with Sylvia Sturm and Connie Custer

Image result for sylvia sturm reiki

Anyone can learn and use Reiki. This gentle hands-on modality utilizes the power of universal life force energy to harmonize the energies of the body. It is a gift anyone can use daily to instill deep relaxation. When deeply relaxed, the body can begin to use its own inner resources to reduce stress and anxiety and to find a sense of inner peace. As the healing power of energy medicine has become more and more recognized, Reiki has become an important contribution to Integrative Medicine. It has been well researched and is used in hospitals and healing settings throughout the world.

A two-part class in this gentle energy balancing modality with a special emphasis on self-treatment. Students will learn the history of Reiki, identify hand positions for treating self and others, receive attunements to the Reiki energy and practice hands-on sessions. Those attending both classes will receive Reiki 1 certification.

Dates:

  • January 5
  • January 26

There is a $150 fee to participate in this 2-part Reiki 1 Certification program. Participants will graduate the program with a Reiki 1 Certification.


About Sylvia Sturm

Sylvia Sturm, EEM-CLP, RM/T, heads our Energy Balancing volunteer team. Sylvia is a Certified Eden Energy Medicine Clinical Practitioner and a Reiki Master Teacher. For many years she has managed a Reiki Volunteer group at a seniors’ residence and has served for 6 years as a Reiki volunteer in GWU Hospital. She is delighted to now work with a dedicated and wonderful team to address the balancing of one’s subtle energies in order to allow the body to completely relax.  She has an independent practice in Kensington, MD. To learn more about Sylvia and subtle energies, please visit her website www.sylviasturm.com.

About Connie Custer

Connie has practiced Reiki since 1998, and received her Reiki Master/Teacher credentials from GW Hospital’s Center for Integrative Medicine. She has been a Reiki volunteer at Life With Cancer and Capital Caring Hospice, and has a certificate in animal Reiki. As part of her energy work, she also practices qigong, and is certified to teach walking qigong.

with Erin Price, LGSW, and Samantha Evans

PLEASE NOTE: This program is now full, however, if you would like to be added to the waitlist please complete the form below and we will let you know if space opens up.

 

 “Cancer can be a lonely, isolating journey. I found a powerful community of fellow travelers at my Living Well with Cancer retreat and have returned home with hope and renewed energy, knowing we are all connected in a web of healing and love.”

This one day retreat is designed to empower cancer patients who have completed treatment and are in remission. The goal of the retreat is to build community and be a part of a supportive environment for healing.

During this retreat you will experience:

  • A respite from daily life
  • Delicious, whole foods, health-supportive lunch
  • An education session about healthy eating and nutrition
  • A creativity session to tap into greater self-understanding
  • A community of other individuals who have shared experiences

There is a $45 registration fee associated with this Retreat. Please contact erin@smithcenter.org to pay after you have completed the form below.

 

PLEASE NOTE: This program is now full, however, if you would like to be added to the waitlist please complete the form below and we will let you know if space opens up.

Please register via this form: https://forms.gle/xFzJoHDwV8yvkW9o8

About 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.

About Samantha Evans

Samantha Evans is getting her Masters in Social Work at the University of Maryland. She will be joining the Smith Center as a Social Work Intern until April 2020. Samantha is excited to be joining the team at the Smith Center for Healing and the Arts. When not studying for graduate school, Samantha spends her free time with her dog, reading, and with friends.

This class is now full. Please call (202) 483-8600 for any inquiries.

with Chef Kara Garrett

A healthy diet doesn’t mean you always have to skip the dessert! Join Chef Kara to explore wholesome and nutritious holiday desserts to enjoy without the guilt. Learn about sugar’s impact on your body, how to make healthier sugar substitutes in your desserts, and participate in a hands-on baking class of delicious vegan recipes to share with your family & friends. This is a great introductory class for anyone interested in learning the basics of vegan and/or gluten-free baking recipes.

Topics we will cover:

  • Substituting refined sugar for more natural sources such as fruits, honey, maple syrup, succanat, and coconut sugar
  • Replacing eggs with flax/chia seeds, fruit puree, and other alternatives
  • Tips for selecting butter and dairy milk replacements
  • Tips for baking with gluten-free flour blends

Menu*:

  • Jam-Filled Rugelach
  • Cinnamon-Spiced Baked Apples
  • Gingerbread Cake
  • Cranberry-Walnut Scones
    *Menu subject to change based on ingredient availability and class size. All recipes will be vegan. Some recipes may contain gluten and/or nuts. Please alert us to any allergies when registering for the class.

Suggested Donation: $25

This class is limited to 12 participants. Please sign up early to reserve your seat!


