Congress Abstracts 2003

133

MEETING PATIENT NEEDS: INTEGRATING A HEALING ARTS PROGRAM TO CANCER CARE AND INTRODUCING THEM IN A UNIQUE AND MEANINGFUL WAY. Patrick McLaughlin, MD, and Kelly Sakalian, RN, MSN, CS, AOCN^®, Providence Hospital, Southfield, MI.

Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation have long been standard treatments for cancer. In addition to these therapies that focus on disease, there exists a healing tradition, which emphasizes not only the disease, but also the individual. These two approaches should not be seen as mutually exclusive, but as complementary to each other. With the understanding that many patients are already seeking complementary therapies before, during, and after cancer treatment, a healing arts program was developed. The primary goal of the program is to augment state-of-the-art clinical care with a healing arts program that supports cancer patients along their journey. The programs address the person as a whole, including body, mind, and spirit. Included are programs on spirituality, patient education, art, massage, Reiki, music therapy, meditation, humor, exercise, journaling, and nutrition.

To introduce the variety of healing arts programs available to cancer patients and their support people, Boost Camp, a daylong orientation program, was made available. Served up like a “Whitman’s sampler,” Boost Camp is informational, interactive, engaging, and highly entertaining. Boost Camp is held once a month and gives participants a chance to meet the practitioners, try out each of the programs, ask questions, and learn about the healing arts programs. Throughout the day, participants receive healing tools to add to their toolkits from each of the different healing arts practitioners. By the end of the day, each participant goes home with a wide array of small treasures.

Since the inception of the program in December 2000, 310 patients and their support people have attended. The response to the program by the participants has been overwhelmingly favorable. The evaluations showed that the participants would recommend the program to a friend, and Boost Camp definitely, or mostly, provided an orientation to the healing arts programs. Data regarding programs patients are attending or those that they have an interest in will be presented.

We believe that our healing arts program offers the cancer patient a unique approach to healing the body, mind, and spirit. The presentation of the programs in a one-day program has proven to be very effective.