Whole-Person Cancer Care: Dr. Chloe Atreya’s Integrative Approach
Chloe Atreya, MD, PhD, is an integrative oncologist and affiliate faculty member at the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Health. She co-directs the UCSF Integrative Oncology Program, a research hub that focuses on improving access and addressing disparities in integrative cancer care. Since its launch in 2018, the Integrative Oncology Program has overseen over 20 research pilot projects.
As a physician-scientist, Dr. Atreya conducts research with the goal of improving patient outcomes and enhancing quality of life. Recently, a focus of her work has been group medical visits, which bring together six to twelve patients to receive specialized care during a series of visits. Dr. Atreya co-leads two group medical visit series: Mindfulness Practices to Promote Health During Cancer Treatment and Self-Compassion for Wellbeing for Patients with Cancer. She also designs creative follow-up sessions, with topics like Haiku Writing as a Mindfulness Practice.
“When I’m with a patient in a typical oncology visit, I barely have time to mention practices like meditation,” said Dr. Atreya. “But, in group visits, patients can experience healing techniques—such as breathwork and chair yoga—in their bodies as part of the visit.” To inform quality improvement research, group members complete periodic surveys so the investigators can make adjustments for future groups to better meet patient needs and ultimately improve implementation and access to evidence-informed mind-body practices as part of comprehensive cancer care.
Dr. Atreya is also the faculty principal investigator for the UCSF Art for Recovery program directed by Amy Van Cleve, which provides a safe environment for adults with life-threatening illnesses to express themselves through creative arts. “I have always been passionate about visual arts, so being part of this collaboration that speaks to my professional and personal interests is really special for me,” said Dr. Atreya. Art for Recovery brings visual arts and music programming to both inpatients and outpatients at UCSF. A selection of patient artwork is currently hosted in a special exhibit at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, on display through Spring 2026. Learn more about the collaboration between UCSF’s Art for Recovery and SF MoMA.
Dr. Atreya specializes in gastrointestinal oncology, and her current research aims to understand the recent increase in GI cancer among younger populations. “We are looking at the microbiome to learn about which exposures—food, lifestyle, environmental factors—may be contributing to the uptick of early-onset cases,” said Dr. Areya. To learn more about the potential causes of GI cancer and how to reduce risk, listen to her recent webinar with the Anti-Cancer Lifestyle Program.
