ENCINITAS, Calif. (KGTV) - For Zach Brown, cancer treatment saved his life but also destroyed his body.
"You get thrown through the wringer with your treatments," Brown says. "It takes a lot of the human being away from you."
Brown underwent Chemotherapy, Radiation, and Radioactive Iodine treatments. When his cancer went into remission, he suffered from a handful of side effects, including neuropathy, digestive problems, and chronic pain.
His search for a cure led Brown to Revivorship Post-Cancer Wellness Center.
"It's one of a kind," he says. "I wish I would have had this place going through my treatments."
Revivorship opened in August of 2021, offering post-cancer patients a handful of holistic methods to deal with the side effects of their treatments. Co-Founder Steve Leisher says it's not a cure for cancer. Instead, it's a way to help manage the side effects of cancer treatment. He created the center to give people an all-in-one option for healing.
"Everything we do here is aligned and designed to help the body heal itself, more efficiently, more quickly," says Leisher. "There is a way to go about bringing you back from the brink of death. Because, basically, that's where they put you."
Revivorship uses acupuncture, massage, meditation, yoga, and more to focus on cancer recovery.
Clinical Director Cosima Lux is also a licensed nurse practitioner who can coordinate treatment with doctors. That adds a level of medical legitimacy to therapies that can sometimes feel a little too "holistic."
Leisher is also working with a handful of local research firms and medical schools on studies that can scientifically quantify the benefit of these therapies.
He believes Revivorship is the first clinic in the nation to pull all of that under one roof.
"There's no place to go like this after treatment," says Leisher. "If somebody's not giving you a road map (to recovery), you don't even know it's out there to do it. And that's where we step in."
The clinic is working with hospitals and cancer centers to get the word out and let patients know they have this option when their treatment ends. Therapy sessions at Revivorship range from $60-125. Leisher is still negotiating with insurance companies to ensure it's covered and help lower the cost.
The entire endeavor is personal for Leisher. He survived head and neck cancer but felt abandoned and destroyed after treatment.
He wants to make sure people know there is a way to heal and a community for support.
"Just the idea that there's something there to help you is hopeful," says Leisher. "You don't feel like you're stuck at home, with no path and no way out of this misery."
That's what keeps patients like Zach coming back. He says Revivorship brought him back to life.
"It really brought me back to life," says Brown. "I'm a new person every time I leave here."
