WOMEN AND CANCER PROGRAM

2008 Women and Cancer Program Funding Approved

Holistic Cancer Treatments Support Women in Need in 2007

By Terri Clemens

Heartwood Center is pleased to announce that we will continue our Women and Cancer Program in 2008. We have received funding once again from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Office of Women ’s Health to provide free holistic healthcare treatments to women with cancer and in financial need. This will mark the fifth year of running the program in partnership with the Rogers Park Community Council.

We are so grateful to the IDPH and most especially State Senator Carol Ronen without whose support this program would never have happened. We will begin interviewing participants in January 2008. If you or someone you know is interested in being included in our program, please contact Program Director Terri Clemens at 847.491.1122 x23.

Our 2007 program was a great success. Due to the state funding we received — as well as generous donations from the community — we were able to expand our program to include 20 women this year. In total, 160 treatments of acupuncture, reiki, psychotherapy and massage therapy were given. Participants also attended free classes in yoga and T’ai Chi.

We at Heartwood are proud that our Women and Cancer program focuses on quality of care for a small group of women rather than concentrating on the quantity served.

Holistic healthcare treatments benefit the physical, mental and spiritual health of women living with cancer at any stage in progression. One participant shared:

“Learning that I had breast cancer was shocking. It was devastating. I needed all the help I could get. Heartwood provided physical and emotional support that helped me to feel better about myself. The loving and caring treatment is what one needs when you are going through these health situations.”

Participants were very enthusiastic about the benefits of the program. Each woman expressed positive thoughts about their experience at Heartwood. Without this grant program, these women would not have been able to afford these treatments. One woman wrote in her follow-up questionnaire:

"This program has been a gift and a blessing! It has allowed me to address some critical areas of emotional and spiritual healing that I would have been reluctant to address due to considerable expenses incurred due to multiple major health issues over the past several years."

 

Since 2004 when the Women and Cancer Program began, Heartwood practitioners and teachers have provided more than 450 treatments and classes to 75 women throughout Chicagoland.

Heartwood would like to wish continued healing for those who participated in the program and for anyone coping with cancer or serious illness in their lives. We would also like to thank the practitioners and teachers in the program who give so generously of their time and talents to this important work.

As one of the women in the Program said so eloquently:

"Patients recovering from or dealing with active cancer are bombarded with unimaginable physical, emotional, spiritual and financial stress. Having a special program to help women deal with all of the above stressors is a gift that "keeps on giving.' The 'snowball effect' of just one person’s positive healing is profound — within the individual, family and society."

Referrals for Participants Welcome
If you or someone you know would benefit from the Women and Cancer Program, please contact Program Director Terri Clemens at 847.491.1122 x23. Participants will be placed on the waiting list and receive treatment on a first-come first-served basis.

Now Accepting Your Generous Contributions
Please consider contributing financially by sponsoring a woman in our cancer Program. All donations are tax-deductible and are accepted with love and Gratitude. For more information, contact Program Director Terri Clemens at 847.491.1122 x23 or via email.