Tag: Breast Cancer

PART 2/4. This program series is being offered virtually through Zoom. If you missed the first session, please email carla@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Jodi Kanter, PhD

Your Body's Story - Cancer Body Image

Body image may shift in cancer patients due to the presence of a tumor, breast asymmetry and size related to treatment and surgical intervention, changes in weight, or alterations of the skin. “Your Body’s Story” is a place to explore your relationship with your body in the past, present and future.

 

Our exploration will utilize a variety of creative media: improvisational movement, improvisational conversation, writing, and visual art.

Our goal will be to achieve a more integrated sense of our somatic experiences as they have changed and will continue to change throughout cancer survivorship.

 

Most research into trauma-informed approaches to wellness suggests that processing the trauma is central to healing. Expressive arts therapies provide aesthetic distance from trauma, even as they encourage representation of the trauma.

In particular, drama therapy allows us to intervene in our traumatic experiences in ways that were impossible at the time of its occurrence. Drama therapy also enables us to actively project into and thereby shape our experience of trauma moving forward.

Your Body’s Story is open to female-identifying cancer patients and survivors at any stage in their journey. The series will be offered as a 4-part program series on:

  • Fridays, April 1, 8, 22 & 29, 2022, 1:00 – 3:00pm EST

Participants are encouraged to attend all four sessions. Please let us know in advance if you are unable to attend all sessions.

Suggested Donation: $10/session or $35/series

About Jodi Kanter

Jodi Kanter

Jodi has been involved in theater since she was ten years old. She grew up acting and studying performance in American theater’s “Second City,” Chicago Illinois.  She is currently a professor of theatre in the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at George Washington University, where she has been on faculty for nearly fifteen years. Her academic work in theater includes her book, Performing Loss: Strengthening Communities Through Theatre and Writing (2007). Jodi’s focus on performance as a tool for individual and social healing and change has led her to create workshops, events and productions in a wide variety of settings including hospitals, schools, and prisons. Most recently, she co-created a four-month diversity and inclusion program for members of DC’s fourteen Neighborhood Village associations using the methodology of Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed. Jodi holds a PhD. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in dramatherapy at Lesley University.

This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Lauren Trosch, PT, DPT, OCS

How to Support Your Pelvic Floor

Problems with your pelvic floor can contribute to urinary leaking, difficulty going to the bathroom, and pain with intimacy. You can experience pelvic floor problems throughout your lifetime, from childhood through adulthood. Illness, medications, and surgeries may also contribute to embarrassing pelvic floor issues.

 

To better understand and manage your pelvic floor problems, join us for our talk!

 

What we’ll talk about:

  • Common pelvic floor problems like urinary and bowel incontinence, constipation, and painful sex
  • Why are they happening?
  • What can you do to help with these embarrassing issues

About Lauren Trosch, PT, DPT, OCS

Lauren Trosch

Lauren is a pelvic floor physical therapist and orthopedic clinical specialist who helps those with pelvic pain, sexual dysfunction, and bowel and bladder dysfunction in the DC Metro region.
She is very active in the local and international pelvic health community, and serves as the Multimedia Education Manager for the Academy of Pelvic Health. She helps to educate pelvic floor providers through the Academy of Pelvic Health, International Pelvic Pain Society, and the international pelvic floor education platform – My Pelvic Floor Muscles. She also hosts a local scientific journal club for DMV pelvic floor providers.

This program series is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Jodi Kanter, PhD

Your Body's Story - Cancer Body Image

Body image may shift in cancer patients due to the presence of a tumor, breast asymmetry and size related to treatment and surgical intervention, changes in weight, or alterations of the skin. “Your Body’s Story” is a place to explore your relationship with your body in the past, present and future.

 

Our exploration will utilize a variety of creative media: improvisational movement, improvisational conversation, writing, and visual art.

Our goal will be to achieve a more integrated sense of our somatic experiences as they have changed and will continue to change throughout cancer survivorship.

 

Most research into trauma-informed approaches to wellness suggests that processing the trauma is central to healing. Expressive arts therapies provide aesthetic distance from trauma, even as they encourage representation of the trauma.

In particular, drama therapy allows us to intervene in our traumatic experiences in ways that were impossible at the time of its occurrence. Drama therapy also enables us to actively project into and thereby shape our experience of trauma moving forward.

Your Body’s Story is open to female-identifying cancer patients and survivors at any stage in their journey. The series will be offered as a 4-part program series on:

  • Fridays, April 1, 8, 22 & 29, 2022, 1:00 – 3:00pm EST

Participants are encouraged to attend all four sessions. Please let us know in advance if you are unable to attend all sessions.

