Cynthia M. Watson, M.D.

Cynthia M. Watson, M.D. is board certified in family medicine and has a thriving integrated medicine practice in Santa Monica, California, handling all areas of primary care. Dr Watson is known for incorporating conventional medicine with herbal medicine, homeopathy, and nutrition. In her medical practice she specializes in women’s health, bio-identical hormones, anti-aging medicine and intravenous vitamin therapy. Dr. Watson works with various detoxification programs tailored to each patient’s individual needs including, chemicals, mold and heavy metals. She has also assisted many patients in their recovery from cancer and with the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation with nutritional therapy. Dr Watson’s primary focus is  on wellness as a means to achieve greater vitality and extend the quality of life.

“I became aware many years ago of the effect of the spiritual emotional well being on health.  The mind-body connection is powerful.  Because of this orientation, family medicine was the right specialty for me because it is the most holistic of medical specialties in the approach towards wellness and prevention.” Says Watson, who has developed this philosophy and approach due to a wide variety of training in many specialized medical fields.  In 1973, Dr. Watson studied herbal and homeopathic medicine in a one-year work-study program at a naturopathic hospital in the Black Forest region of Germany. From there she returned to the US to complete her bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, graduating Magna Cum Laude. From research she did during her undergraduate training she received an award for Excellence in the Sciences as well as the American Chemical Society Award for Research in Physical Chemistry.

For two years before medical school, she did research in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Southern California School of Medicine. In 1979, she began her medical training at the USC School of Medicine.  During her training, Dr. Watson received scholarship awards from ARCS, an organization set up to provide scholarships to gifted students. She completed medical school in 1983 and completed her residency at USC in the Department of Family Medicine.  In 1999, She completed the acupuncture training at the UCLA School of Medical Acupuncture.

At our July Symposium, Dr. Watson feels that it is of the utmost importance to draw attention to three specific areas in medicine.  Those areas are the prevention of cancer, heart disease and neuro-degenerative disorders, as well as easing the side effects from cancer treatments and understanding the role of bio-identical hormones to reduce the effects of aging.  Dr. Watson states “We have made many strides in prevention with early detection, but overall prevention requires more research especially in the area of neuro-degenerative disorders.”  Furthermore, she believes that an emphasis must be placed on nutrition and diet before treatments of these disorders begin, as they can be heavily debilitating, especially in the realm of cancer.  Afterwards protocols must be in place to restore overall health and well-being.