Reimagining Cancer Care
Where Science Meets Whole-Person Healing
About
the
Film
1 IN 3 is a documentary in development that reimagines what cancer care can be. It reveals the conversations patients wish they’d had earlier, the practices that are helping people navigate treatment with greater strength and clarity, and the profound impact of caring for the whole person — not just the disease.
Integrative oncology brings together the power of conventional cancer treatments with evidence-informed holistic therapies, creating a more effective, compassionate, and human experience of healing. Through unfiltered patient stories and insights from leading clinicians, the film shows how care can become more supportive, more cohesive, and more life-affirming when these approaches work in concert.
Watch Preview
a
A documentary from award-winning PASANG: In the Shadow of Everest filmmakers Nancy Svendsen (Director/Producer) and Sharon Wood (Producer/Writer).
Call Action
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Empower patients with knowledge and agency
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Inspire new thinking in cancer care
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Shine a spotlight on groundbreaking research
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Push for equity and access to holistic, evidence-based treatments
Help spark a new conversation about cancer care. This film is more than a documentary — it’s a movement. We aim to:
Meet the
Changemakers
Discover the visionary oncologists, researchers, survivors and advocates who are proving that treating the whole person can enhance survival rates, reduce side effects, restore dignity, and improve quality of life.
“We need to think about cancer not just as a biological disease. It really affects the patient and their family in profound ways, in relationships, in meaning. The integrative health therapies help to allow the patient and their loved ones to recognize there’s a human involved, there’s a face beyond that biological disease.”
Changemaker
Jun J. Mao, MD, MSCE
Chief of Integrative Medicine Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
"I remember not even having an understanding of integrative treatment. I was just thinking the standard things that you hear the most about; surgery and chemo and radiation. But they said, we have this whole, integrative, medical department that we actually work with, hand in hand."
Changemaker
Nicole Holloway
Cancer Patient (Breast)
Cleveland, Ohio
"I tell my patients because I'm not treating cancer any more, that cancer is like a weed and someone else is taking care of your weed. And it's my job to work with the garden and make your soil as inhospitable as possible to growth and spread of the weed."
Changemaker
Donald Abrams, MD
Emeritus, UC San Francisco
Osher Center for Integrative Health
“I don’t think we know yet all the ways the mind and body are connected. But what I can tell you is the Eastern practices of yoga, meditation, and acupuncture allowed me to relax into acceptance of my diagnosis. Once I relaxed, my fight or flight fear left me and I could focus on breathing through all of the treatments.”
Changemaker
Sarah McDonald
Cancer Survivor, Coach, Author, Motivational Speaker, Advocate
"I think the beauty of our current system is taking things like radiation, surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, maximizing that benefit. And then also thinking about, hey, how do we optimize the health of patients? How do we optimize their ability to get through treatment. How do we maximize their quality of life?"
Changemaker
Kavita Mishra, MD, MPH
Clinical Director, Osher Center for Integrative
& Health Professor, UCSF Dept. of
Radiation Oncology
"I look at holistic interventions for cancer, and I think it's so powerful and so important because traditional medicine focuses on just the cancer growing in isolation and just treating the cancer. I think introducing integrative oncology, both in the therapy setting but also in the prevention setting, is really going to be the future of containing this disease"
Changemaker
Charlotte Kuperwasser, PhD
Professor, Dept. of Developmental, Molecular,
& Chemical Biology, Tufts University School
of Medicine
Nearly ONE IN THREE of us will face a cancer diagnosis in our lifetime. 1 IN 3 was born from a deeply personal place and a belief that we can — and must — change the way we approach healing.
“Cancer became very personal when my sister was diagnosed during COVID. I’ve lost family members and watched friends navigate the fear and fight this disease brings.
As the director of the award-winning documentary PASANG: In the Shadow of Everest, I’ve seen how powerful storytelling can move people and ignite change. With 1 IN 3, I’m channeling that same passion into a subject that touches almost every family—including mine.
This film isn’t just about cancer — it’s about hope. It’s about reimagining care through courage, science, and integrative healing. And it’s a story the world urgently needs to hear.”
— Nancy Svendsen, Director of 1 IN 3
The Stark Reality
Cancer is no longer an outlier — it’s a reality that touches nearly every family. And while medical science has made remarkable strides, the lived experience of cancer remains complex.
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Diagnoses are becoming more common, reaching people of every age and background.
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Treatments are becoming more effective than ever, often saving lives and extending them — yet they can still be physically and emotionally punishing.
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And significant gaps remain: the emotional weight of uncertainty, the side effects that disrupt daily life and can interfere with treatment, and the financial pressures that follow patients long after treatment begins.
A Quiet Revolution in Cancer Care
Conventional oncology focuses directly on treating cancer. Integrative oncology is emerging inside major cancer centers and combines conventional treatments with evidence-supported practices to support the whole person. Practices such as:
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Acupuncture
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Yoga
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Mindfulness and Meditation
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Exercise and Movement
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Nutrition
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Ayurveda
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Music Therapy
1 IN 3 shines a light on therapies and practices that treat the whole person — body, mind, and spirit
Get
Touch
in
Email nancy.svendsen@gmail.com, call (415) 233-3200, or use our contact form.
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