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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Simon Cancer Center offers complementary, holistic treatment

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Prior to beginning her cancer treatment at IU’s Simon Cancer Center, Carmon Weaver Hicks had never done yoga. Prior to her current diagnosis, she didn’t know how to relax, either.

Weaver Hicks, a sociology and psychology professor living in Indianapolis, received her first cancer diagnosis in 2006. In addition to her career in academia, she cared for her elderly parents and had a host of other commitments on her already full plate.

Spending time at the hospital was nothing new to her, as she’d frequented doctors’ offices since the age of 13, when she learned she was diabetic. She also ate healthily to manage her weight, and mammograms were taken on what she then felt was a regular basis. At one of the exams, doctors informed her there was a spot on her left breast. She eventually had a mastectomy, but the cancer returned in 2013, this time in her lymph nodes and metastasized in her bones.

Now, she receives an infusion of drugs every few weeks — a method referred to as targeted therapy — and has a bone scan each year.

While she has come to understand that there may be no end date for her cancer, the fear that comes along with it is a non-issue.

In addition to her traditional treatments, Weaver Hicks participates in a host of activities provided by the center free of charge through its CompleteLife program.

The CompleteLife Program is a complementary therapies initiative that addresses the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of patients faced with terminal illnesses and their families.

Services include creative arts therapies (art therapy, music therapy and creative writing), mind-body approaches (yoga, meditation, massage therapy), patient education and support services and support groups.

Weaver Hicks shared jokingly that, although her first yoga session was “weird,” a lot of the activities have helped ease her mind. Her infusion sessions, which typically take over four hours, have transformed from a source of anger to one of inspiration.

“Often when you’re sitting there, you just get mad. Then I thought, well this is stupid … why am I getting all angry? They’re making the medicine for me. I just had to let that go and realize that this is my time,” she said. “It feels so remarkable. I feel refreshed, and my mind is clearer. I can go home afterwards and get a nap in the middle of the day. I never used to do that. I would run, run, run from event to event and work all the time. This has helped me get straight on what matters.”

Stella Snyder, the center’s yoga instructor, said these activities help to put control back into patients’ lives. “I always tell people, the doctors are working on curing you, but you have to work on finding your own healing.”

Dr. Larry Cripe, associate professor of medicine at Simon and founder of the CompleteLife Program, said the idea for offering complementary therapy came to him in the late ’90s and stemmed from wanting to care for the entire person and not just their disease.

“We realized that human needs weren’t being taken care of well in the medical paradigm,” he said. “One of the neat things we’ve discovered is that having this type of program has a halo effect.”

In terms of balancing complementary and traditional regiments, Cripe said physicians should have candid discussions about what is to be expected, in terms of side effects from medicines and chemo, as well as conversations about the importance of patients committing to a course of treatment.

Ultimately, he says, “We want to do everything we can to support them.”

For more information on the CompleteLife program, visit iuhealth.org/simon-cancer-center.

10 most common complementary health approaches among adults

  1. Natural products
  2. Deep breathing
  3. Yoga, tai chi, or qi gong
  4. Chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation
  5. Meditation
  6. Massage
  7. Special diets
  8. Homeopathy
  9. Progressive relaxation
  10. Guided imagery

Source: 2012 National Health Interview Survey

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