Community Hospital South in Indianapolis is starting a survivorship program designed to help men and women thrive after cancer.
The workshops focus on nutrition, physical, emotional and financial wellness and begin this month. The goal is to empower patients in their post-treatment lives.
Martha Von Bank, who lives in Greenwood and is a two-time breast cancer survivor, looks forward to the program because she wants to focus more on taking care of herself and drawing support from others who have gone through cancer. The 55-year-old had a mastectomy of her right breast in 2004 after being diagnosed with intraductal carcinoma in situ a month earlier. She had the same surgery on her left breast this past spring after being diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma.
Cancer was first detected in Von Bank during a routine mammogram after she turned 40.
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“I was in shock. It took me at least a few days to digest what I was just told. On both occasions, I had a feeling inside me that I had (cancer) even before it was diagnosed,” she said. “I feel like so much has changed from 14 years ago when I first went through it. It’s always good to be around people who are going through the same thing or have gone through the same thing.”
Upcoming sessions on physical wellness are of particular interest to Von Bank. “I want to do a better job of taking care of myself,” she said. “This will provide me the resources and will push me whether it’s for working out or eating better.”
This is only one of the benefits of the survivorship program, which rotates monthly between the three Community Hospital campuses — East, South and North. It began with the four sessions at East in September and will continue at North in November.
Every cancer patient is affected differently. Some yearn to simply be in the company of other cancer survivors, while others might want to alter their food intake in pursuit of a healthier lifestyle. The survivorship program also helps those whose finances have been impacted while paying for their cancer treatments.
The program’s origins date back one year with a pilot program, said Lynn Gooden, who works in the Community Health Network as an oncology nurse navigator.
“Once the active pieces of treatment are done, they’re ready for that new normal. Their body could have changed, their emotional well-being could have changed, their finances could have changed.”
Gooden is a breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed in January 2015 and experienced chemotherapy and surgical reconstruction before being declared cancer-free at the end of the same year.
The experience motivated her to do something different. Something more.
“I was another one of those cancer survivors who, as a nurse, I wanted a different purpose after I was done with treatment,” Gooden said. “I explored the option of being a nurse navigator. I’ve been with the network now since 2016 as a nurse navigator. This kind of purpose was always in the back of my mind, but I needed to get my groundwork of what it looked like other than just my journey.”
Cheryl Jenkins has been an oncology survivorship navigator at the Community South Cancer Center since May. She said between five and 10 patients declared cancer-free join the program each week. She predicts the total number could be at 100 by the time workshops begin.
“They are people who have finished treatment. They get a treatment summary and can then be entered into the survivorship program,” she said. “I wasn’t really sure how many people to expect, but it’s taken off pretty quickly. A lot of times people go through cancer expending all of their energy dealing with the illness. This program is good at meeting those unmet needs.”
Jenkins says it’s common for survivors to need help with daily physical activities such as yard work. Others could need transportation to and from Community South, help paying bills and/or buying groceries and finding a support group or individual counseling.
“We want to make sure that their needs are met. We have noticed, to no fault of any part of the care team, sometimes they may have a new financial barrier that they didn’t have at the beginning,” Gooden said. “We are hearing from the survivors that they really appreciate a lot of the resources. The majority of the cancer patients we have seen have been grateful for the resources and acknowledge this is a scary time.
“A fear of recurrence is a normal feeling, and it’s OK to say you have some certain issues going on that maybe you don’t want to discuss because you’re just so grateful you survived cancer.”
Columbus resident Denise Low was diagnosed with breast cancer in January after detecting a pea-sized lump in her right breast. Dr. Erin Zusan performed the surgery on March 5, and Low has been cancer-free ever since.
“We’re excited about it. We want to go to listen and see what they offer and what we can do,” said Low, who will attend with her husband, Jack, and most looks forward to sessions focused on fitness and finances. “I do exercise with my arms to help build my breast tissues back up, but it’s also about learning about all-around physical fitness. Community South has already helped me so far with the financial part. They are wonderful.”
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Thriving after cancer workshops
When: October 7 (nutritional wellness), 14 (physical wellness), 21 (emotional wellness) and 28 (financial wellness)
Where: Community Hospital South, 1402 E. County Line Road, Indianapolis
Ages: 18 and older
For more information: Call 317-621-4961
Future workshops: Will be quarterly at Community South due to such workshops also taking place different months at Community East and Community North
Admission: Free
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