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Dr Etienne Callebout was one of the people we found when we started exploring integrative oncology and personalised medicine alongside Stu’s conventional treatment.
Originally from Belgium, he trained as a medical doctor and later also trained in areas including acupuncture, homeopathy and naturopathy. He practised in the UK, including from Harley Street, and became well known within the integrative cancer community for combining conventional medical knowledge with nutritional, metabolic and complementary approaches.
We first heard about him through Jane McLelland’s book *How to Starve Cancer*. Jane had been treated by him herself and spoke very highly of him. We also heard about him through other patients and caregivers while researching additional approaches for Stu.
OUR EXPERIENCE
Before our initial consultation, I sent Dr Callebout all of Stu’s medical notes, scans and scan reports and completed extensive questionnaires covering his general health, genetics, hormones and other aspects of his medical history.
There were questions I’d never imagined needing to know the answers to, but that was one of the things that struck me about his approach. He wanted to look at the whole picture rather than simply the words *glioblastoma* at the top of Stu’s medical notes.
Following our initial consultation, Dr Callebout arranged a number of tests that we could carry out at home. While we waited for the results, he gave me a list of supplements and where to buy them so that Stu could get started.
We didn't get to the stage of implementing the full protocol based on all of those test results because Stu died unexpectedly. I did receive the reports afterwards and found them incredibly interesting. We had a follow-up consultation booked for January so that Dr Callebout could take me through them and explain what they meant.
One of the things I valued was his willingness to work alongside the rest of Stu’s medical team. The protocol we were building wasn't intended to replace Stu’s conventional oncology treatment and we made sure his wider medical team knew what he was taking.
WHAT WE PAID IN 2021
Our initial consultation with Dr Callebout cost £350. We also paid for a number of additional tests:
These are the prices we paid in 2021 and are included simply as part of our experience rather than as current pricing.
HINDSIGHT
WHAT WE KNOW NOW THAT WE WISH WE’D KNOWN THEN
I wish we had started working with Dr Callebout much earlier. Some of the detailed information he wanted, including Stu’s CeGaT and Alacris reports, took time to obtain, but there were tests and other parts of the process we could have started sooner.
The problem was that at the beginning of all this **we didn't even know that integrative oncology existed**. We went along with what we were initially told because we didn't know there were other people we could speak to or other questions we could ask.
During our consultation, Dr Callebout told us about another patient with an inoperable glioblastoma whose tumour, he said, had reduced by 80%. At the time, hearing stories like that gave us enormous hope and reassurance that exploring additional approaches wasn't completely ridiculous.
Looking back now, I'd hold that sort of anecdotal experience slightly differently. One person's response can't tell you whether the same approach will work for somebody else, and it isn't the same as clinical evidence. But when you're living with a diagnosis like glioblastoma, I completely understand why those stories matter. They mattered enormously to us.
If I were doing this again, I'd investigate integrative oncology much earlier, but I'd also apply the same rule I've learnt throughout all of this: use additional information to **ask better questions**, make sure everyone involved knows what treatments and supplements are being used and keep conventional oncology involved in the conversation.
DR CALLEBOUT’S DEATH
Very sadly, Dr Callebout died in January 2022. He had been an important figure within the integrative medicine community for many years and his death left a huge gap for his patients, family, friends and colleagues. He had also shown me enormous compassion after Stu died. We had that follow-up consultation planned so I could understand the test results we had received and I will always be grateful for the care he showed us during an absolutely horrendous period of our lives. Had Stu still been alive when Dr Callebout died, I know I would have panicked enormously. By that point he had become an important part of the team we had worked so hard to build around him.
FURTHER READING
There is a long-form interview with Dr Callebout on CANCERactive which gives a much fuller picture of his philosophy and approach to integrative cancer care.
For anyone looking for an integrative oncology practitioner today, please use current sources and check the medical qualifications, professional registration and experience of anyone you're considering working with. Jane McLelland also continues to write about integrative oncology and clinicians working within this field through her current Substack platform.
