Photo: C. Fischer

Every year, around 500,000 people in Germany are diagnosed with cancer. Thanks to major medical advances, patients' chances of survival and quality of life have improved significantly. In order to support their recovery holistically, many patients would like to supplement conventional therapies with integrative treatment approaches. In Baden-Württemberg, four Comprehensive Cancer Centers (CCCs) provide guidance in this regard: the CCC integrative advice centers in Freiburg, Heidelberg, Tübingen and Ulm provide information on complementary medicine and care options such as yoga, acupuncture, aromatherapy, external applications and various herbal medicines and dietary supplements whose effectiveness has been scientifically tested.

Due to the great demand and the positive evaluation of the offer, other oncology centers also want to establish such a consultation. For this reason, with the support of SAGST, a certificate course is currently being designed at the University of Tübingen for specialists providing advice in the field of integrative medicine and care in oncological care. Under the leadership of Professor Dr. Cornelia Mahler, the Department of Nursing Science at the Institute of Health Sciences is in charge of the project. It already offers one of the first primary qualifying Bachelor's degree courses in nursing in Germany, in which integrative nursing is an integral part of the curriculum. In collaboration with the Tübingen Institute for General Medicine and Interprofessional Care and Ulm University Hospital as a further cooperation partner, a team of experts with a broad range of specialist knowledge is developing a predominantly online-based training programme to standardize the quality of advice. The training program will start in October 2025. "It can help to establish a nationwide and quality-assured advisory structure for integrative oncology in the future," SAGST project manager Elke Rahmann is convinced. "In our view, this is an important bridge between conventional treatment concepts and integrative procedures, which are in high demand from patients and can thus be integrated into regular care in an evidence-based manner."