UPMC Cancer Survivorship and Integrative Oncology Program

The path to recovery is ongoing, and we are here to walk alongside you. Every step of our program is designed to provide support, resources, and tools that cancer patients need to live their best, healthiest lives.

What is Cancer Survivorship?

Cancer survivorship was popularized by Lance Armstrong, who used his platform as a cyclist with testicular cancer to highlight cancer’s effects on mind, body, and spirit. His efforts helped to establish survivorship programs across North America in the early 1990s.

Survivorship is a crucial need recognized by professional societies and cancer stakeholders, including the National Cancer Institute, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Commission on Cancer, and American Cancer Society. It is a requirement for accredited cancer centers to have a survivorship program as part of their clinical care. Institutions create programs and shape quality based on available resources to develop holistic cancer care models for patients.

How UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Defines Survivorship

Survivorship can sometimes be controversial, as it often implies victory over adversity. This may not accurately reflect the realities of all cancer patients. It can also minimize the experiences of those who have died from cancer.

The UPMC Cancer Survivorship and Integrative Oncology Program defines survivorship as anyone diagnosed with cancer, regardless of the outcome. Cancer treatment impacts patients’ well-being. Integrating therapies like exercise, nutrition, acupuncture, yoga, and meditation helps patients adopt healthier lifestyles.

The four pillars of cancer survivorship

Whether you are newly diagnosed, in active treatment, post-surgery, or recently completed treatment, we offer patients any or all of the four pillars as part of our survivorship program:

Exercise oncology — The UPMC Moving Through Cancer Program encourages patients to stay active throughout their cancer journey by working individually with a certified exercise oncology therapist.
Lifestyle nutrition — A framework for how food integrates with the prevention and management of medical illness in real life. View our cooking video library.
Medical surveillance — Our clinical staff will follow best practices to detect recurrence or secondary cancers and provide medical advice for current or late effects of cancer treatment.
Symptom management — The Integrative Oncology Program focuses on managing cancer-related symptoms, without pharmaceuticals, through holistic approaches, such as acupuncture, yoga, and mindfulness.

Program leaders

At the heart of our program are dedicated leaders with vision and integrity. They guide our mission, drive innovation, and foster collaboration. Together, they bring decades of health care and cancer expertise to empower patients and serve our community.

Lanie K. Francis, MD

Dr. Francis is the founder and director of the Integrative Oncology Program at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, securing over $2.5 million to establish patient-centered holistic care for symptom management and quality of life. A UPMC physician for two decades and a Castle Connolly Top Doctor since 2012, she lives in the East End with her husband and three sons. She brings her focus on patient empowerment and sustainability to the program’s clinical aspects.

Kathryn Schmitz, PhD, MPH

Dr. Schmitz founded Moving Through Cancer to standardize exercise and rehabilitation for all people affected by cancer. An internationally recognized exercise oncology scholar with more than 350 authored publications and continuous NCI funding since 2002, she directs a large lab in the Assembly building that is currently recruiting for three major NCI trials. As the author of key exercise and cancer guidelines, her expertise drives the research initiatives of this effort.

Contact Us

To schedule a consult, call 412-623-5771 or email cancersurvivorship@upmc.edu.

The Wellness Suite and Studios
UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
5115 Centre Ave., 3rd Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15232