About Chef Kara Garrett

Kara is a health-supportive chef based in Washington, DC. Following her breast cancer diagnosis in 2013, she embraced the challenge of finding a balance between her foodie lifestyle and eating well with cancer. She has adopted a flexible diet plan that focuses on plant-based, sustainable whole foods, but does not restrict indulgences of things she loves. She is passionate about working with others to encourage healthier food choices that energize the body and the soul.

Kara graduated in August 2017 from the Chef Training Program at Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC and spent one month as the sous chef at The Ananda Ashram Yoga Society of New York in Monroe, NY. She is currently enrolled in the Developing Healthy Communities: Nutrition, Behavior, and Physical Activity graduate program at Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.

Demystifying Plant-Based Protein

with Chef Kara Garrett

A good cancer-fighting diet utilizes plant-based protein sources, but it can often be confusing to know how to integrate them into your meals. Join Chef Kara to sample a variety of protein sources, such as tofu, tempeh, seitan and beans, learn preparation tips, and participate in a simple hands-on session as we prepare a delicious vegan lunch to enjoy together.

Please register by July 11th–Class is now full! Hope you can join us for our next class.

If you would like to be added to a waitlist please email: lauraf@smithcenter.org. Thank you!

Menu:

  • Mediterranean White Bean Dip 
  • Almond Gazpacho
  • Pesto Flatbread with Italian Tempeh & Mushrooms
  • Chickpea Caesar Salad
  • Quinoa & Lentil Curry With Crispy Tofu
  • Indian-Style Grilled Seitan Kabobs
  • 5-Minute Nut Crust with Seasonal Fruit Compote

About Chef Kara

Kara is a health-supportive chef based in Washington, DC. Following her breast cancer diagnosis in 2013, she embraced the challenge of finding a balance between her foodie lifestyle and eating well with cancer. She has adopted a flexible diet plan that focuses on plant-based, sustainable whole foods, but does not restrict indulgences of things she loves. She is passionate about working with others to encourage healthier food choices that energize the body and the soul.

Kara graduated in August 2017 from the Chef Training Program at Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC and spent one month as the sous chef at The Ananda Ashram Yoga Society of New York in Monroe, NY. She is currently enrolled in the Developing Healthy Communities: Nutrition, Behavior, and Physical Activity graduate program at Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.

 

 

This retreat is designed to empower those living with Metastatic Breast Cancer to make life-affirming changes by providing tools and knowledge in a safe and caring community of others facing a similar diagnosis.

During the retreat, you will experience:

*A respite from the stresses of daily life with a cancer diagnosis

*Gentle, therapeutic yoga and meditation

*Delicious, whole foods, health-supportive lunch and

*An education session about eating with cancer

*A creativity session to tap into greater self-understanding in the face of cancer

*A community of other individuals who have shared experiences

Who: This retreat is designed for women who have been diagnosed with Stage IV/Metastatic breast cancer.

Cost: FREE, thanks to the generous support of the GW Cancer Center.

SPACE IS LIMITED – Click here to apply today!

If you are interested in attending one of our upcoming retreats, please fill out and submit the online application by visiting this page. Your responses will be kept confidential and only shared with the retreat staff. If you prefer, we can also send you a copy of the form to be completed offline and submitted – please contact retreats@smithcenter.org if interested.

With Rebecca Wilkinson, MA, ATR-BC, LCPAT

In this workshop, we will explore the challenges we have encountered and honor the process that helped us survive and even thrive in the face of such adversities. We will create shrines using small boxes with an inspiring collection of found objects and art supplies to honor our resilience and perseverance.

Previous art experience is not needed in order to benefit from this arts, healing, and creativity program. This workshop is designed for all ranges of artistic experience–you need not consider yourself an artist to attend. Boxes and materials will be provided but you are also invited to bring your own box and any personally meaningful objects that you might want to include in your shrine.

“Consider how truly elegant the design process is that created us so that, in the face of the most difficult time of our lives, there is the possibility—not the certainty but the possibility—of access to states of awareness and experience that enable us to cope with these crises better than we otherwise could.  And consider how remarkable it is that these states of awareness make many people say that they feel more alive and more … than they ever felt before.”  Michael Lerner, Executive Director, Commonweal

About Rebecca Wilkinson

Rebecca is a Registered and Board Certified art therapist with twenty years of experience in mental health and in facilitating training and workshops. She serves as adjunct faculty at George Washington University Graduate Art Therapy Program and provides continuing education and development through the Potomac Art Therapy Association. She facilitates supportive workshops for those affected by life-threatening illness and the professional providers working with them. She is a co-founder of Creative Wellbeing Workshops, LLC, which provides training, consultation, and clinical therapy designed to reduce stress, prevent burnout and increase life satisfaction and wellbeing.

