Great start for cancer support program
Cancer Support Sonoma (CSS), which opened earlier this year within Sonoma Valley Hospital to provide complementary therapies to help ease the symptoms frequently associated with conventional cancer treatment, is seeing growing community use.
The program began in October and has already provided more than 250 therapeutic treatments for 29 cancer patients. CSS is operated by the Sonoma Valley Hospital Foundation in partnership with the North Bay Cancer Alliance.
“We’ve seen a steady increase in use through October and it confirms that this program addresses an unmet need here in the Sonoma Valley,” said Dave Pier, executive director of the SVH Foundation. “I’d like to acknowledge the great work of our team of therapy providers, and especially Pam Koppel who developed the program and continues to manage it.”
Pier also announced that the program recently received approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRI) to undertake a two-year study in partnership with the North Bay Cancer Alliance, with oversight from UCSF, to analyze program results and help refine the program to improve the quality of life for those undergoing cancer treatment.
The program offers cancer patients a range of complementary therapies including acupuncture, massage therapy, Jin Shin Jyutsu (a form of acupressure), naturopathic medical consultations, nutrition counseling, guided imagery and meditation, Feldenkrais, and music/sound healing.
CSS covers its costs through donations and grants and utilizes a sliding scale fee for patients. Services are made as accessible as possible in order to serve all who need them, and no one is turned away because of inability to pay, Pier noted. For more information on the program, call 707.935.5244, or go to svh.com/foundation/css.
