Testimonials from Our Clients
Dr. Littlefield strikes the perfect balance; she knows when to listen and when to impart her knowledge. She is my go-to person when I need an educator on Integrative Oncology; she is a phenomenal collaborator who always shows up with the latest research and knowledge. A great partner for our providers and patients at the UVM Cancer Center.
When you’re diagnosed with cancer, suddenly a team of specialists forms around you, each with their specific role and expertise. There’s your surgeon, radiation oncologist, medical oncologist, social worker, physical therapist and more. They each have a job to do, and if you’re lucky, they’re really good at their jobs and can guide you through their portion of your cancer experience with positive results. Their role is specific and intentional.
For me, as a nurse with a background in women’s health, getting a diagnosis of breast cancer was overwhelming and scary. I knew so much about the disease and the potential outcomes, and that knowledge was both a blessing and a curse. I understood what everyone was explaining to me about surgery, radiation, testing and medications, and I also knew how lifechanging it was all going to be. I felt – and still do – that I was given a ticket to get on a train that I never wanted to ride and can never get off. The acuity of my situation today is not as heavy as when I was diagnosed, but the weight of the diagnosis will live inside me forever.
I was very fortunate, because my team of specialists was skilled. They each did their part successfully and I trusted them. But skilled as they were, no one on my team sought to treat the whole person sitting before them. They were focused on their part; they were not there to see a patient who was knowledgeable and informed but also terrified and overwhelmed. That is, until I walked into Dr. Littlefield’s clinic.
From our first consultation, I knew that having Dr. Littlefield on my team was going to be profoundly different. She didn’t just want to know about my surgery and my treatment, she wanted to know what I was eating? How was I sleeping? How was my daughter? How was my spirit? How was I managing my role as a nurse? Who was I talking with to process my experience? Dr. Littlefield wanted to understand all of me and how each part of my life was impacted by my diagnosis.
As we continued to work together over the following year and a half, managing all aspects of my life, Dr. Littlefield continued to show up for me. She followed up on my treatment plan, adjusting it as needed, and referred me to other providers whom she trusted when she knew I needed something she could not provide. Above all else, she saw me. She saw me as a cancer patient, as a woman, as a nurse, as a mother and as a daughter.
Long after we’d been working together, I remember chatting with a colleague describing my experience as a patient of Dr. Littlefield’s. I was trying to explain what it was like to feel so deeply supported and to be shown such incredible kindness and holistic care through what was certainly the scariest experience of my life. Ultimately I described her in the only way that truly encapsulated all that she does and how she made me feel. Affectionately referring to her as the “Midwife of cancer”; someone with an expertise in oncology, but who sees the whole person and somehow manages to treat the countless ways that cancer impacts someone’s life.
“THANK YOU for all of your support, knowledge and caring that you showed me over the past few years while I was living in Vermont. I am feeling better than ever. I also think your support and supplements have helped me tremendously.”
“I want to thank you for taking the extra time to talk with me yesterday. I am very thankful to have you as a doctor and love your approach and insight into path of good health.”
“Thank you for our time together yesterday. I felt immediately better. My ability to take those deep bucket handle breaths improved on the table. My energy the rest of the day was better than its been since the flu (11/23).”
“I remember meeting you the first time and you asked me what my goals were and I replied ‘to be ME again’! At that time I could not see a future after the cancer diagnosis. And today I do feel like me again!
During our last visit you mentioned that I did not have a cancer diagnosis anymore which made me think that now I was ready to move on! Working with you has changed my life in so many positive ways. I hear your voice in my head talking, asking me what I have been eating, exercising and doing things for fun!! After every visit with you I left feeling like I could do anything! You have been my cheerleader all these years; now I feel mentally and physically strong enough to do it on my own. I do not have enough words to thank you for all you have done for me over the last seven years.
I love the relationship we have built and I will continue to look for that special quality in my new caregivers going forward.”
“As a patient with cancer, I felt really vulnerable, overwhelmed, and confused. I knew I wanted to do everything I could to get healthy again, but I had no idea where or how to start. Dr. Littlefield made sense of it all for me. She is incredibly smart and knowledgeable, which made me confident. But, it wasn’t only that. She has an extremely kind and compassionate nature—she always made me feel heard and supported, in a way no other doctor did. My appointments with her were a breath of fresh air during a really stressful time in my life.”
“You have been so helpful to me in establishing a good diet after significant weight loss monitoring and advising me on overall health including sleep and exercise, bowel health, thyroid levels, blood pressure and proactively addressing end of life issues and helping me treat the various side effects that I have encountered with my chemotherapies and offered encouragement that has helped me keep going and helped me to feel supported and seen.”
“Getting close to Thanksgiving, I’ve been doing some reflecting on a very tough couple of years. I just wanted to share my sincere gratitude to you and the entire VT Wellness Medicine & Integrative Oncology team!
Seriously, I’ve had some of the WORST medical encounters in the last few months with doctors, technicians, and medical staff that I’ve ever experienced.
But then I think of your team and I feel at ease, I feel cared for, I feel supported, I feel valued, I feel seen and heard. I trust that you’ll work WITH ME to come up with a path forward that honors who I am as an entire person. You literally restore my faith in the medical world when I’m certain I have none left.
Thank you SO much from the bottom of my heart and soul for your thought, care, and craft. I honestly think I’m still alive because of it. I get to be a mom to my little girl still because of it. I truly cannot express deeply enough how much that means.” –
I want to thank Dr. Littlefield so much for her help since last year. I wasn’t sure what an integrative oncologist was at first and now I totally understand. Her guidance and treatment in all the areas of nutrition/diet, sleep supplements etc is so appreciated. I’m glad to be following a regimen that works for me. I’m convinced this holistic approach works as we are seeing the positive results.”
Her communication with me has been forthright, compassionate and informative. I’m truly grateful to be her patient and look forward to more positive outcomes.
“I write to you today to express my sincere gratitude for your care and expertise. My first consultation with you was soon after completing my initial intervention for breast cancer, which included a mastectomy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy and radiation. I am now on maintenance medication, and have periodic screening. It has been a tremendous comfort to be under your care, especially now that the major interventions are behind me. Without your expert oversight, I would not have the confidence to take the appropriate supplements to prevent recurrence, address issues with bone density, minimize the side effects of aromatase inhibitors, and generally support my health, nutrition and well-being. My body thanks you . . . but also my mind thanks you, as we know that feeling optimistic and regaining faith that one’s body can do more right than it does wrong is a key component to health. Thank you so very much!
You are one of the best doctors I have ever worked with and I have always valued my sessions with you so highly.