Exploring Life & Business with Lisa Nicholson of Balboa Park Holistic Wellness Center

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Nicholson.

Hi Lisa, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always worked in healthcare, starting with working in my Father’s dental office at age 16. I was “supposed to” be the doctor of the family, but I just couldn’t quite bring myself to go to medical school. Instead, I got my BA in psychology and a counseling master’s degree as a stepping stone to…SOMETHING else. That something else ended up being acupuncture/East Asian medicine. I “needed” a medical field where I could do my thing without a doctor writing a prescription, which saw mind and body as interconnected, which would allow me to touch my patients, which would provide a reasonable chance at making a living, AND wasn’t entrenched in the Managed Care movement which was overtaking medical practice in the 1990’s. I started acupuncture school in 1995, got my license to practice in 2000, and have been in private practice ever since. I LOVE it!

Because I was a lifelong endurance athlete (first swimming, then backpacking, then rock climbing, then ultra-distance cycling!), I fell into sports medicine as a specialty. I loved working with athletes, and my counseling/case management background prepared me for working with injured workers. I took a medical report writing class and became one of 5 acupuncturists in San Diego County to be certified as a Qualified Medical Evaluator in the Worker’s Compensation system.

This was my focus until 2017 when my life took an unexpected turn which completely shifted my direction.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It DEFINITELY has not been a smooth road. In 2017, I found a tiny lump in my left breast. At the time, I was coming off a foot injury and struggling with my goals as a cyclist in an aging body. I had successfully completed Paris-Brest-Paris in 2015, and my body never fully recovered from the 4 days of continuous pedaling I did to finish the event in less than 90 hours as required for an official finish. Menopause had changed my nutrition needs, and I couldn’t figure out my “new normal”. My tiny lump turned out to be Stage-1 breast cancer, complicated by my genetics which made it extra high-risk. I had surgery, 4 cycles of chemo, 20 treatments of radiation, ovaries removed, and then 5 years of hormone blocking medication. I dropped back to part time work through most of 2018 because I was too sick from treatment to keep my typical pace, but I was able to keep my practice going through all of this.

Every step of this journey came with challenges, both physical and emotional. Post-op infections, emergency room visits, extra IV hydration, lymphedema…even stage-1 cancer isn’t “Cancer-lite”! As someone who practiced East Asian Medicine for a living, it felt like a betrayal of my medicine to do all the conventional treatment. But as someone who is data-driven, the medical evidence was compelling that this path was the way to a longer cancer-free life. My body hated all the drugs, because I rarely took any medications, and everything felt like an assault. I used all of my knowledge of complementary medicine to support myself through my treatment, learning as I went.

I struggled to find an acupuncturist who was comfortable treating cancer patients in my area, and my doctor had nobody to recommend. I had a meeting with a medical cannabis doctor in hopes of finding an alternative to conventional treatment, and was told to do the chemo, use cannabis as supportive medicine, and talk to a bud tender for specifics on how to use it. I walked away from that meeting with mind blown (not in a good way!) that I was being told by a medical doctor to get information from a high-school educated bud tender about how to manage drug/plant interactions between cannabis and some of the most toxic medications in the modern pharmacopeia. To say I found this unacceptable would be an understatement, peppered with words we likely can’t publish! In 2017, a year before California legalized Adult Use, NOBODY knew how to guide a patient who didn’t care about intoxication but wanted to have all the still “un-proven” benefits of a plant which has been part of every indigenous medicine since plants and humans started to co-evolve.

I did the prescribed treatment. I also talked to a bud tender who led me to a more educated manager who led me to some websites which gave me the language I needed to dive deeper. As I learned more and started to heal from my own treatment, I went to my cancer doctors and offered my services to other patients who were looking for an acupuncturist to provide supportive care. And they refused to refer outside their system. I talked to other oncologists and social workers offering my services and got similar responses.

I was passionate about helping other people to not have the struggles I had finding resources for support during treatment, so I started a breast cancer support group. I got members by running ads on Facebook. And as I talked to more and more patients, a constellation of things NOT being well addressed by their medical teams became crystal clear. Everyone had fatigue and nausea during chemo, some skin discomfort during radiation, neuropathy. What was never talked about in the treatment room was the extreme joint pain, fatigue, and brain fog which made working difficult. Or the vaginal pain, dryness, and atrophy combined with lack of libido which impeded intimacy and ended relationships. Or the constant hot flashes which came with chemically induced menopause. Worse than all of that, people were experimenting with cannabis in a way which made the potential for interactions with their drugs downright scary and NOBODY was providing guidance.

