Resident Spotlight
Catherine Multari, ND
How did you get into Naturopathic Oncology?
Since high school, I knew I wanted to pursue medicine. My empathetic and caring qualities, love for science and fascination with the human body made me well suited for the profession. I was deeply motivated to become a leader for patients throughout their health journey, which essentially is the role of a doctor.
My passion continued throughout university and I was ultimately drawn to naturopathic medicine due to the six guiding principles best aligning with my own values and expectations of health care delivery.
During my second (of four) years in naturopathic medical school, I attended a day-long Integrative Oncology seminar by Dr. Nalini Chilkov, purely out of curiosity. At a young age, I lost my grandmother to colorectal cancer. The intense progression of fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and hair loss from the chemotherapy left a vivid stamp in my memory. That heartbreaking loss gave me insight into how harsh both the disease and treatment could be. It wasn’t until years later, on that cold Saturday seminar day during medical did I discover that solutions exist to augment the extreme side effects of conventional therapy and that in addition there are safe and natural therapies to be combined with standard of care to improve the efficacy of treatment. To me this was ground-breaking, and it was that day I found my true calling—naturopathic oncology.
What do you do during your downtime and/or what do you do for fun?
As the natural pace of a residency is quick and demanding, I really enjoy to rest and relax during my downtime so that I can recharge and be dialed in when returning to work. Sleep is so powerful and essential for optimal health so I make sure to track my sleep (through an app) and prioritize both quantity and quality minutes.
In my spare time I enjoy doing circuits, weights, running, hiking and skiing. Vancouver is an amazing city to reside in for outdoor adventure activities and I am extremely fortunate to have a great group of friends here that make me feel at home even when my family is far away.
What are you most grateful for in your practice of naturopathic oncology?
I am truly grateful for the FABNO mentors I’ve had both when I was in school at CCNM (Dr. Lander, Dr. Hoffman) and now at Port Moody Health (Dr. Gurm, Dr. Adrian). These individuals inspire me. They each have unique gifts and the common thread between them all is their willingness and openness to teach the next generation of naturopathic doctors. Collectively they make our profession stronger. Having benefitted from them directly I can attest that they are instrumental in building a group naturopathic doctors who are confident and ready to care for a patient population who is in great need of our help.
About your clinic:
Port Moody Health has recently expanded into a new clinic space and celebrated its 15th year anniversary. It is the only clinic in the province offering a high level of integrative and naturopathic medicine, and integrative cancer care, that also includes mind-body medicine (Reiki/Healing Touch, Empowerment counseling). Port Moody Health offers evidence-based and evidence-informed on-site oncologic therapies including local-regional hyperthermia (LRHT, Health Canada Approved medical device), Photodynamic Therapy (PDT, Health Canada Approved medical device), various intravenous therapies as well as medical laser for intra-articular, interstitial, and external application. The clinic offers bedside and point-of-care ultrasound, full-service lab collection, and screening examinations. The large dispensary offers a full range of professional, high-grade natural health products and custom botanical tinctures.
