Willow: info

'Living' Newsletter - Issue 12, Summer 2004

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The Healing Journey Program is Now Online
by Dr. Claire Edmonds and Kimberley Watson

Mary has been coping with cancer for several years now. With her last recurrence she felt that she wanted to do more to help herself. She connected with the Healing Journey Program and took several courses, learning skills such as relaxation, thought management, and guided imagery for healing. It helped her cope with her new chemo so well that she decided to take level 2 of the program, which deepened her imagery practice and introduced the value of meditation. She is now interested in taking the third program, Spiritual Steps in Your Healing Journey.
Susan, on the other hand, is interested in learning these skills but is not able to come to the Princess Margaret Hospital on a weekly basis. Instead, she bought the videotapes of the Healing Journey Program and is learning relaxation and guided imagery skills at home. She was interested in connecting with others doing the same program so she logged onto the internet chat group where she has been able to ask questions of Dr. Cunningham and other participants of the program.

Dr. Alastair Cunningham and his team of therapists have been running the Healing Journey Program at the Princess Margaret Hospital for over 20 years. It consists of several progressive levels that are both educational and supportive in nature, teaching coping skills that enable patients and family members to better manage the stress, tests and treatments that come with cancer. Members also have the opportunity to learn from each other and share both their challenges and successes. The Healing Journey is also running its Level 2 program out of Wellspring, another important support organization for cancer patients and their families.

Extensive research has shown that taking the Healing Journey Program can improve participants' mood and quality of life, helping them with feelings of depression, confusion and anxiety, as well as improving sleep and lessening the discomfort of the illness and its treatments. There is also a small study that has shown that patients who become very involved in self-help work may actually extend their survival. This important research is ongoing and Dr. Cunningham and his team are currently conducting a larger study (due out in the next few years) to further test whether life extension is possible for patients coping with serious and advanced cancers.

Recently, in an effort to make these programs more accessible for patients and their families, the Healing Journey created a website where people can read about the program, access the research papers, download the level 1 workbook free of charge, and order the level 1 audiotapes and manual. It is also linked to a company that has produced level 1 of The Healing Journey Program on videotapes, allowing people to take the program at home. Dr. Alastair Cunningham is also available on an internet chat site so that participants can ask him questions and join in on-line discussions.

There are many resources to help people cope with cancer. The Healing Journey team hopes that these new initiatives, both the website and working with Wellspring, will enable and encourage all interested patients and family members to access the program. Why not explore the website and its links?

Connect with The Healing Journey Program at www.healingjourney.ca

*This article may not be reproduced in any way except by written permission by the authors.

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Latest on Autologous Bone Marrow or Stem Cell Transplantation
©2004 Willow Breast Cancer Support & Resource Services

"High dose chemotherapy and autologous bone marrow or stem cell transplantation versus conventional chemotherapy for women with metastatic breast cancer" (Cochrane Review abstract) Farquhar, C., et al., The Cochrane Library, Issue 2, 2004. Oxford

In this study 382 women were randomized to receive high dose chemotherapy with stem cell transplantation and 358 women were to receive conventional treatment. The conclusions indicated that although there was a statistically significant improvement in progression free survival at one and two years for the stem cell group compared to conventional chemotherapy, there was no indication of benefit at three or five years, or what they described as overall survival. However, apparently none of the trials has completed follow up and further data are to come.

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News from ASCO 2004
A study comparing Gemzar plus Taxol versus Taxol alone reported that the combination of the two drugs had many benefits over Taxol alone which included a better chance of slowing the growth of the cancer or stopping its growth altogether and a better quality of life. As a result the FDA has approved this combination of Gemzar and Taxol as first-line chemotherapy for advanced breast cancer.

A study compared Aromasin to tamoxifen in women with advanced disease. The group taking Aromasin had no cancer progression for an average of 11 months compared to an average of 7 months to progression for the tamoxifen group. 44.2% of the women on Aromasin had their cancer either shrink or disappear. The women on tamoxifen reported more side effects than those on Aromasin.
The other aromatase inhibitors, Arimidex and Femara, have also shown advantages over tamoxifen.

ASCO Program/Proceedings, June 2004, abstracts # 510 and # 515

From: a breastcancer.org report.
For the abstracts: http://professional.cancerconsultants.com/conference_asco_2004.aspx

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Interesting Articles Addressing Emotional Health and Communication
by Bonnie Basset-Spiers

"Hiding our feelings can impact our health and longevity", by Mona Reaume. Alive, May 2004.

This article discusses the importance of emotional health to our overall health and that repressing feelings can be dangerous to our health. While it encourages the reader to express their true feelings more readily in healthy ways, it also acknowledges that societal influences have also contributed to this being difficult for many.
This article is available online at www.alivemagazine.com Click on 'Health Tools'

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"I Didn't Know What to Say to You" by Susan P. Halpern. Oprah Magazine, April 2004. (Adapted from The Etiquette of Illness: What to Say When You Can't Find the Words, by Susan P. Halpern, Published by Bloomsbury USA.)

