Survivor's Day at CINJ

For the past few months I have had the privilege to have been a member of the  Survivor's Day committee at The Cancer Institute of NJ(CINJ) .  The theme for this year's event was iSurvive...  iThrive.

Yesterday as patients came through the revolving door at CINJ they were greeted by the nurses, doctors researchers and staff . There were many hugs and hand shakes and "it is great to see you" .
The day began with some participants taking part in a tour of two research laboratories .
Then the break-out session started in rooms throughout the center. Here are some of the topics the patients could choose from:
 iTailor Treatments- the science behind personalized medicine
iIntegrate- complementary medicine
iParticipate- the importance of clinical trials
iGraze- healthy eating
iBreathe- letting go of stress
iMove- activity during and after treatment

I attended the iIntegrate and iMove sessions. Meg McQuarrie from the Elixir Fund spoke about meditation, acupuncture and yoga and other forms of complimentary medicine but the best part being able to learn some Jin Shin Jyutsu moves. I know I can easily put what I learned to practice.

The iMove session with Lexi Anderson from the LiveSTRONG at the YMCA and  Dr Coups a behavioral therapist from CINJ explained how patients should not be sedentary during and after treatment but that we should try to be active every day. The goal is to reach 150 minutes per week of moderate activity. They explained that activity does not have to necessarily be a sport , like tennis or basketball but could include walking, gardening, riding a bike, swimming and even cleaning the house. They also said the150 minutes does not have to be in 30 or 40 minute chunks of time but 10 minutes here and there throughout the day are helpful too.

After the sessions we all went over to the atrium of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital for an interactive lunch. After a brief exercise session by LiveSTRONG at the YMCA,  Panera bread demonstrated how to make a healthy salad. Thanks Panera for the delicious food.

I saw many fellow ovarian and breast cancer survivors and their caregivers a well as many of the nurses and receptionists I know from the clinic. But I think Dr Susan Goodin , Associate Director of Clinical Trials said it best a lunch Survivors Day for  her is like a "family reunion."Indeed, it was.

Dee
Every Day is a Blessing!

LiveSTRONG at the Y is now at the Princeton Family YMCA

Here is an e-mail from Denise at the Princeton Family YMCA>

"LIVESTRONG at the YMCA is a twelve-week, small group program designed for adult cancer survivors. This program fulfills the important need of supporting the increasing number of cancer survivors who find themselves in the transitional period between completing their cancer treatment and the shift to feeling physically and emotionally strong enough to attempt to return to their normal life.

Our goal is to help participants build muscle mass and muscle strength, increase flexibility and endurance and improve functional ability. Additional goals include reducing the severity of therapy side effects, preventing unwanted weight changes and improving energy levels and self esteem. A final goal of the program is to assist participants in developing their own physical fitness program so they can continue to practice a healthy lifestyle, not only as part of their recovery, but as a way of life. In addition to the physical benefits, the program provides participants a supportive environment and a feeling of community with their fellow survivors, YMCA staff and members.

YMCA fitness instructors work with each participant to fit the program to their individual needs. The instructors are trained in the elements of cancer, post rehab exercise and supportive cancer care. Our first program will begin on Monday, August 1^st and will run every Monday and Wednesday from 1:30pm to 2:45pm for twelve weeks.

The program is free for cancer survivors and the participants will have access to the YMCA facility for the full twelve weeks, not just on program days. We hope to add an additional class in the evenings sometime soon but at this time, we can only offer it during the day. I noticed that you are the Coordinator for MCCC so I hope that you will pass this message along to your local survivors. We welcome everyone at any stage in their cancer journey and they can contact me directly if they are interested in participating or learning more.

Thank you!

Best,

Denise

Denise Soto

Development and Communications Director

Princeton Family YMCA

59 Paul Robeson Place

Princeton, NJ 08540

609-497-9622 x209

Fax: 609-497-2140

dsoto@princetonymca.org

www.princetonymca.org

This is a fabulous program and I am happy to see it expand to Y's throughout the state of NJ.

Dee

Every Day is a Blessing!