About Jeannine

Jeannine has extensive experience in cancer education and advocacy, health care policy, and both conventional and integrative cancer care. Her career includes work in the U.S. Congress, government agencies, cancer non-profit organizations, health care practices, and other health care businesses. After a few years in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Legislative Aide, she was a policy advocate and lobbyist at the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship and assisted the President at the Children’s Cause for Cancer Advocacy. Jeannine was chosen as the first person to serve in the Food and Drug Administration's Patient Consultant Program as an advocate in the cancer drug development process, and also selected as a consumer representative in a National Cancer Institute Cooperative Group where she offered the patient's perspective about clinical trials design. Jeannine reached a point where her work needed to include more than the cancer diagnosis and instead the whole person. As a writer, trainer, and spokesperson, Jeannine then educated the public about some aspects of complementary health care through the National Institutes of Health National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Clearinghouse. In 2004, Jeannine began her business Healing Focus providing writing, marketing, coaching and other consulting services to clients such as the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, EmergingMed, Cancer Information and Support Network, site specific cancer non-profits, and health care practices. For several years she co-founded a non-profit called EmbodiWorks about integrative cancer care. Jeannine’s work evolved to her own business with services at JeannineWalston.com in educating, coaching, writing and consulting, as well as public speaking while sharing information and inspiration to support optimal health and healing with or without cancer. She has been published in magazines, other media, and spoken before many groups. All of our parts exist in relation to the whole. Jeannine’s personal health care experiences, especially her journey with a brain tumor since March 1998, deeply inform her work and enrich her perspective.

"We chose several writers to create our non-profit's website as the scope is large and varied. CISN hired Jeannine Walston because she combines several unique talents, including her research skills that ensure we have the latest evidence-based content, her ability to take complex information and translate it into understandable language, and her even rarer gift to somehow convey a sense of compassion in her writing so people in pain can read difficult information and come away with a sense of peace and strength."
-Peggy Devine, Founder and President, Cancer Information and Support Network

“Jeannine’s passion, professionalism, and commitment to excellence served our organization well. She was a pleasure to work with and we look forward to engaging her in our work in the future.”
-Doug Ulman, President & CEO, Lance Armstrong Foundation

“Jeannine’s professional experiences, listening skills, and superb writing talents are hallmarks of the finished product she delivers.”
-Naomi Berkowitz, former Executive Director, American Brain Tumor Association

“Jeannine Walston has served as Manager and Contributing Writer to our quarterly newsletter for several years. Her research and interview skills on prostate cancer prevention are top-notch, and she is constantly reliable.”
-Terry Roe, Vice Chair, Alliance for Prostate Cancer Prevention (APCaP)

Healing Focus Associates

Depending on project scope and client needs, Jeannine may work with other consultants on deliverables.