With Chef Kara Garrett

This two-part class is an introduction to food choices that are shown to reduce cancer risk and improve health.

Session 1 from 11:00am – 1:30pm will consist of a lecture, cooking demonstration by Chef Kara and we will enjoy a healthy lunch together. We will review nutrition components that have been shown to delay/inhibit cancer cell growth, smart food choices for optimal health, and meal preparation tips for cancer-fighting foods. The lunch menu will be a shaved fennel salad, miso-marinated salmon and warm soba noodles packed with veggies. 

Session 2 from 2:00-4:30pm will be a hands-on meal preparation cooking class. We will prepare and serve a 3-course cancer-fighting meal for the Young Adult Cancer Support Group that takes place at 5:00pm. You will also be provided with storage containers to enjoy the meal. Menu items include: roasted eggplant dip, Mediterranean quinoa pilaf, roasted spring veggies, sauteed greens and golden milk macaroons. 

Suggested donation for 1 session: $25, includes a full meal and all recipes.

Suggested donation for both sessions: $40, includes 2 meals and all recipes.

This series is made possible by a grant received from the Wawa Foundation.

Interested in volunteering? We are currently seeking volunteers for this program to assist on Saturday, April 13th for food prep and on Sunday, April 14th for prep and cleanup. Please contact programs@smithcenter.org for details.

*Please Note: Every individual’s needs are unique. We aim to offer a variety of health-promoting options for each individual to consider, but do not prescribe the specific dietary content of any program for anyone.

Please complete the form below to register for this workshop. If you would like to register and are unable to make a donation at this time, or would like to donate at a later date, please call us at 202.483.8600 or email programs@smithcenter.org to secure your seat. 

 

Our programs are open to the community and tailored to meet the needs of people affected by cancer. Classes and workshops are free or low cost on a pay-as-you-can basis, ensuring that our programs are accessible to everyone. 

About Chef Kara Garrett

Kara Garrett Cancer Support Program Coordinator

Kara is a health-supportive chef based in Washington, DC. Following her breast cancer diagnosis in 2013, she embraced the challenge of finding a balance between her foodie lifestyle and eating well with cancer. She has adopted a flexible diet plan that focuses on plant-based, sustainable whole foods, but does not restrict indulgences of things she loves. She is passionate about working with others to encourage healthier food choices that energize the body and the soul.

Kara graduated in August 2017 from the Chef Training Program at Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC and spent one month as the sous chef at The Ananda Ashram Yoga Society of New York in Monroe, NY. She is currently enrolled in the Developing Healthy Communities: Nutrition, Behavior, and Physical Activity graduate program at Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.

Presented in partnership with Cancer Support Community

This workshop will raise awareness among patients and caregivers about diagnoses, treatment options, managing side effects, coping with the psychosocial impact of neuroendocrine and carcinoid tumors, and fostering constructive dialogue with their healthcare team.

Presenters will include Dr. Giuseppe Esposito, Chief of Nuclear Medicine and PET/CT and Professor of Radiology at the Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, and Dr. Jaydira del Rivero, endocrine oncologist in the Pediatric Oncology Branch (POB) at the National Cancer Institute Center for Cancer Research.

Enrollment space is limited and we expect this workshop to fill quickly,  so register early to guarantee your place! To RSVP, please click the link at the top of this page, call 202.483.8600 or email programs@smithcenter.org.

About Giuseppe Esposito, MD, MBA

Giuseppe Esposito, MD, is board certified in nuclear medicine. He sees patients at two MedStar clinics the Reservoir Road clinic in Washington, DC, and the Olney, Maryland clinic. Dr. Esposito is the Chief of Nuclear Medicine and PET/CT and Professor of Radiology at the Medstar Georgetown University Hospital. His specialties include PET/CT and SPECT/CT imaging of tumors, cardiac diseases, epilepsy, dementias and Parkinson’s disease.

In his clinics, he also performs diagnostic imaging and treatment of thyroid cancer and hyperthyroidism, prostate bone metastases, radioembolization of metastatic liver cancers, and PRRT treatment of Neuroendocrine tumors. Dr. Esposito is very active in research and in conducting clinical trials. He is also involved in the professional Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. He serves as a peer reviewer for multiple medical journals, including Frontiers in Oncology, Frontiers in Cancer Imaging and Diagnosis. Dr. Esposito enjoys talking with his patients and answering their questions. Many patients are not familiar with nuclear medicine, so he takes great care to explain the procedures to make patients feel comfortable educating them on the benefits and the potential side effects.

Dr. Esposito is a native of Italy and has lived in the U.S. since 1992. He travels to Italy frequently, with his wife and two daughters, to see the rest of his family in Naples.