Originally from Belgium, he trained as a medical doctor and later also trained in areas including acupuncture, homeopathy and naturopathy. He practised in the UK, including from Harley Street, and became well known within the integrative cancer community for combining conventional medical knowledge with nutritional, metabolic and complementary approaches.
We first heard about him through Jane McLelland’s book *How to Starve Cancer*. Jane had been treated by him herself and spoke very highly of him. We also heard about him through other patients and caregivers while researching additional approaches for Stu.
OUR EXPERIENCE
Before our initial consultation, I sent Dr Callebout all of Stu’s medical notes, scans and scan reports and completed extensive questionnaires covering his general health, genetics, hormones and other aspects of his medical history.
There were questions I’d never imagined needing to know the answers to, but that was one of the things that struck me about his approach. He wanted to look at the whole picture rather than simply the words *glioblastoma* at the top of Stu’s medical notes.
Following our initial consultation, Dr Callebout arranged a number of tests that we could carry out at home. While we waited for the results, he gave me a list of supplements and where to buy them so that Stu could get started.
We didn't get to the stage of implementing the full protocol based on all of those test results because Stu died unexpectedly. I did receive the reports afterwards and found them incredibly interesting. We had a follow-up consultation booked for January so that Dr Callebout could take me through them and explain what they meant.
One of the things I valued was his willingness to work alongside the rest of Stu’s medical team. The protocol we were building wasn't intended to replace Stu’s conventional oncology treatment and we made sure his wider medical team knew what he was taking.
WHAT WE PAID IN 2021
Our initial consultation with Dr Callebout cost £350. We also paid for a number of additional tests:
- Brain Neurotransmitter test – £443
- Functional DX Brain Check, G6PD, fatty acids omega-6/omega-3, D-Dimer and free testosterone tests – £1,019
- CEIA test – £609
These are the prices we paid in 2021 and are included simply as part of our experience rather than as current pricing.
HINDSIGHT
WHAT WE KNOW NOW THAT WE WISH WE’D KNOWN THEN
I wish we had started working with Dr Callebout much earlier. Some of the detailed information he wanted, including Stu’s CeGaT and Alacris reports, took time to obtain, but there were tests and other parts of the process we could have started sooner.
The problem was that at the beginning of all this **we didn't even know that integrative oncology existed**. We went along with what we were initially told because we didn't know there were other people we could speak to or other questions we could ask.
During our consultation, Dr Callebout told us about another patient with an inoperable glioblastoma whose tumour, he said, had reduced by 80%. At the time, hearing stories like that gave us enormous hope and reassurance that exploring additional approaches wasn't completely ridiculous.
Looking back now, I'd hold that sort of anecdotal experience slightly differently. One person's response can't tell you whether the same approach will work for somebody else, and it isn't the same as clinical evidence. But when you're living with a diagnosis like glioblastoma, I completely understand why those stories matter. They mattered enormously to us.
If I were doing this again, I'd investigate integrative oncology much earlier, but I'd also apply the same rule I've learnt throughout all of this: use additional information to **ask better questions**, make sure everyone involved knows what treatments and supplements are being used and keep conventional oncology involved in the conversation.
DR CALLEBOUT’S DEATH
Very sadly, Dr Callebout died in January 2022. He had been an important figure within the integrative medicine community for many years and his death left a huge gap for his patients, family, friends and colleagues. He had also shown me enormous compassion after Stu died. We had that follow-up consultation planned so I could understand the test results we had received and I will always be grateful for the care he showed us during an absolutely horrendous period of our lives. Had Stu still been alive when Dr Callebout died, I know I would have panicked enormously. By that point he had become an important part of the team we had worked so hard to build around him.
FURTHER READING
There is a long-form interview with Dr Callebout on CANCERactive which gives a much fuller picture of his philosophy and approach to integrative cancer care.
For anyone looking for an integrative oncology practitioner today, please use current sources and check the medical qualifications, professional registration and experience of anyone you're considering working with. Jane McLelland also continues to write about integrative oncology and clinicians working within this field through her current Substack platform.
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