This was my first day at Medizinische Woche number 44, perhaps the world’s longest-running international conference for integrative physicians.

The setting is idyllic Baden-Baden. Nestled in the hills of the northwestern Black Forest, mineral hot springs have made this a place of healing since the days of the Roman empire. When I awoke this morning, I opened my hotel window to the sound of the clock tower bell. I looked above the clay-roofed houses and the cathedral spires to see the fall colors in the hills and a distant flock of birds dotting an amber dawn. My jet-lag an afterthought, I eagerly hopped the cobblestones to the Kongresshaus where I was not disappointed.

It is hard to believe that things can be so different on the other side of the pond. In this era of globalization, it is amazing what a few thousand kilometers, a language barrier and the legacy of a war will do to keep people apart. My feeling here today was like my first steps outside the world of conventional medicine, the world of my training. I remember that time well; so many new concepts, new paradigms, tests and treatments, so far removed from the way of thinking I had gotten used to in the conventional medical system. Today felt just like that. Dizzying.

One of the areas in which the Europeans seem to be leaps and bounds ahead of us is in the acceptance of integrative medicine itself. There are over a thousand attendees at this conference, and I counted twenty-five separate concurrent sessions that one can choose from. Mine was the Krebskongress, which is dedicated to the integrative treatment of cancer. In the introductory lecture, I learned that 61% of the members of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Onkologie, the German Cancer Association, use some form of alternative medicine. These are mostly cancer specialists. Another statistic that was shared here today is that over 20,000 doctors in Europe use acupuncture. Canadian healthcare has a long way to go.

When it comes to cancer, there are a handful of therapies that the Germans use routinely that are almost unknown in North America. Neural therapy was developed by the Huneke brothers in Heidelberg, and it is frequently used to improve neuro-immune function to allow the body to fight the good fight. I have become a competent neural therapist but picked up a few tricks today. Intravenous procaine is used to treat the autonomic nervous system in combination with sodium bicarbonate to alkalinize the body. We add this to some of our infusions, but I think we may adjust our protocols a bit to better reflect the state of the art.

Many of these treatments fall under the category of what is called field therapy. This focuses not on treating the cells, but rather on the spaces between them. This is the environment in which the cells live, and there is a lot of evidence from the basic sciences that it has a great effect on how they behave. This is relevant not only to cancer cells – but immune cells too.

Selenium IV infusions, enhanced detoxification protocols, gentle hormone balancing, chronic pain treatment with laser light, hyperthermia, thymus peptide injections ... all are things I know about but here I am getting answers to the questions I have had for years. And then there are the machines. It is too complicated to get into detail, but believe me when I say that Germany is really where healing traditions meet modern technology. Evidence-based medicine plays a more balanced role here - it is highly valued when available, but there is an implicit understanding that double-blind studies are expensive. I sum it up for patients with a simple phrase that explains why integrative medicine will never be truly evidence-based. No patent - no profit - no proof.

The conference lectures, handbooks, exhibits and posters are all in German. Scientific German. I have been learning the language since July, first at an intensive 10-day course and since then with a teacher in Berlin over video Skype. Nonetheless, I feel really dumb when I try to speak. Surprisingly, I can actually understand some of what I hear. The people I am speaking to assume I am Italian, but when I say I am Kanadier, they look at me funny, as if to say what are you doing here.

I am here because I will be bringing back new medicine to a new Seekers Centre. For those of you who don’t know yet, we have moved. All our stuff is now on 942 Merivale Road. I am thrilled. It is one minute from the Queensway and a five-minute walk from the number 85 bus Stop. We have parking. It is all new, nontoxic, green construction. A freestanding building; a new Ottawa healthcare institution. The neighborhood is a bit rough around the edges, but for some reason, I like that too. We have created a good space with good light, good air and water, and more importantly, an atmosphere that will be consistent with our philosophy and our mission. Good medicine.

When I returned to Ottawa after a ten-year absence, it was to create a Centre for Integrative Medicine Centre offering the best treatment from around the world. The first four years have laid the groundwork for the next phase of this vision.

Did you enjoy this post? Share it with others.