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Home » Uncategorized

About Us

Soil to Soul Nutrition Team: Amber, Heather, Melissa

WHO WE ARE

Soil to Soul Nutrition is a global virtual nutrition consulting practice supporting people navigating cancer, autoimmunity, and complex chronic illness through terrain-based metabolic strategies.

Founded by Heather Cooan, MBA, ONC, FDNP, NTP, the practice is built around a single principle: Deep Nourishment. Every input across every dimension of your life either builds your body toward wellness or depletes it toward disease. Food, sleep, stress, relationships, environment, and what you carry emotionally. All of it counts, and the balance is always moving in one direction or the other.

Conventional medicine targets the disease. We support the person navigating it, helping you understand your disease process, identify the levers you can pull, and build as much capacity as possible to live well alongside your diagnosis. Those are different questions, and they require a different kind of support.

There is an old idea worth taking seriously: if you do not change direction, you will end up where you are headed. We are here to help you see the full picture and change the inputs that are moving you in the wrong direction.

We are non-licensed nutrition consultants. We do not diagnose, prescribe, or direct medical decisions. We work alongside your physician-led care team, not instead of it.

OUR APPROACH

Our philosophy is Deep Nourishment. Every input across every dimension of your life either builds your body toward wellness or depletes it toward disease. Food, sleep, stress, relationships, environment, and what you carry emotionally. All of it counts, and the balance is always moving in one direction or the other.

The Whole Terrain Systems Analysis is how we put that into practice. It is a clinical framework for reading the full terrain: eight internal body systems, the nervous system running beneath them, genetic predisposition as the foundation beneath that, and the external environment as the context within which all of it exists. We use it to identify exactly where capacity is being lost and what needs to change.

There is no script. We read your data, build a bio-individual strategy paced to what you can actually sustain, and refine it continuously as your terrain evolves.

WHY WE EXIST

Most people navigating cancer, autoimmunity, or complex chronic illness encounter a system that is excellent at acute intervention and poorly equipped for everything else. The metabolic picture. The nervous system load. The environmental inputs. The emotional terrain that shapes physiology as directly as anything on a lab panel. These do not fit neatly into a fifteen-minute appointment, and they rarely get addressed at all.

The gap between what the conventional system offers and what people actually need is where Soil to Soul was built.

Heather navigated that gap herself. A vulvar cancer diagnosis emerged from a rare autoimmune condition that went undiagnosed for 25 years, alongside Hashimoto's and complex PTSD. The medical system had answers for some of it. It had no framework for the whole terrain. She built one.

Melissa came to this work after 25 years in pediatric oncology and hospice, watching patients' children return as adults with secondary cancers, and understanding that the system she had devoted her career to was not asking the right questions.

Amber came through her own health crisis. Years of chronic illness and a rare, aggressive breast cancer diagnosis pushed her beyond the edges of conventional answers into the terrain-based and bioenergetic work that now anchors her practice.

None of us arrived here academically. We arrived here because the gap was real, the need was clear, and the conventional model was not going to fill it on its own.

HOW WE WORK

Every client engagement begins with a comprehensive whole terrain assessment. We review medical history, current prescriptions and treatments, lab work, genetics, lifestyle, environmental inputs, nervous system patterns, and goals to build a complete picture of where your terrain stands and where allostatic load is highest.

From there, we develop a bio-individual nutrition and lifestyle strategy designed to reduce allostatic load, support adaptive capacity, and build your terrain toward wellness, paced to what you can actually sustain right now.

We collaborate closely with your medical team. Whether you are working with oncologists, specialists, functional medicine physicians, or practitioners trained in metabolic approaches, we make sure everyone is aligned and working from the same picture.

Our support is ongoing. Terrain is not optimized in a single session. We gather data continuously, refine strategy as your capacity and terrain evolve, and stay alongside you as the work unfolds.

Whole Terrain Assessment

Medical history, current treatments, lab work, genetics, lifestyle, environmental inputs, nervous system patterns, and goals. A complete picture of where your terrain stands and where allostatic load is highest.

Bio-Individual Strategy

A nutrition and lifestyle strategy designed to reduce allostatic load and support adaptive capacity. Paced to what you can actually sustain right now. Your data determines the direction.

Medical Team Collaboration

We work alongside your oncologists, specialists, and every other practitioner involved in your care. Everyone aligned, everyone working from the same picture.

Ongoing Support

Terrain is not optimized in a single session. We gather data continuously, refine strategy as your capacity evolves, and stay alongside you as the work unfolds.

WHO WE SERVE

We work with people navigating active cancer treatment or survivorship, people navigating autoimmune conditions, and those living with complex chronic illness that has not responded to conventional approaches alone.

We specialize in the cases others turn away. Multiple cancers. Rare presentations. Stacked diagnoses. Missing anatomy. Developmental and physical disabilities. Clients in active treatment with narrow margins. And those navigating the end of life, for whom quality of daily experience is the whole point.

