Creating optimal healing environments for patients with cancer and their families: insights, challenges, and lessons learned from a decade of experience

Optimal cancer care balances the need for scientific knowledge, statistical analysis, and rational thought with the need for wisdom, kindness, compassion, and love. Finding and maintaining this balance is one of the most important challenges inherent in creating optimal healing environments (OHEs) for cancer care. This new medical paradigm, which promotes awareness, healing, and transformation at the deepest levels of the body, mind, heart, and spirit for patients and their families, must make an equal commitment to developing the health, well-being, awareness, and communication skills of medical and other staff members. This paper articulates the insights, challenges and lessons gleaned from the author's experience in creating and directing an OHE with a scientifically based, sensitive, and compassionate approach to healing for patients with cancer and their loved ones.