help you. And so, you start to, after it’s over you start to feel like what can I do. And that’s what helped me is, she gave me things that were good for me to eat. You know, ideas how to take care of myself, and that really helped me a lot,” says Darlene.

Dr. Moore helped Darlene utilize that medicinary that’s onsite at the Goshen Center for Cancer Care. She suggested vitamins, teas, and creams Darlene could use to lessen her symptoms from breast cancer treatment. Other naturopathic options include acupuncture, and counseling, before and after any treatments.

“For somebody like Darlene who came into this process actually very healthy herself, I think at that point she potentially felt like she was questioning how she was living her life, or how did she do to contribute to this diagnosis. And so offering her the support of giving her tools that help with that anxiety and with those doubts, but also helping her guide through the process, I think really does empower a patient and probably contributed to Darlene’s confidence,” says Dr. Moore.

For more information about naturopathic therapy, click here.