I started experimenting on myself, digging into the medical literature, and figuring out solutions to these problems. I found an incredibly knowledgeable cannabis nurse who was excited to geek-out with another practitioner and shared her knowledge freely. I helped another nurse edit and produce the first version of her medical cannabis coaching program (now internationally known). Then I started creating my own classes for patients, becoming a group expert in several on-line breast cancer support groups as I started to get “known” in those circles.

7 years later, my acupuncture practice is about 40% breast cancer patients, and I run the only Breast Cancer Support Group which is not associated with a cancer treatment facility in all of San Diego County. It’s incredibly exciting and rewarding to be working on the cutting/growing edge of complementary medicine in an area with such deep need. And I’m humbled every day by the courage and strength of the patients I serve.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Balboa Park Holistic Wellness Center?
My clinic is located on Balboa Park, and I’ve been in the same location for over 20 years. I’ve also managed to stay in business since I started as a massage therapist in 1997.

Currently, my acupuncture practice is about 40% breast cancer patients, 30% veterans, and 30% general practice with a focus on post-menopausal health. I also volunteer at a local Hospice, and provide supportive care at the end of life when requested. Many of the patients in the “general practice” part of my practice are family members or caretakers of patients going through cancer treatment. Caretakers are a horribly under served population, and I encourage my patients to bring their family members for support. Services offered include acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, craniosacral therapy, medical cannabis health coaching, functional laboratory testing, and nutrition counseling. I share my clinic with a lymphatic drainage massage therapist, who provides a great complement to what I offer. My practice is the only one I’m aware of which focuses on supporting breast cancer patients and their families, and I’m the only acupuncturist south of La Jolla who routinely works with cancer patients.

In addition to my clinical practice, I run the only Breast Cancer Support Group which is not associated with a cancer treatment facility in all of San Diego County. We have a private Facebook group, coordinate events with the on-line California Breast Cancer Support Group, and provide local resources for everything from medical second opinions to mental health support to where to buy wigs and lymphedema products. We even provide connections to financial resources for cancer patients.

Breast cancer patients in San Diego find that my practice is a one-stop shop for pretty much anything they need for support from the day of diagnosis through the end of treatment and into survivorship. As a case manager, my job was developing resources, maintaining relationships, and plugging patients into the resources they need. Now, I do that for my breast cancer patients. My support group FB page has a list of resources, and has grown into a community of amazing and supportive women. I’m incredibly proud of the sheer volume of resources I’ve been able to access and make available to this very special group of people.

Patient education is a huge part of what I’m passionate about, and I offer on-demand classes in vaginal wellness, managing menopause with out hormones, and safe use of cannabis for breast cancer patients. I’m the CEO and CFO of another company, Da Ma Hua, LLC, which provides classes on the use of cannabis in Chinese Medicine to other healthcare providers. These classes start with the Chinese classical texts dating back to before the Common Era, trace it’s use through to modern times, and summarize current medical literature, with the goal of coaching other acupuncturists to practice wise medicine where this particular plant is concerned. Destigmatizing the use of cannabis, while teaching patients how to use it safely and without unwanted side effects is a huge part of the “why” for this company.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I started by talking about my ultra-distance cycling experience. Since my cancer treatment, I’ve completed one century (100 mile) bicycle ride, a fund-raiser benefitting cancer research in San Diego County (Padres Pedal the Cause, organized by Cure Bound). I’ve found that my priorities have changed, and I’m no longer enjoying spending 12+ hours at a time on my bicycle. I love having weekend time at home with my husband and cat, lol. I’m still active, but now riding 20-50 miles at a time instead of hundreds, plus hiking in the local canyons with my husband who prefers hiking to pedaling. I’m discovering that MANY female athletes over age 50 struggle with changing bodies and nutrition needs, weight gain, and self-esteem issues, and I’m starting to figure out resources to offer to women who want to stay active and athletic well beyond menopause while navigating changing bodies. I have no idea where that will lead, so…stay tuned!

Pricing:

• I offer FREE 15 minute discovery calls
• Pricing depends on treatment plan and complexity, with initial consultations starting at $175.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/acupuncturegeek
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acupuncturegeek/
• Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/acupuncturegeek/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisanicholson/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCktBdNXNxQCOabyWzKOQ0zg
• Other: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1441537263031766

Image Credits
All of the images are my own photography 🙂