An afternoon of yoga and support

Editor's Note: This article is written by Maureen Oar, RYT at YOGA Loft. She has met all the educational requirements needed to be registered with the national Yogo Alliance and has pursued additional studies in the therapeutic applications to yoga.

As I turned up the heat, turned on the lights, put on the music and swept the floor at the Yoga Loft, I wondered, “How many will come this afternoon?”

People began to arrive. I greeted familiar faces and welcomed new ones. Before I knew it, we had 21 people join us.

Within the group we had, men and women, old and young, people that had never done yoga before and those that were returning for more.

I thought to myself, “This is what yoga is all about.”

Yoga is for every body and can be adapted and adopted to fit all needs. As we introduced ourselves, some people shared what they felt comfortable with and others just spoke their name. What they shared wasn’t important; we knew we were all there to support one another.

Yoga is a way for survivors to manage the symptoms and the stress of cancer, beyond diagnosis and treatment. Just as important for the caregivers, yoga helps us manage the stress of a loved one dealing with the challenges that arise. Next Month, Sunday May 5th, the doors are wide open as we welcome you onto the path of Yoga...

Yoga for the Cancer Journey

Come and learn how yoga can help you to create, stimulate and maintain an optimum state of physican and emotional health.

Cancer survivor and certified yoga instructor Maureen Oar, RYT has met all the educational requirements needed to be registered with the National Yoga Alliance and has pursued additional studies in the therapeutic applications of yoga. This class is created to meet the needs of any level of health and fitness and to support you in modifying your practice appropriately.

Anyone living with cancer, survivors and caregivers are welcome. All classes are located at The Yoga Loft, 219 Legion Way SW, Suite 202, Olympia, 98501. View Flyer >>

• Sunday, May 5, 1-2:20 p.m.
• Sunday, June 2, 1-2:20 p.m.
• Sunday, July 7, 1-2:20 p.m.

Profiling the beginning of Providence Integrative Cancer Care

Recently our very own Rosemary Spyhalsky, Nurse Coordinator for the Providence Integrative Cancer Care Program was profiled by the Oncology Nursing Society’s Special Interest Group for Complementary & Integrative Therapies.

As a passionate advocate of integrative cancer care, Rosemary is board certified in both oncology and holistic nursing. While the focus of the article is meant to guide Rosemary’s peers in starting their own integrative cancer care programs, we thought it was important to profile some of Rosemary’s main points:

The history of our program
At the time when the idea first came to Rosemary to pursue offering body-mind-spirit care to patients, this was a relatively new concept. Some of the major cancer centers offered services such as acupuncture, massage, yoga, etc, but there was nothing like this in the any of the cancer centers located in the South Sound, and the medical community was very skeptical about the benefits of such services. After 3 years of research and work behind the scenes, the program got off the ground in 2007 with oncology massage, yoga, a nutrition class, and acupuncture. Naturopathy was added a year later.

The benefits of connecting the complementary services to medical cancer treatments
According to the National Institute of Health almost half of all Americans use at least one complementary and alternative medicine in addition to their regular medical care, but most do not tell their providers. Having the Integrative Cancer Care Program embedded into Providence Regional Cancer System is a valuable resource for patients. Patients have convenient access to complementary services to utilize in conjunction with their medical cancer treatments and may share more openly with physicians about other treatments they are using if they see such services offered within the cancer clinic. Services offered are safe to use in conjunction with conventional medical care.

The importance of licensure
Establishing requirements for providers was assisted by the fact that in Washington state naturopathy, massage therapy and acupuncture can all be licensed through the Department of Health. Dietitians are certified through the same regulatory body, and also obtain a national certification. In the case of yoga, there is no licensure, so certification through a respected national certification body was a requirement. In addition, when and where possible, specialized oncology training has been sought for providers.

To find out more about the Providence Integrative Cancer Care program please visit the integrative care website at provcancer.org Once there, you can read more about our program, services, and the benefits of complementary care or integrative medicine. You can also view a list of local and national resources by clicking on the Resources tab on the left hand side of the page.

From Hollywood back to Olympia, PRCS welcomes new member

Focus on Oncology Massage: Oncology massage offers support to patients going through cancer treatment and recovery by providing a non-invasive, nurturing, gentle touch. Working with a trained therapist may help relieve pain, nausea, fatigue, anxiety, and depression.

Introducing Cherie Hankal, LMP Born and raised in and around the Pacific Northwest, Cherie Hankal moved to Hollywood, CA right out of high school.

