- April 18, 2024
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Dr. James Young is one of just a handful of physicians in the country whose main practice focuses on treating cancer patients.
The chiropractic physician and his team at Port Orange Chiropractic and Oncology Supportive Care, where he is the owner, work with oncologists, hospitals and support groups in the area to help individuals undergoing any kind of cancer-related treatment. According to Young, there is almost always some degree of pain when going through cancer treatment with the norm being prescribed opioid pain medications, such as oxycodon and hydrocodon.
"People want options now," Young said. "They want something different. They hear about bad side effects and negative press about this and it's very real."
What Young has set out to do is give those individuals another option. By working with the patients' oncologist and primary care doctors, he has aimed to help cancer patients with various conditions, whether that is overall pain, muscle tightness or an inability to do the activities they were involved with in the past.
Young calls it getting patients' quality of life back. It's become a part of his chiropractic business that has grown and where he hopes to continue expanding.
The physician's journey to where he currently is started at a young age. When he was still in elementary school he participated in a project where students had to do research on different careers. Young chose chiropractic medicine, eventually shadowing a doctor for about six months and working in the office about eight hours a week.
"It was amazing to me how we would have some patients come in where we would have to help them walk in or carry them in so they could walk out," Young said. "That just blew my mind and I knew from there this was what I want to do."
Young's motivation for pursuing a chiropractic career also came from seeing his father, who worked in construction, come home with back pain and related issues. Young became the first person from his family to go to college when he attended the University of South Florida.
He graduated in 2006 and immediately decided he wanted to open his own practice and did just that. Port Orange Chiropractic and Oncology Supportive Care has now been open for ten years, and has become a success despite what Young calls a "tough road getting there" and "starting with absolutely nothing."
The practice now has three chiropractors, three massage therapists and about a dozen staff. A few years ago Young started incorporating oncology supportive care. According to Young, he began seeing cancer patients not getting the help they needed from hands-on professionals.
Young decided to take some time and see what he could do for the unique needs of these individuals. Young said there was risk in doing this but he was able to find places that were providing this kind of treatment. One place was the Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Atlanta.
Young spent some time visiting the facilities and meeting with doctors to understand their guidelines for treating cancer patients.
Fast forward several years and Young also has two massage therapists who are preferred oncology care massage therapists, which means they have had a substantial amount of training to help people going through specific cancer treatments. Including the two therapists, there are only 30 in Florida who hold this title, according to Young.
Looking ahead, Young is planning for a larger office in the area but says he is trying to take small steps.
He is also preparing for his newly appointed role at the 2018 chairman of the board for the Port Orange South Daytona Chamber of Commerce.
In the meantime, he is doing what he is passionate about — helping others.
"I love giving people a positive outlook and being able to watch people progress," Young said. "It's very rewarding."