Suggested Donation: $10/session or $35/series

About Jodi Kanter

Jodi Kanter

Jodi has been involved in theater since she was ten years old. She grew up acting and studying performance in American theater’s “Second City,” Chicago Illinois.  She is currently a professor of theatre in the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at George Washington University, where she has been on faculty for nearly fifteen years. Her academic work in theater includes her book, Performing Loss: Strengthening Communities Through Theatre and Writing (2007). Jodi’s focus on performance as a tool for individual and social healing and change has led her to create workshops, events and productions in a wide variety of settings including hospitals, schools, and prisons. Most recently, she co-created a four-month diversity and inclusion program for members of DC’s fourteen Neighborhood Village associations using the methodology of Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed. Jodi holds a PhD. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in dramatherapy at Lesley University.

This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Mikhail Hogan, MD, ABIOM, RCST, and Rabbi James Kahn

Medical Marijuana for Oncology Patients

Cannabis is becoming more widely available as a medicine in the United States as well as throughout the world. Although its medicinal use dates back thousands of years, health care providers trained in modern times during cannabis prohibition and stigmatization have very little knowledge regarding the pharmacology, benefits and risks, and dosing recommendations. Oncology patients are increasingly relying on on-line testimonials or advice from cannabis dispensaries to determine if cannabis may be useful for them.

 

Recent surveys have shown that at least 50% of oncologist would like to have their patients try medical cannabis but only few actively prescribe mostly due to lack of education on the topic.

 

This session will outline the basics of the system of cannabinoid receptors and endocannabinoids, review clinical situations where cannabis may be a useful intervention and discuss and demonstrate some of the currently available delivery systems.

Objectives:

  • Enumerate the clinical situations which have the best evidence to support the use of medicinal cannabis as it relates to oncology patients.
  • Discuss the effects obtained from different strains and modes of delivery of medicinal cannabis.
  • Understand basics of the process of obtaining medical cannabis in DC area.

About Mikhail Hogan, MD, ABIOM, RCST

Mikhail Hogan

Dr Kogan is a leader in the newly-established field of Integrative Geriatrics. He is the chief editor of the first definitive textbook of the field entitled “Integrative Geriatric Medicine”, published by Oxford University Press as part of Andrew Weil Integrative Medicine Library series and is frequent speaker at  a variety of international conferences on the topics of Integrative Medicine, Geriatrics, healthy aging, as well as  medical cannabis. While Dr Kogan’s main medical cannabis expertise is in treating older patients and palliating symptoms at end of life he also treats wide arrange of internal medicine problems from chronic GI problems to cancers where use of medical cannabis can be very beneficial. In October 2021 Dr Kogan in collaboration with Dr. Joan Liebmann-Smith and Pinguin Random Publishing House published Medical Marijuana, Dr Kogan’s Evidence-Based guide to the health benefits of cannabis and CBD.

Dr. Kogan currently serves as medical director of the GW Center for Integrative Medicine, associate professor of medicine in division of Geriatric and Palliative Care, and associate director of the Geriatrics and Integrative Medicine Fellowship Programs and director of Integrative Medicine Track program at the George Washington University (GWU) School of Medicine.

Dr Kogan is also the founder and the executive director of AIM Health Institute, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area that provides integrative medicine services to low-income and terminally ill patients regardless of their ability to pay.

About Rabbi James Kahn

Rabbi James Kahn

Rabbi James Kahn is the Executive Director of Liberty Cannabis Cares (LCC), the social impact and corporate responsibility team at Holistic Industries, one of the largest, privately held, multi-state cannabis operators in the U.S.  Rabbi James, as he’s known to colleagues and friends, has been with Holistic since its earliest days – opening the very first Liberty dispensary in 2019 before transitioning to a national position as Director of Community Outreach. He is a passionate cannabis activist and educator, with more than a decade of experience in the industry. His work at Holistic is focused around four key pillars: social equity, diversity, education, and community engagement. James’ career in cannabis began in 2011, when he and his family opened Takoma Wellness Center, Washington, D.C.’s oldest (and largest) medical cannabis dispensary. James continues to serve Takoma as a strategic business advisor.  As an ordained rabbi, James has served in a range of positions, including Senior Jewish Educator at the University of Maryland Hillel, Director of Chaplaincy at JSSA (a large social service agency serving the DMV area), Rabbinic Director for D.C.’s Hebrew Free Burial Society and the Washington Board of Rabbis. He currently serves on numerous boards, including the National Hispanic Cannabis Council, the International Jewish Cannabis Association, and the United States Veterans Chamber of Commerce. His unique blend of cannabis experience and community service inspires Holistic’s values as a company and improves the industry as a whole.

This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Beth Lawrence, RYT500

Joint Freeing Series

There are points in our lives when we don’t have the time or energy to fit a yoga class into our schedule, though we know it would be beneficial. Beginning a shorter, personal practice a few days a week is one way to fit a little yoga into your everyday life.