In Los Angeles Cherie fulfilled her childhood dream of becoming an actor by studying at The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. However, it was behind the camera where she found her niche working in production of commercials, television shows, and films, most notably as an assistant director on “Cheers” and “Seinfeld.”

But when her mother was diagnosed with cancer she returned to the Pacific Northwest. Cherie feels it was a gift to be able to give love, care and support back to the woman who raised her.

The experience of assisting with her mother’s treatment gave Cherie the desire to serve more people.

She enrolled in the Massage Program at University of Western States Chiropractic College in Portland, Oregon, with the intent of specializing in Oncology Massage. Her training included various massage modalities along with the required science. In addition, she had the honor of participating in an internship offered by Northwest Cancer Specialists in Portland.

Cherie is thrilled to be joining the team at Providence Integrative Cancer Care. She looks forward to bringing gentle comfort to people in treatment for cancer through the use of massage.

Starting this September Cherie will provide oncology massage on:

• Mondays at Providence Regional Cancer System- Centralia
• Tuesdays at Providence Regional Cancer System- Lacey

For more information or to schedule your appointment call either 360.754.3934 or 1.800.883.8990; option 3, followed by option 5

To find out why training in Oncology Massage is so important to a cancer patient’s safety, click here to read a short article by Gayle MacDonald, author of Medicine Hands: Massage Therapy for People with Cancer.

You might also like:

• Still considering Integrative Care Services? Here's what others are saying
• What can naturopathic care do for me?
• Take a minute, and just breathe

Still considering Integrative Care Services? Here's what others are saying

Integrative Cancer Care Staff & Advisors: Back row: Jana Wiley, LAc, RN, BSN, MPA, OCN; Evan Hirsch, MD, ABHM; Chad Aschtgen, ND, FABNO; Maureen Oar, RYT; Chris Lower, Rosemary Spyhalsky, RN, OCN, HN-BD; Karen Buckley, LICSW, ACSW, OSW-C; Dennis Clarin, MTCM, LAc, Dipl.Ac Front row: James Stegenga, LAc; Joanna Cashman, RN, E-RYT Patients at Providence Regional Cancer System have access to body-mind-spirit resources, which complement traditional therapies, enhance quality of life and encourage the best possible outcomes for the whole person.

Here's what people are saying about these resources:

• I had cancer the first time in early 1980’s; there was no supportive care. I am so grateful to have it for my second (and recent) cancer diagnosis. It has made the healing process (including mental, physical, nutrition and support) all extremely valuable to me in my recovery. Thank you for being in Thurston County!
• I would not want to go through cancer treatment without these services − they all help so much.
• These programs are great and help in all ways to help us fight our battle with [being] 'just a statistic;' gives us more tools for the fight.
• My naturopathy visits have provided a wealth of information to strengthen my diet and supplement program. I feel this has given me the best possible plan to support my traditional treatments.
• One day, out of the blue, it dawned on me that the burning sensation was gone from my feet. Hooray for acupuncture!
• t’s great to have an experienced person doing the massage since deep tissue massage is not good for those during chemo.
• The yoga class is a wonderful journey, interacting with and supporting each other as we go through the cancer journey together.

Integrative Care Services

• Therapeutic Yoga
• Oncology Massage
• Naturopathic Oncology
• Acupuncture
• Nutrition

You might also like:

• Integrative care basics and what others are saying
• Have you considered acupuncture?
• What happens in a yoga class for cancer survivors?

Boosting your gut - Probiotics and chemotherapy

There’s a good body of research around probiotics helping with the side-effects of cancer treatment—especially those currently undergoing chemotherapy.

What are probiotics?
Formally, probiotics are live microorganisms existing in the human body. Informally, probiotics are the good bacteria found in our gut. While that may seem harsh, consider this. When our bodies are functioning correctly there is actually more good bacteria living inside us than there are actual human cells.

So how does this affect chemotherapy?
Chemotherapy is like a really big antibiotic treatment. Its mission is to try and kill as many rapidly dividing “things” in our body—which, unfortunately, includes probiotics. This is a common reason why those undergoing chemotherapy suffer from diarrhea.

There is evidence that a huge dose of probiotics following a chemotherapy session could reinvigorate your gut helping to get your body back on track.

Probiotics is in no way a universal cure for cancer, but it can drastically help the person going through the cancer.

If you think probiotics can help you talk with your doctor about how to safely build probiotics into your cancer treatment plan.

You might also like:

• A few guiding principles around food ...
• Integrative care basics and what others are saying
• Hirsch Holistic Family Medicine Blog (external link)