Cancer Center Sets Wellness Workshop for Survivors

Free Community Workshop on June 14

  (Covington, La.) In conjunction with National Cancer Survivor Day activities in June, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center at St. Tammany Parish Hospital will hold a free community workshop from 9 a.m. to noon June 14 titled “Healing from Within: Pathways to Wellness.” The event, to be held at the STPH Conference Center, 1202 S. Tyler St., Covington, is open to cancer survivors and caregivers focused on optimal recovery following a cancer diagnosis. Registration, breakfast and free chair massages will take place from 8:15-8:55 a.m. followed by a welcome from Jane Freudenberger, licensed clinical social worker with Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center at St. Tammany Parish Hospital. Comfortable dress is encouraged. “We are excited for community cancer survivors and caregivers to experience this unique mind and body workshop designed to enhance the journey to total wellness,” Freudenberger said. Keynote speaker Beau Bagley MD, rehabilitative specialist with Gulf Coast Brain Sport and Spine, will begin the workshop with a discussion of the common side effects cancer survivors experience and the relationship of exercise, rehabilitation and integrative therapies in the restoration of optimal health. Additional speakers and instructors will discuss wellness strategies that can be used during and after cancer treatment such as exercise, Tai Chi, restorative yoga, acupuncture and nutrition. A panel discussion comprised of cancer survivors sharing their personal strategies for ensuring physical and emotional well-being and a meditation moment by a licensed massage therapist and meditation instructor also are part of the lineup. To register or for more information, contact Freudenberger at (985) 276-6832 or jfreudenberger@marybird.com. Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center at St. Tammany Parish Hospital provides comprehensive cancer care that strives to positively impact the lives of cancer patients and their families on the Northshore. Services include chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery, as well as patient navigation, clinical trials and free community screenings. Not only do patients have access to these vital cancer services and high quality cancer care, but these services are readily available close to home.