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Cancer and its treatments affect individuals physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Integrative oncology seeks to incorporate therapies from other healing traditions (e.g. herbs, acupuncture, yoga, mindfulness meditation) and promote healthy lifestyle changes in the context of conventional cancer care.

Integrative approaches will help individuals decrease symptom distress, improve quality of life, and regain a sense of control over their lives. The goal of this scientific symposium is to promote interdisciplinary collaborations and translational research that will lead to personalized integrative oncology for improved health and well-being for millions of cancer patients and survivors.

Penn presents the Penn Integrative Oncology Scientific Symposium “Translating Science Into Health and Healing,” in which cancer experts, clinicians and integrative medicine experts will present the latest scientific research about integrative medicine and its uses for cancer treatment.

Keynote speaker Lorenzo Cohen, PhD, is director of integrative medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He will discuss improving cancer outcomes and the role of integrative oncology in cancer care.

Date: Friday, May 4, 2012
Time: 8:30 am to 1 pm
Location: Medical Alumni Hall, 1st Floor, Maloney Building at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

This symposium is free, and open to the public, but registration is required.

Thinking about making healthy lifestyle changes is often easier than making and sustaining those changes. A new program at the Joan Karnell Cancer Center at Pennsylvania Hospital is helping people who are ready to commit to a healthier lifestyle make the changes they need to meet their personal health goals.

The Holistic Living Challenge is a seven-week program that provides education and support for a healthy and preventive lifestyle. The program is based on holistic and traditional Chinese medicine principles for building health and preventing disease.

Participants are provided with simple and practical self-care strategies and receive on-going support for incorporating these strategies into their daily lives. Topics include:

• Holistic overview
• Movement
• Breathing
• Relationships
• Sleep
• Spirituality, purpose and meaning
• Nutrition
• Energy management

Dates: Every Tuesday, April 3 to May 15
Time: 2 to 4 pm
Location: Joan Karnell Cancer Center at Pennsylvania Hospital, 230 West Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA: First floor conference room

If you are ready to make lifestyle changes that promote health, balance and happiness, register for this free program by calling 215-829-6560 to learn more.

Collage artwork by a Walkabout program participant

Walkabout: Looking In, Looking Out is an innovative survivorship program at the Joan Karnell Cancer Center at Pennsylvania Hospital that addresses the normal psychological and physical changes that come with a cancer diagnosis and treatment. The goal of the program is to support participants with developing a strong view towards living well.

“Walkabout is a program that allows participants to move with the cancer experience towards making sense of what’s current and what’s next in life,“ says Caroline Peterson, ATR-BC, LPC, the art therapist and mindfulness meditation instructor who developed and leads the Walkabout Program. “In the eight-session Walkabout program, participants explore walking away from the medical environment into the world outside, open to discoveries using mindful attention and digital photography. Photographs, taken on the walkabout, are printed and then reconsidered and used for creative expression making collages.”

Collage art is a user-friendly creative form, and the feedback from Walkabout participants has been very positive. Each participant has used the various opportunities in Walkabout to make a deeper connection with themselves.

‘Taking the photographs reminded me of the beauty we’re surrounded by every day. The collage making gave me a surprising sense of accomplishment. It felt unexpectedly good to create something new.’ - Cancer survivor in active treatment, age 29

‘The photography allowed a filter on my perceptions . . .the resulting collages revealed more about me than I thought they would. The meditative component was also very beneficial in my daily life.’ - Caregiver, age 53

The Walkabout program is designed to be enlivening and strengthening.

“Underlying the pleasures of walking and being out in the world, the creative playfulness and relaxation is a focus on mindfulness skills training to be more attentive, aware and relaxed, less reactive to the stress of life and more at ease in daily living that can be very helpful,” says Peterson.

‘The how-to approach, meditation practice and further input with learning skills to continue on my own were very helpful. I no longer have the inner freight train going through my head. It’s okay to feel okay.’ –Cancer survivor, age 37

‘I learned through the Walkabout experience to be free of fear and to let go of anxiety, and then to be me – healthy and happy.’ - Cancer survivor, age 55

The Walkabout program welcomes those individuals with cancer in active treatment or post treatment. Caregivers are also welcome.

The walkabout is mindfully slow and not physically exerting. Participants should be able to walk slowly for up to 45 minutes.

Participants receive a mindfulness meditation practice CD for home practice following in-class instruction and teaching.

To enroll in the Walkabout program at the Joan Karnell Cancer Center, please call 215-829-8700.

Walkabout program details

Spring session dates: Wednesday evenings beginning April 4 through May 23
Summer session dates: Wednesday evenings beginning June 6 through August 1 (no meeting July 4)
Times: 4:30 to 7pm
Location: Joan Karnell Cancer Center at Pennsylvania Hospital; Farm Journal Building, 2nd Floor; 230 West Washington Square; Philadelphia PA 19106