The Important Blood Work Your Oncologist Isn’t Ordering (But You Should Know About)

When you're navigating cancer treatment (or even post-treatment life), it's natural to focus on the biggest threat: the cancer itself. That's exactly what your oncologist is trained to do. Their job is critical — making sure treatments are killing cancer cells, monitoring side effects, and adjusting therapies as needed. And they do it well.

But here's the truth: there's a major piece missing.

Most oncologists are laser-focused on the disease —not on your overall health. They’re not routinely checking for other factors that could be contributing to your symptoms, your recovery, or your future risk of recurrence.

That’s where functional and integrative medicine professionals like myself come in. Our goal is to monitor your health and optimize it — because a stronger, healthier body is key to reducing recurrence risk and feeling your best long-term.

Today, I want to share a few critical blood tests that often get overlooked... and why they matter so much.

IGF-1: The Growth Factor You Shouldn’t Ignore

What is IGF-1?

Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1) plays a major role in cell growth, healing, muscle and bone strength, and even brain function. It's influenced by both growth hormone and insulin levels.

In short: you need some IGF-1 for healthy recovery — but too much can cause problems.

Why does it matter for cancer survivors?

Higher levels of IGF-1 have been associated with increased risks of several cancers, including colorectal and breast cancer. Excess IGF-1 stimulates rapid cell growth and blocks apoptosis (natural cell death), creating an environment where cancer cells can thrive and spread.

By monitoring IGF-1 levels, we can make more informed decisions about nutrition, supplements, and lifestyle choices to create a cancer-resistant body. For more info on IGF-1 CLICK HERE to read another blog post.

Fasting Insulin and Glucose: Your Hidden Risk Factors

What are fasting insulin and fasting glucose?

These tests measure how your body handles sugar and insulin — and together, they allow us to calculate your HOMA-IR score, a measure of insulin resistance.

Why are they critical after cancer?

Insulin resistance is closely linked to the development of colon, breast, and endometrial cancers.

It also:

• Makes weight loss harder (and excess weight increases recurrence risk)

• Increases systemic inflammation and boosts IGF-1 levels

• Disrupts healthy metabolic processes, creating a more cancer-friendly environment

• Alters gene expression, helping cancer cells survive

• Lowers the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiation and raises the risk of recurrence

Monitoring these markers allows us to intervene early — using personalized nutrition, exercise, and supplements — to get blood sugar and insulin levels back in check.

Cholesterol Panel: It’s Not Just About Your Heart

What’s involved?

We look at your standard cholesterol panel — and if needed, advanced markers like apoB and lipoprotein(a).

Why is cholesterol important after cancer?

Cancer treatments often stress the liver, your body’s main cholesterol manager. Plus, many therapies can raise cholesterol levels long-term, increasing your risk of heart disease.

Monitoring cholesterol from the start lets us spot problems early — and take action with diet, supplements, or other interventions before they snowball into bigger issues.

hsCRP: Your Inflammation Meter

What is hsCRP?

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) is a marker of systemic inflammation and heart health.

Why does it matter in your cancer journey?

Too much inflammation can derail cancer treatment. Higher hsCRP post-treatment can signal a changing internal environment that's more favorable to cancer growth. Heart health is crucial: more women who have had breast cancer die from cardiovascular disease than from cancer recurrence.

Tracking hsCRP gives us a window into your healing process — and lets us adjust your care plan to support both cancer prevention and heart health. For more information on inflammation and cancer, CLICK HERE.

Vitamin D: The Unsung Hero of Cancer Prevention

What is Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that acts more like a hormone in the body, playing a crucial role in immune function, inflammation control, and even genetic expression.

Why is it vital after cancer?

Low levels of vitamin D have been associated with higher risks of several cancers, including breast, colon, and prostate cancer. Vitamin D helps regulate cell growth, promotes apoptosis (healthy cell death of abnormal cells), and strengthens your immune system’s ability to spot and destroy potential cancer cells early. Deficiency in vitamin D is incredibly common, even among people living in sunny climates, and can easily go unnoticed without testing.

Optimizing your vitamin D level is one of the simplest, most powerful ways to help protect yourself from recurrence, support immune resilience, and improve your overall vitality.

How These Tests Shape Your Plan (And Your Future)

Knowledge is power — and in this case, it’s the power to personalize your recovery and prevention strategies.

When we have detailed information about your blood sugar, cholesterol, inflammation, IGF-1, and vitamin D levels, we can:

• Prioritize specific health risks, foods, supplements, and exercise

• Build an individualized macronutrient breakdown for you (the right balance of carbs, proteins, and fats)

• Adjust supplements to target specific needs (like blood sugar or inflammation support)

• Identify when further functional testing is needed

For example, if your IGF-1 is high, we may introduce fasting strategies and avoid supplements like zinc and whey protein that can boost it further.

If blood sugar is creeping up, we can focus on low-glycemic foods and specific exercise protocols that improve insulin sensitivity.

If vitamin D is low, we can tailor a safe supplementation and monitoring plan to get it back to protective levels while ensuring your bone scans are up-to-date.

This isn’t guesswork — it’s smart, targeted, and proactive health care.

Other important labs I often recommend (but won’t dive into today) include:

• Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) - measuring the strength of your immune system

• Ferritin (iron storage) - important for energy and monitoring inflammatory levels

• Vitamin B12 - important for energy and nerve health

• Magnesium - commonly depleted with chemo and surgery

Each one gives us a deeper look at how your body is truly doing — not just whether the cancer is gone.

If you want to dive deeper into how to stay cancer-free and take control of your health, I invite you to join me in my next Staying Cancer Free Workshop. I'll show you the first steps you need to take to build resilience from the inside out!

👉 Save your spot here: www.FlourishAfterCancer.com/workshopsignup