One major highlight of the first quarter calendar will be the first session of what is to become a series on Navigating Cancer with Carole O’Toole, who serves as Smith Center’s Director of Integrative Navigation, coaching patients and training others to be Cancer Navigators. She will facilitate the new group series based off of the holistic navigation model she developed in 1996. In this first session of the series, entitled “Charting Your Journey,” O’Toole will provide integrative resources for self-navigation and care to newly diagnosed patients, individuals in the early stages of treatment, and caregivers. “Opportunities for healing present very differently for each person, but feeding the spirit is essential in living well with cancer. Accessing these opportunities can be enhanced through journaling, seeking moments of solitude, and finding joy along the way,” says O’Toole.
Smith Center will also offer a four-part Yoga & Group Support series for people with cancer, to begin in
February 2013. Each class begins with one hour of gentle yoga, followed by one
hour of therapeutic group support. “Yoga & Group Support” is led experienced
yoga instructor Corrin Bennett, and Ted Billings, a seasoned therapist who leads
many of Smith Center’s Weeklong Cancer Retreats. This combination of activities
has been shown to be particularly useful for some people in breaking through
anxiety, fear, and stress, when other therapies can’t. The two-hour program
begins with an hour of yoga-based stretching, deep breathing, and movement that
puts participants in a relaxed and aware state which enables them to begin to
heal.
For those interested in nutrition, a highlight will be Eating for a Lifetime: Cooking for People with Cancer with oncology nurse, expert chef, and culinary translator Laura Pole. Therapeutic creative expression classes include Miniature Shrines to Love & Humanity, and SoulCollage® Studio: New Beginnings, New Possibilities. Young Adult Cancer Survivors at Smith Center (YACS) will host a Round-Table Discussion with renowned speaker Julia Rowland, who serves as the Director of the Office of Survivorship at the National Cancer Institute.
Smith Center will continue to offer informative talks and programs in 2013,
such as a discussion, Advances in
Breast Cancer Research in January 2013, and Dimensions of Healing With Cancer: Our
Philosophy Based on 17 Years of Weeklong Cancer Retreats with Shanti
Norris, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Smith Center, in March 2013. Smith
Center also looks forward to hosting Opening
to Life: The Pursuit of Authenticity a talk by author and self-awareness
teacher Robert Rabbin, in March
2013.
Smith Center’s programs are tailored to the needs of those affected by cancer, but many are open to the community, and especially to caregivers and healthcare professionals.
We are committed to making all of its programs affordable and accessible to anyone who could benefit from them. Many classes are offered free of charge or at low cost. Scholarship assistance is also available.
See the full schedule or programs and register now!