TowerScope Volume 22 Issue Nr. 4, Summer 1988

              Crushing
Cancer
Continued from page I
It gives them an opportunity to
discuss difficulties they may have in
adjusting to the feelings and frustrations
of having cancer in the family. Barbara
Wertz attends each of these meetings to
provide information and resources.
Subsequent Tuesdays offer support
groups for patients and families, enter-
tainment and diversion, and a physician-
directed session on coping with daily
health problems.
In addition to the monthly support
groups, the cancer counseling and
education program sponsors an annual
two-day spiritual retreat for patients
and their families focusing on inner
peace through prayer, meditation and
group discussions with clergymen and
psychologists.
The newest program in the
CancerCare Center is a fitness program
with the emphasis on wellness. "Even
when you're sick, there are things you
can do for yourself," Wertz says. "One of
the things we want to teach people in
this group is to listen to their bodies.
They need to know how to conserve
their energy, when to stop if they start to
tire. We teach simple exercise - even
things they can do when they're lying in
bed." The class also encourages patients
to get out and be with other people.
The CancerCare Center also offers
bereavement programs for survivors of
cancer victims and is currently develop-
ing a support group for the teenagers
who have family members with cancer.
"It's an important project because this is
an area of real need," Wertz says.
The physicians, nurses and vol-
unteers of the CancerCare Center are
available for patients and families
around the clock and have helped make
Saint Joseph Denver's leading cancer
treatment center. To inquire about
volunteer services call 837-7851; for
treatment information call 837-7525. A
Cancer Survivorship Growing
A 1987 report documents impres-
sive survival statistics for Saint )oseph
Hospital cancer patients. After five years
such common tumors as female breast
cancer show survival rates of 81.8 percent;
cervical cancer 72.4 percent; cancer of
the uterus, 89.2 percent; prostate cancer,
81.3 percent; bladder cancer, 81.5 percent;
melanoma, 74.5 percent and Hodgkin's
Lymphoma, 76.4 percent.
Early detection of cancer is one of
the keys to survival, and new drugs and
treatment procedures are also instru-
mental in returning cancer patients to
a full, normal life.
"In the coming year it is our intention
to continue to explore new programs to
maintain the high quality of cancer care
at Saint Joseph," says Dr. Richard Hesky,
Chairman of the Oncology Department. A
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