Cancer Transitions Program

Bellingham, Wash. - PeaceHealth St. Joseph Cancer Center started the first session of the Cancer Transitions Program on Feb. 7. The current session has six participants and will last for six weeks.

The Cancer Transitions: Moving Beyond Treatment was designed in 2006 by the Cancer Support Community and the Livestrong Organization to help with cancer patients after treatment in the transition period. The program uses “written materials as well as interactive components to address the long-term effect of cancer treatment”, according to the Livestrong Organization website.

“The focus is getting people back on their feet to survival,” said Carol Brumet, Cancer Services Outreach Coordinator at St. Joseph.

Research from the Livestrong website shows people who participate in the program can experience “less worry about the negative impacts of cancer, better physical and social functioning, more commitment to physical activity and improvements in fat-related dietary habits”. The goal for the program is to allow participants to regain control over their lives and get back to their everyday selves said Brumet.

The program is free for the participants and is funded by a grant from the Livestrong Foundation. The Livestrong Foundation donated more than $8 million in grants in 2009, according to the Livestrong website. The Cancer Transitions Program at St. Joseph and 33 other locations across the country are funded by the Livestrong Foundation through the 2011 Community Impact Project.

“Each meeting will focus on good nutrition, exercise, medical management, and life beyond cancer,” said Brumet.

During each meeting a representative from the YMCA will come in and work with the participants for about 30 min., working on exercise routines and how to stay active. A registered dietician will teach the participants how to eat healthy and focus on their eating habits. Doctors from the cancer center will come in to talk to the participants during the meeting as well. The doctors will answer questions regarding treatment and medical management. The class is taught by a social worker. Through group discussion, the participants will be able to focus on their emotional health and well-being.

Brumet said the program will teach the participants “how to let go of the cancer and start living again”.

St. Joseph was notified at the end of last summer that they would be receiving the grant of $4,000. When St. Joseph applied for the grant, it was up against other hospitals in the nation and communities could go online to the Livestrong website and vote for hospitals to earn the grant.

 “The result shows the support we have for cancer research in our community,” said Brumet. With this grant, the program must run a minimum of four times but Brumet hopes the program will last longer.

The Cancer Transitions Program offers four sessions through St. Joseph Cancer Center. Each session is six weeks long and spots are open for 12 participants in each session.

Participants will attend meetings once a week for two and a half hours. Right now the meetings are scheduled for Tuesday afternoons. Anyone who has finished cancer treatment within two years or less can enter into the program. Another session will start in the spring said Brumet.

St. Joseph Cancer Center offers many other programs for cancer patients and people recovering from treatment. The cancer center also offers another life after treatment program “Exercise and Thrive” which focuses on helping cancer survivors regain strength, flexibility and endurance in their body after treatment through a 12-week program.