CancerCARE Center for Intergrative Medicine News Archive Featured in the Media JeffNEWS

The best ‘support groups” live up to their name by offering emotional and spiritual support to participants. They have also been shown to improve the quality of life of patients with illness and those who are recovering.

Cancer survivors—especially breast cancer survivors—are in a special category because of the internal turmoil and feelings of guilt they often carry.

Recognizing that, a series of supportive programs, geared toward helping women who have cancer learn the skills to live better and feel better, are being offered at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson, a National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated cancer center.

These are not the “talk it out” stereotype support groups.  Rather, these programs have the very focused goal of increasing women’s options for decreasing stress and improving quality of life. The program consists of eight weekly sessions, which are open to women diagnosed with cancer or recurrence within three years, including those who are currently in active treatment. Participants must be at least 21 years old.

Parking or public transportation will be provided.

“The overall goal of this work is to empower patients with innovative ways of coping and to help them achieve a positive outlook at a time when things may not seem so rosy,” said  Daniel Monti, M.D., Executive and Medical Director of the Jefferson-Myrna Brind Center for Integrative Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University.

The program is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Cancer Institute Office of Cancer Survivorship, through a $2 million grant to study how to improve health-related quality of life and decrease stress in women with cancer.

“It is often very distressing to receive a diagnosis of cancer, and enduring the available treatments can be a very difficult process. The program provides participants with an avenue to help them cope with the distress of a cancer diagnosis, which could be considered a life-threatening illness,” said Kathryn Kash, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Jefferson. “We hope to know much more about how to help women with cancer cope better with this significant life event.”

For more information about the Cancer Support Program, call 1-800-JEFF-NOW.