Hi

 

What's Happening at IHC

Left to Right:

Drs. Michelle Willis, Sarah Soles, Karen Parmar, Karen McGee, and Erin Rurak

Women helping women in our Langley community.

With a combined total of over 55 years of practice experience, we help women through all stages of their lives.

From pediatric to geriatric care, for acute and chronic health issues, and from fertility, pre-natal, post-natal and menopausal support.. our team of doctors are here to help you along your journey.

Reminder…. There is only 1 month left to use up any extended health benefits you have for 2022, as the majority of plans flip over Jan.1 of the new year.

 
 

Featured Service

SportVis - for Tendon and Ligament Repair

What is it?

  • It is the only Health Canada-approved hyaluronic acid indicated to relieve pain and restore function in damaged ligaments and tendons.

What does it treat?

  • Tennis elbow and sprained ankle injuries.
  • Research is growing for its use in other ligaments and tendons (i.e. rotator cuff tears)

How does it work?

  • When a ligament or tendon is damaged either because of micro tears or a rapid over stretch injury, SportVis provides cushioning, lubrication and hydration. It helps improve healing by augmenting the hyaluronic acid you naturally produce in response to a tennis elbow or sprained ankle injury to allow for a timely recovery.

What does the treatment look like?

  • SportVis is administered in-clinic by a physician trained in ultrasound-guided injection techniques. Treatment requires two doses. The time between doses depends on the specific injury. Each box of SportVis comes with the two doses.

Is it covered?

  • Yes, the medication will likely be covered! Call 1-833-656-1234 to speak to an insurance coverage specialist and they will help you find out if your insurance covers SportVis.

Come ask us about SportVis and we can help you determine if it is the right treatment to get you back to normal after a ligament or tendon injury.

Dr Jess Hobson, ND and Dr. Luke Mountjoy, ND

604-888-8325

 
 

From the IV Suite

Vitamin C

Have you ever wondered how to get in more vitamin C without upsetting your stomach and causing diarrhea? Our IV Suite is your solution. When vitamin C enters the body via the bloodstream and not the digestive tract – it will not pull water out of the system and won’t upset GERD or rile up SIBO.

Besides the obvious benefit of supporting the immune system to prevent infections, one of the main reasons I prescribe vitamin C is for seasonal and environmental allergies – think DUST, tree pollen and grass. Did you know that vitamin C reduces the likelihood that your cells will dump their histamine. So, vitamin C = less eye irritation, less stuffiness and goodbye post-nasal drip.

All of the IV’s at IHC are individually evaluated and prescribed – so your unique health picture is assessed in order to get the appropriate IV dose of vitamin C. FYI – it could be huge – like 25grams vs. the oral dose of 1000mg! We also use safety measures to test that you can process the vitamin C properly if we give these high doses. Finally, we take comfort seriously and have a relaxing spot for you to spend your IV experience, complete with foot rests, comfy chairs and heating pads if needed.

Dr. Nicole Duffee, ND

 
 

From the Cancer Care Centre

Advanced Non-Invassive Cancer Tests Available at IHC

Here at IHC, we have continuously searched the world over, for the most advanced testing available in the fight against cancer.

What follows is just a smattering of the many cool and exciting tests we offer to our patients here at IHC. These are tests not commonly available through the usual healthcare system:

