I know how overwhelming it can be when someone is diagnosed with cancer. A wealth of information is presented to you and a lot of it can be hard to remember. Yes, resource packets are wonderful tools and information sheets are extremely useful but sometimes sifting through all of the documents can be cumbersome, especially when you have specific questions. For this reason, the Swedish Cancer Institute (SCI) wants to ensure that you have access to education and information in a way that works for you.
SCI offers education programs to assist you, your family members and your caregivers in making treatment decisions, managing your symptoms, and accessing programs to help your mind, body and spirit to heal.
One of the programs is patient education classes. These classes offer practical tips that you and your family members can take home with you. The classes are intended to complement your treatment here at Swedish but also provide an opportunity where you can ask questions in a safe and secure environment.
Whether you are interested in exploring how the healing powers of art-making can help during your experience with cancer treatment or learning how naturopathic medicine complements conventional cancer treatments (or maybe you want to gain skills and confidence in creating hair alternatives) – whatever the area of focus is, we have classes that fit your needs.
Our classes cover the following topics (and more):
- The Anticancer Lifestyle
- Art Classes
- Cancer Screenings
- Hair Alternatives
- Healing the Whole Person
- Look Good, Feel Better
- Meditation
- Naturopathy
- Nutrition
- Recovery
- Yoga
- Writing and Poetry
Many of these classes are offered each quarter giving newly diagnosed patients multiple opportunities to take classes of interest. However, no matter where you are in your treatment, you are more than welcome and are encouraged to attend any of the classes SCI offers.
Every quarter we aim to provide one or two featured classes that address current trends or ‘hot topics’ and are new to previous class offerings.
If you are unsure of what type of class to attend, sometimes it works to segment your learning accordingly. For instance, if you have questions varying from eating well when dealing with cancer to mindfulness meditation strategies – split your questions up! Save yourself from being overwhelmed with the amount of information that is presented and focus on one topic at that particular time.
Tips:
- Identify any questions about any topics you may have.
- Categorize those questions by writing them down.
- Take a look at the Quarterly Calendar for the Patient Education Classes and see which classes fall in to that category of questions.
- Register for the classes that interest you.
- Bring any questions to the class with you.
With classes at Swedish/First Hill, Swedish/Issaquah, Swedish/Edmonds, Issaquah Library, Sammamish Library and Lake Hills Library, we hope that you find a class conveniently located near you.
To register for classes, call 206-386-2502 or go to www.swedish.org/classes.