This article addresses the issue of feeling uncomfortable and awkward when it comes to talking to someone who is ill. We may have felt this way ourselves and have most likely been on the receiving end of this discomfort amongst family and friends, who often don't know what to say.

This article provides some guidance around this issue. Here's a resource that could either help one articulate what they need from people around them or could be left lying around for that certain someone to find, pick up, and, hopefully, read.

*This article may not be reproduced in any way except by written permission by the author.

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A New Resource: "Living With Metastatic Disease"
The new resource, Living with Metastatic Disease, mentioned in the Spring 2004 issue of Living, has arrived and is available through Willow.
This informational brochure was developed by Novartis in partnership with Willow and is meant to be an introductory resource to those recently diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. It provides factual information on what is metastatic breast cancer and how it is treated. However, it also focuses on living with and coping with the disease and how it impacts on family and loved-ones.
To request a copy contact Willow: 416-778-5000, Toll-Free 1-888-778-3100 or email info@willow.org.

This publication is also available in French as Vivre avec une maladie métastatique.

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Other Resources
A selection of new books and videos about breast cancer and related topics

Books

Advanced Breast Cancer: A Guide to Living with Metastatic Disease by Musa Mayer.
O'Reilly & Associates, 1998.
Close to The Bone: Life Threatening Illness and the Search for Meaning by Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D.
Scribner, New York, 1996.
Living Beyond Limits by David Spiegel.
Random House, Toronto, 1993.
Seeing the Crab: A Memoir of Dying Before I Do by Christina Middlebrook.
Doubleday, New York, 1998.
The Healing Journey by Alastair J. Cunningham.
Key Porter Book, Toronto, 1992.
The Human Side of Cancer: Living with Hope, Coping with Uncertainty by Jimmie C. Holland, M.D. and Sheldon Lewis. Quill, New York, 2000.

Miscellaneous

Advanced Cancer: Living Each Day (booklet), by the US Dept. of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Maryland, 1994.
Available online: www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/advancedcancer/DetailedTOC
At the Water's Edge: When Cancer Comes Back (video). Produced by Breast Cancer Infolink-Prairies/NWT. Directed by Jennifer Sass. In-House Productions, 1998.
Holding Tight, Letting Go: Living with Metastatic Breast Cancer (video), by Musa Mayer.
O'Reilly & Associates.
How Can We Love You?: Behind the Scenes with the Play, "Handle With Care (video).
Skyworks Productions, Toronto, 2000.
If Cancer Recurs: Meeting the Challenge Again (booklet). Produced and distributed by the Canadian Cancer Society. Revised ed, 2000.
Living with Advanced Breast Cancer (video). MAMM Magazine, 2002.

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Trouble Sleeping? Self-Help Management is Available
Persons with insomnia may have difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep through the night or are waking up early. Behavioural treatment has been found through research to be an effective treatment method for chronic insomnia. In these treatments, persons learn strategies that help them improve their sleep, with the goal of helping people with insomnia fall asleep and stay asleep during the night.

Persons with chronic insomnia may be eligible to participate in a University of Toronto research study. Behavioral treatment programs will be provided free of charge to participants in the study. Participants will be required to complete a series of questionnaires and sleep diaries.
People interested in participating in the research study can call the Insomnia Methods Research Study at (416) 946-8183; or visit the website (http://www.nursing.utoronto.ca/insomnia); or email at insomnia.methods@utoronto.ca.

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Physical Intimacy and Cancer: Online Forum
CancerCare now provides an Online Forum on Physical Intimacy for people living with cancer and for their partners. The group is moderated by Les Gallo-Silver, an expert in the field, "of the sexual rehabilitation of the person with cancer."

"The online format is a creative way to help you ask questions and obtain information in a comfortable, supportive and private manner while benefiting from the ideas and helpful hints of others in the group."
To participate, register for CancerCare's Online Support Group Bulletin Board at www.cancercare.org.

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Eat to the Beat 2004: "Women Chefs in Harmony"
Over 60 of Toronto's finest women chefs come together for one of the hottest events in Toronto!

Sample gourmet food while enjoying some of Ontario's finest wine and beer or a martini from the martini bar. Enjoy live music, bid on a wide selection of premium auction items, and wander through artful displays designed by top interior designers.

Eat to the Beat is Willow's only annual fundraising event; last year the event raised over $300,000 net — almost 1/2 of Willow's annual funds.

Date: Tuesday, September 28th, 2004
Time: 7pm
Place: Roy Thomson Hall
Tickets: $135 each
(A tax receipt will be issued for the maximum amount allowable by Revenue Canada.)

Look out for these exciting Auction items:
Private Preview of this fall's hottest major motion picture for you and 35 friends, thanks to Alliance Atlantis
Flight for two anywhere in Canada courtesy of Westjet
Many more to come!

Call 416.778.5000 or visit www.willow.org for tickets