 

The Joint Freeing Series is a great way to start such a practice because it can be easily learned, it can be modified to suit anyone’s needs and, once learned, it takes about 15 minutes to complete.

 

This one-time class will teach you how to do the Joint Freeing Series, promoted by Mukunda Stiles, founder of Structural Yoga Therapy. The series can help gain and maintain mobility, strength and flexibility in the joints. During this hour long class, we’ll go over the original movements of the series and some variations that will help you form a practice that you can do as often as you’d like.

Suggested Donation: $15

About Beth Lawrence

Beth Lawrence Gentle Yoga Chair Yoga Instructor Smith Center

Beth discovered yoga in early 2002 as a mother of six month old twins. She was looking to get back into shape after their birth. In yoga, she found far more than she anticipated- an age old practice designed to help people relieve stress- both mental and physical. After a few years of regular practice, she knew she wanted to share her positive experiences with others. She has been leading yoga classes in the DC area since 2007 after completing her 200 hour yoga teacher training at Nth Degree Yoga with Martha Rosen. In 2011, she went back to earn her RYT500. Her personal practice is inspired by Integral Yoga and Sivananda Yoga, both of which incorporate body and mind into the practice.

This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Carla Stillwagon, Kiersten Gallagher and Erin Price, LICSW, OSW-C

The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times - Cancer Book Club

Welcome to “Read with Smith Center,” a community of book lovers diving in to current and relevant book material.

For our February and March sessions, we will be reading The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams.

Read the description from bookshop.org: 

 

In a world that seems so troubled, how do we hold on to hope?

Looking at the headlines–the worsening climate crisis, a global pandemic, loss of biodiversity, political upheaval–it can be hard to feel optimistic. And yet hope has never been more desperately needed.

 

In this urgent book, Jane Goodall, the world’s most famous living naturalist, and Douglas Abrams, the internationally bestselling co-author of The Book of Joy, explore through intimate and thought-provoking dialogue one of the most sought after and least understood elements of human nature: hope. In The Book of Hope, Jane focuses on her Four Reasons for Hope: The Amazing Human Intellect, The Resilience of Nature, The Power of Young People, and The Indomitable Human Spirit.

 

Drawing on decades of work that has helped expand our understanding of what it means to be human and what we all need to do to help build a better world, The Book of Hope touches on vital questions, including: How do we stay hopeful when everything seems hopeless? How do we cultivate hope in our children? What is the relationship between hope and action? Filled with moving and inspirational stories and photographs from Jane’s remarkable career, The Book of Hope is a deeply personal conversation with one of the most beloved figures in the world today.

 

While discussing the experiences that shaped her discoveries and beliefs, Jane tells the story of how she became a messenger of hope, from living through World War II to her years in Gombe to realizing she had to leave the forest to travel the world in her role as an advocate for environmental justice. And for the first time, she shares her profound revelations about her next, and perhaps final, adventure.

 

We will discuss the book in two parts on February 1st, 2022 and March 1st, 2022. Register to receive the break-down of pages to have prepared for each session. Please join us for a lively discussion, no matter how much or little of the book you have read.

Get “The Book of Hope” here:

Read with Smith Center will meet Monthly on the 1st Tuesday from 12:00-1:00pm.

Upcoming Dates: 

  • February 1 – The Book of Hope by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams, Pages 1-109 (I. What is Hope? and Reasons 1 & 2)
  • March 1 – The Book of Hope by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams, Pages 111-234 (Reasons 3 & 4 and Conclusion)
  • April 5 (TBD)
  • May 3 (TBD)

Click here to choose Smith Center for Healing and the Arts as your charity of choice when you shop on Amazon Smile!

About Carla Stillwagon

Carla Stillwagon

Carla serves as the Cancer Support Program & Retreat Coordinator at Smith Center. During her time at the center, Carla has been inspired to further develop her commitment to the arts and their invaluable role in healing and community. She is excited to share her favorite pastime, reading, in this group and hopes to hear all about your favorite things to read!

About Kiersten Gallagher

Kiersten Gallagher

As the Cancer Support Program Director, Kiersten fully believes that through the arts we can expand our perspectives and explore new fulfilling ways of being. She invites you to make our space your own refuge, to circumvent your daily routine to spark creativity, to take time for introspection, and draw outside the lines.

About Erin Price, LICSW, OSW-C

Erin Price

Erin serves as Smith Center’s Director of Young Adult and Psychosocial Support Programs. She is trained in Integrative Patient Navigation, a Project LEAD graduate, and holds a Masters in Social Work. A seven-year breast cancer survivor, Erin is passionate about providing support and community to other cancer survivors, especially young adults. She works with Smith Center’s DC Young Adult Cancer Community and is also actively involved in the cancer community through Young Survival Coalition, Critical Mass, the Georgetown Breast Cancer Advocates, National Breast Cancer Coalition, and the DC Cancer Action Partnership.