  1. Select MDx (LifeLabs):
    1. Select MDx is a urine test that measures two cancer-related genetic biomarkers, HOXC6 and DLX1. Combined with other clinical factors like total PSA and age, the test produces a likelihood score of discovering clinically significant disease (defined as Gleason Score equal to or more than 7 [3+4 and 4+3]).
    2. This provides you and your doctor with another important piece of information to consider when recommending whether a biopsy is required and potentially avoid unnecessary procedures.
    3. The test has a very high negative predictive value, meaning that a low likelihood result is correct in the vast majority of men (Negative Predictive Value (NPV) of 98% for clinically significant cancer).
  2. DermTech (USA):
    1. The DermTech Melanoma Test is a non-invasive genomic test utilizing DermTech Smart Stickers™ to assess suspicious melanocytic lesions meeting one or more of the ABCDE criteria.
    2. It detects genomic markers associated with melanoma to identify high-risk lesions at their earliest stages.
    3. The test provides objective, actionable, easy-to-interpret results that distinguish benign from high-risk lesions, with >99% probability of determining that a lesion is not melanoma. Informing next steps.
    4. Indicated for use on melanocytic lesions having one or more ABCDE criteria (Asymmetry, Border, Color, Diameter, Evolving)
      1. Additional considerations for use may include5:
      2. Difficult-to-biopsy areas
      3. Cosmetically sensitive areas
      4. Patients who are not good biopsy candidates
  3. Color Genetic Testing (USA):
    1. Provides patients, clinicians, and researchers with genetic information to guide optimal health care.
    2. Know what your genes say about your risk for common cancers and heart conditions — and how your body might process certain medications.
    3. Accessible, clinical-grade genetic testing, including all 10 genes recognized by the CDC as important for public health.
    4. An affordable clinical-grade test that historically has cost thousands of dollars.
    5. Includes phone calls with a genetic counselor to get answers.
  4. Maintrac CTC (Germany):
    1. maintrac® allows a direct assessment of tumor activity, by measuring circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and the chance to check the effectiveness of the therapy being used.
    2. It allows relapses to be detected early and in an ideal scenario, therapeutic approaches can be adapted in good time.
    3. Generally, maintrac® can be used for all tumors of epithelial origin (=carcinomas), particularly breast, colorectal, lung and prostate cancers, with most clinical studies carried out involving breast cancer.
  5. Guardant 360 (USA):
    1. Guardant360® CDx is the first FDA-approved comprehensive liquid biopsy for all advanced solid tumors, requiring only a blood test.
    2. Indicated for stage 3 and 4 patients who do not already have molecular testing data, are unable to get or want to avoid a biopsy, and in those in whom tissue testing was incomplete at initial diagnosis.
    3. Benefit from this cell-free DNA genotyping to access truly personalized therapy for cancer, includes TMB, MSI status, and PD-L1, if ordered.
    4. Get the complete picture before choosing treatment.
    5. Test turnaround time of only 2-3 weeks from blood sample to results.
  6. Cologuard (USA):
    1. This stool test has been included in the US Preventative Services Task Force guidelines as an A-rated screening tool. Not to be uses as a replacement for colonscopy in those over 45 years of age.
    2. It is a multi-target stool DNA test that looks for KRas mutations, aberrant NDRG4/BMP3 methylation, Beta-actin, and Hb immunoassay.
    3. It has a better sensitivity for colorectal cancer (92.3%) and for precancerous lesions or polyps (42.4%) than the standard FIT test, but a poorer sensitivity than FIT (86.6%). This means it is better at detecting cancer, but can have more false positives.
    4. As with all tests, Cologard results need to be interpreted wisely, and alongside a careful history, physical examination, appropriate scope(s), FIT testing, and other appropriate medical observation.

If you want to know what novel cutting edge cancer testing options are available for you at IHC, please consult one of our cancer care docs.

Dr. Gurdev Parmar, ND, FABNO(USA)

 
 

In The News

Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy

In cancer patients, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common complication, characterized by pain, loss of sensation, and numbness. Medical treatment for peripheral neuropathies has been shown to be ineffective for CIPN. Acupuncture has been shown to be safe and effective in treating cancer-related symptoms and other peripheral neuropathies. In this review, two studies found acupuncture to be effective in alleviating cancer Induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) pain and improving quality of life.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6476456/

 
 

Connect to Our Blog

Understanding the Recent European Screenig Colonoscopy Trial

Last month, medical news was flooded with headlines claiming that screening colonoscopies may not be as beneficial as originally thought..

Dr. Sarah Soles ND

Click to Read Full Blog Post

 
 

Doctor Favourite Receipes

One Bowl Banana Bread by the Minimalist Baker

3 medium ripe bananas (3 bananas yield ~1 1/2 cups or 337 g)

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 whole egg (or sub 1 chia or flax egg)*

3 Tbsp avocado or coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup organic cane sugar (can easily be 1/8)

1/4 cup packed organic brown sugar (can easily be 1/8)

2-3 Tbsp maple syrup (depending on ripeness of bananas // or sub honey)

3 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or other dairy-free milk)

1 1/4 cup almond meal

1 1/4 cup gluten free flour blend of choice

1 1/4 cup gluten-free oats

For Serving- optional

Butter

Honey

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C) and line a 9×5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.

Mash banana in a large bowl. Add all ingredients through almond milk (vanilla, egg, oil, cane sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, almond milk) and whisk vigorously to combine. Last add almond meal, gluten free flour blend and oats and stir.

Bake for 1 hour – 1 hour 15 minutes. When ready, it should feel firm and be crackly and golden brown on top.

Let cool completely before cutting or it will be too tender to hold form.

Serve with butter and honey or as is. Store leftovers in a covered container for up to a few days. Slice and freeze for longer term storage.

Dr. Jessica Hobson ND

 

Hours of Operation - Fort Langley

Monday & Tuesday - 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Wednesday - 9:00 am to 7:00 pm

Thursday & Friday - 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Saturday - 10:00 am to 3:00 pm

Hours of Operation - White Rock

Monday - Friday - 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

NEW - Saturday - 10:00 am to 3:00 pm

 
 

We care about you. We approach every patient as a unique individual with needs specific to your health. Expect a caring approach from us all. Visit our website to learn more.