Cancer
Active treatment, survivorship, multiple primaries, rare and advanced presentations
Autoimmunity
Hashimoto's, lichen sclerosus, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, MS, and stacked diagnoses
Complex Chronic Illness
Cases that have not responded to conventional approaches alone
Rare and Stacked
Rare genetic conditions, missing anatomy, multiple diagnoses running concurrently
Disabilities
Developmental and physical disabilities requiring adaptive strategies
End of Life
Quality of daily experience is the whole point. We stay present through every stage of the journey.

These are not edge cases for us. They are the center of our practice.

We work with clients globally through a virtual platform. If your case is complex, your situation is difficult, and you want to understand what is actually happening in your body and what you can do about it, you are exactly who we built this for.

WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT

We Work the Cases Others Won't
Complexity is not a reason to decline a client. It is a reason to bring more precision, more care, and a better framework.
Our Team Has Worked Inside the Conventional System
Pediatric oncology, hospice, cardiology, and hospital-based care at major institutions. We have seen what it does well and where it consistently falls short. We left it to build something that addresses its omissions.
We Practice From Principles, Not Protocols
Your data, your capacity, and your lived experience determine the strategy. There is no script.
We Address the Terrain You Cannot See
Unprocessed emotions, chronic nervous system dysregulation, and depleting environmental inputs shape physiology as directly as anything measurable on a lab panel. We address all of it.
We Do Not Default to Supplements
Many people arrive here carrying what we think of as supplement PTSD. Years of functional medicine and naturopathic workups that ended with a bag full of bottles and not much else. Running tests and handing someone a supplement protocol is not terrain work. It is a different version of the same protocol-driven, symptom-targeted thinking used in conventional medicine, just with different tools.
Food, Lifestyle, Environment, and Nervous System Regulation Come First. Always.
Supplements are temporary support while foundational work takes hold, and in many cases, the foundation is what was missing all along.
We Do Not Step Back When Things Get Hard
Active treatment, survivorship, and end-of-life care receive the same level of precision and the same quality of presence. Our team includes a certified death doula and a former hospice nurse. We support you through every stage.
We Collaborate, We Do Not Compete
We work alongside your oncology team, your physicians, and every other practitioner involved in your care. Coordinated care is not optional. It is the model.

OUR VALUES

Radical Self-Care
We cannot support others from an empty cup. Every member of this team prioritizes their own health and capacity, not as a luxury, but as a prerequisite for doing this work well.
Radical Candor
We care personally and we challenge directly. We will tell you the truth, especially when it is difficult. We expect the same from you.
Progress Is Not Linear
The path through complex illness is not a straight line. We meet setbacks with curiosity, not judgment, and extend that same grace to ourselves.
Personal Accountability
We hold ourselves to high standards and expect genuine commitment from our clients and partners. Excellence in this work requires everyone to show up.

MEET THE TEAM

Heather Cooan - Functional Oncology Nutritionist

Heather Cooan

MBA, ONC, FDNP, NTP

Deep Nourishment Practitioner

"We all have more control over our health than we ever thought possible. What we eat, the community we cultivate, and how we live our lives all matter in our health."

Melissa Kichler, Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner

Melissa Kichler

BSN, FDNP, Former RN

Deep Nourishment Practitioner

"Chasing symptoms is a patch that may buy you some time. Real and lasting wellness results from deliberate daily habit changes. "

Andrea Schaffer

Amber Andrasek

BA Psych, ADN, BWS, FMP, Former RN

Deep Nourishment Practitioner

"There is hope and empowerment in addressing our modern lifestyles. So many premature losses can be avoided."

Client Success Stories

Every client story is different. Every terrain is different. Read what people are experiencing as they work toward living well alongside their diagnosis.

Read Success Stories
Client success stories from Soil to Soul Nutrition.
Bowl of fresh fruit and a plant with copy that says book your intro consultation today.

Book Your Intro

Book a 45-minute intro consultation with Heather. You will discuss your goals, how we can help, and which service package and consultant is right for you. Service FAQs.

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Heather Cooan - Functional Oncology Nutritionist

Hi, I'm Heather!

I'm an Integrative Metabolic Oncology Nutrition Consultant and lived experience mentor providing education, data-driven nutritional recommendations, and trauma-informed strategic environmental and lifestyle design for those living with cancer, autoimmunity, and complex chronic illness.

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Disclaimer: Terrain-based oncology nutrition consulting is not medical nutrition therapy and does not diagnose, treat, manage, or cure any disease. It is intended to support the proper functioning of biological systems as adjunct support to your licensed healthcare provider's treatment plan. Personalized diet, lifestyle, and environmental recommendations aim to optimize well-being but are not a substitute for medical care. Any lab or genetic information used is solely for personalizing diet and lifestyle, not for diagnosing or treating disease. You are required to work with a licensed healthcare provider, including a primary care practitioner and, if you have or have had cancer, a medical oncologist. All recommendations, including supplements and labs, must be approved by your healthcare provider before implementation. Heather Cooan and the other consultants at Soil to Soul Nutrition’s role is to provide support and guidance, not to replace your physician's care.

Affiliate Disclosure: Many outgoing links on HeatherCooan.com and SoiltoSoulNutrition.com are affiliate links. If you purchase a product after clicking an affiliate link, I receive a small percentage of the sale for referring you, at no extra cost to you. HDC Brands participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

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