For cancer patients, treatment follows a regimented course of action tailored to eradicate cancer cells through surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or immunotherapy. But, like most disease treatments, cancer treatments don’t address patients’ mental, emotional, social, or spiritual well-being.
Many hospitals recognize that patients lack support for the side effects, both physical and mental, of fighting cancer. As a response, the Abramson Cancer Center (ACC) at Pennsylvania Hospital created the Holistic Living Challenge. The course gives patients free access to holistic and traditional Chinese medicine resources in a group setting.
Spearheading the program are Wayne Mylin, a Shiatsu therapist, and Abby Wetzel, a clinical dietician. Once a week for seven weeks, patients in various stages of treatment, and their caregivers, meet at the ACC to share their experiences, and learn self-care to improve their physical and mental well-being. Together, they come to terms with the challenges they face as cancer patients, and work to adjust their outlook on this reality.
“The program is all about total-body wellness. The most powerful, efficient, reliable source of prevention and healing is our decision to take responsibility for our health,” Mylin says. “Sometimes it takes a health scare or a level of frustration to kick us into gear, but wherever the motivation comes from, putting the basics first and performing them well makes us active in our own care and enhances our quality of life.”
The Holistic Living Challenge goes beyond the fundamentals of wellness, by involving caregivers in the program, emphasizing healthy relationships, and nurturing a balance of personal and spiritual relationships. When health issues arise, it’s important to determine if a relationship is causing or relieving stress, draining or renewing energy, and supporting your needs or complicating them.
Patients who have completed the program overwhelmingly find it a success. “I had decided to retire finally, so things were already shifting and changing. I finally felt like I had everything sorted out, even though I wasn’t sure what I’d do next. Then I got a routine mammogram, and the beginning of my retirement was surgery and radiation,” explains one patient. “I knew I needed something, but I didn’t know what—and it was all of you.”
Read more at Penn Medicine News.