About Jaydira Del Rivero, M.D.

Dr. Del Rivero earned her medical degree from the University of Veracruz in Veracruz, Mexico and completed her internship at General Hospital Institute of Security and Social Services for Government Employees, also in Veracruz. Following a year of field service at the Center of Studies and Health Services at the University of Veracruz. Dr. Del Rivero completed her internal medicine residency at Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center/NYU-Langone Medical Center in Brooklyn. Dr. Del Rivero completed a fellowship in endocrinology at The Inter-Institute Endocrinology Training Program (IETP) at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) where she was part of a research team developing clinical trials for pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma, rare tumors that form within and outside the adrenal glands and are linked to a range of inherited syndromes. She then joined as Assistant Professor at the Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care (MECCC) where she focused on all endocrine tumors such as thyroid cancer, parathyroid tumors, advanced gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, adrenal tumors, pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma and other endocrine malignancies.

She subsequently completed a second fellowship in oncology at the National Cancer Institute with a research focus on endocrine malignancies such as medullary thyroid cancer. Dr. Del Rivero is board certified in Internal Medicine, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism and board eligible in Oncology.

She is developing the Rare Tumor Natural History study and Rare Tumor Clinic to: 1) serve as an umbrella protocol for patients with rare solid tumors of interest to the CCR and for patients who may be candidates for CCR early clinical trials and, 2) to provide the basis for the development of therapeutic interventions, prevention/screening guidelines, endpoints for future clinical trials, and patient-reported outcome measures.

She is also working on tumor immunology and the development of novel immunotherapy approaches for medullary thyroid cancer and targeted therapies for other endocrine malignancies such as advanced pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma.

With Kiersten Gallagher, RYT 200

Enjoy a greater sense of wellbeing and enhanced energy in our gentle yoga classes.  Learn various yoga postures, techniques in progressive relaxation, breathing practices, and meditation to help reduce stress, as well as balance mind, body, and spirit.  Our classes are specifically designed for adults facing stress, cancer, or other illness and are open to anyone interested in attending. All levels are welcome.

In addition, our yoga classes are listed with the National MS Society and we welcome patients and caregivers of those with multiple sclerosis to our gentle yoga classes.

Kiersten’s Gentle Morning Yoga Classes Meet Weekly on Thursdays from 10:15am – 11:30am.

Our programs are also open to the community, and tailored to meet the needs of people affected by cancer. Classes and workshops are free or low cost on a pay-as-you-can basis, ensuring that our programs are accessible to everyone.

Suggested Donation for 1 Class: $10

Suggested Donation for 1 Month of Classes: $25

About Kiersten Gallagher

Kiersten Gallagher, RYT 200 and Certified Herbalist has studied yoga for over 25 years. Over the last decade, Kiersten has developed yoga programs and has provided a place for healing in the cancer community, in underprivileged neighborhoods, for special needs children, for teens and adults with drug addiction and for those struggling with body image.Kiersten invites you on a journey of healing to help guide you to a place where yoga will make a real difference in your life.  Kiersten’s goal for you is that you feel better when you leave class- mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually, than you may have felt when you stepped through the door to begin your practice.

with Kiersten Gallagher, RYT-200

Enjoy a greater sense of wellbeing and enhanced energy in our gentle yoga classes.  Learn various yoga postures, techniques in progressive relaxation, breathing practices, and meditation to help reduce stress, as well as balance mind, body, and spirit.  Our classes are specifically designed for adults facing stress, cancer, or other illness and are open to anyone interested in attending. All levels are welcome.

In addition, our yoga classes are listed with the National MS Society and we welcome patients and caregivers of those with multiple sclerosis to our gentle yoga classes.

Kiersten’s Gentle Morning Yoga Classes meet Weekly on Thursdays from 10:15am – 11:30am.

Our programs are also open to the community, and tailored to meet the needs of people affected by cancer. Classes and workshops are free or low cost on a pay-as-you-can basis, ensuring that our programs are accessible to everyone.

Suggested Donation for 1 Class: $10

Suggested Donation for 1 Month of Classes: $25

About Kiersten Gallagher

Kiersten Gallagher, RYT 200 and Certified Herbalist has studied yoga for over 25 years. Over the last decade, Kiersten has developed yoga programs and has provided a place for healing in the cancer community, in underprivileged neighborhoods, for special needs children, for teens and adults with drug addiction and for those struggling with body image.Kiersten invites you on a journey of healing to help guide you to a place where yoga will make a real difference in your life.  Kiersten’s goal for you is that you feel better when you leave class- mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually, than you may have felt when you stepped through the door to begin your practice.