Five Fabulous Years of Fit and Fearless!

A Fit and Fearless group after a Tuesday morning class.

An original exercise class created especially for those living with and beyond cancer, Cancer Services introduced Fit and Fearless in September 2007 when oncology professionals were recommending cancer survivors to be active after treatment. Including strength training, cardiovascular  and flexibility exercises, the class is offered three times each week and this September, we’re celebrating FIVE YEARS of being Fit and Fearless! Many participants have been coming since the beginning, but newcomers are always welcome – male and female! “For new people, this group could not be more hospitable” says Laura LeBlanc, a certified fitness expert who helped design the class and still teaches it today.

 

Exercise has been shown to lessen anxiety and depression, improve mood and self-esteem, and reduce fatigue and pain.  But more than the physical benefits, Fit and Fearless participants thrive emotionally from their classmates’ support. “We think of ourselves as a gift to each other,” says Gloria Graham, one of the charter members, “We can talk about anything here.”

Fit and Fearless meets at BREC Independence Park (across the street from Cancer Services) Mondays and Thursdays at 5:15 p.m. and Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m. Cancer Services also offers Yoga Thrive and Zumba Gold. Classes are free of charge and clients in all stages of  survivorship are welcome with a doctor’s permission. The Cancer Services Library/Resource Center loans DVDs of Fit and Fearless classes and these 3 different discs are also available for purchase at $15 each – proceeds benefit Cancer Services.  

For more information about our Exercise Program call 225-927-2273 or visit our website at www.cancerservices.org. The mission of Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge is to improve life for those living with cancer. 

Capital Chefs' Showcase: Lee Michaels Shopping Spree

Champagne and Diamonds Extravaganza

This is your chance to win a shopping spree valued at $4,000 from

Only 400 tickets are available. Get yours before it's gone!

 

Call Stephanie at 225-927-2273

100% of proceeds benefit Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge. 

 

   

   

Drawing held at the 

30th Annual  

Capital Chefs' Showcase

 

 need not be present to win  

Thursday, September 6, 2012 6:30 p.m.  

 Baton Rouge River Center  

Event tickets are $100 each and sponsorships start at $1,000.  

Call 225-927-2273 for more information  

or to purchase event tickets, raffle tickets or sponsorships.  

Cancer Services is a local nonprofit 100% dependent on the generosity of this community. 

Staying Relevant: Until there’s a cure, there’s Cancer Services

For over 50 years, Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge has been in this community serving cancer patients, their family members and caregivers. Using the word relevance expresses our promise to stay meaningful and relevant to their needs – even though those needs have changed drastically over the years.  

When Cancer Services opened its doors in the 1950’s, those who heard the words “you have cancer” had fewer options and less hope than today’s cancer patients. As a result, the agency had a hospice feel, providing loaned equipment, home visits and sick room supplies.  Thankfully, today’s advancements have made cancer survivorship a real thing. There are over 12 million cancer survivors in America and the number continues to grow. Over the years Cancer Services has continually responded to stay relevant to today’s survivors. When chemotherapy became mainstream, we addressed its side effects by opening our wig boutique and offering nutritional supplements. When exercise became a recommended option, we started aerobics, yoga and Zumba geared to the physical abilities and needs of survivors. With more people living long-term with cancer, we’ve expanded our support groups and started hosting more survivorship events.

Through our programs and services – and with the generous help of this community – we promise to stay relevant to the needs of cancer patients and their families.   

 

Capital Chefs' Showcase: Our FABULOUS Chefs!

 It's no secret that Louisiana has some of the best food in the country, if not the world. So when Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge brings the area's best chefs together for Capital Chefs' Showcase each year, it's an opportunity to have an amazing culinary experience all under one roof. Not only are they masters of their craft, but these chefs donate food for 1,200+ people every year to benefit Cancer Services. Many have been participating for YEARS. We obviously could not host Showcase without them and we are incredibly thankful for their generosity. Remember that this event benefits those living with cancer right here in our community!

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!

Chefs at the 2011 Capital Chefs' Showcase

On Thursday, September 6th at 6:30 p.m. at the Baton Rouge River Center, you can taste a unique creation from each of these participating chefs:

Mrs. Mary R. Aycock

BD Kitchens

Baton Rouge General Blubeonnet - Pennington

Beausoleil

Cafe' Americain

Carrabba's Italian Grill

Chef Celeste at Southside

Chef Don Bergeron Enterprises

Chef KD Louisiana Legends
Cordon Rouge

Culinary Productions, Catering & Event Planning

Drusilla Seafood Restaurant & Catering

Fleming's Steakhouse

French Market Bistro

Heirloom Cuisine

Jasmines on the Bayou

Juban's Restaurant & Catering

Kleinpeter Farms Dairy, Inc.

Little Village

Louisiana Pizza Kitchen

Mansur's on the Boulevard

Nothing Bundt Cakes

Portico

Portobello's Italian Grill & Café

Roberto's

Serop's Cafe

Stroubes

Tsunami

Unique Cuisine

Zea Rotisserie & Grill

Thirty years ago, George Rodrigue painted the original chefs participating in the first Capital Chefs' Showcase. A signed print of that painting will be part of this year's silent auction.

The 30th Annual Capital Chefs’ Showcase: Sept. 6th!

In the 1980s, Cancer Services started its signature fundraiser as a two-day cooking demonstration. Thirty years later Capital Chefs’ Showcase has grown to one of the largest, most anticipated and most imitated events of the year. The night has always been one filled with great food, spectacular silent auction shopping and up-beat music; this year we’re adding to the festivities to mark this special anniversary. Help us celebrate and improve life for those living with cancer on Thursday, September 6th at 6:30 p.m.

Moving the event to the Baton Rouge River Center we’re able to host 30 chefs, inviting new participants from our waiting list. These chefs donate their time and food to provide delicious cuisine to more than 1,200 people ---- all to help Cancer Services with their mission to improve life for those living with cancer in the Greater Baton Rouge area. This event could not happen without their incredible support and generosity.

We’re so pleased to welcome our honorary co-chairs.  Longtime supporters and friends to Cancer Services, LSU Baseball Coach Paul Mainieri and his wife Karen are being joined by cancer survivor Louisiana’s Lieutenant Governor, Jay Dardenne and his wife Cathy. Dardenne was diagnosed with non-aggressive prostate cancer during a routine check-up in 2011 and had surgery in November. 

Even though the Greater Baton Rouge community has enjoyed Showcase for the past thirty years, many don’t connect the event with Cancer Services. This is far more than an evening out - it is a way to support friends, coworkers, neighbors and family members who are living with, through and beyond cancer. 

Click here to purchase tickets! 

Miss Fix-It: Cancer Services’ New Partnership

Cindy, bottom right, with some attendees of our 
Digestive and Urinary Cancers Survivorship event.

At Cancer Services partnership is one of our favorite words and with the help of many partners, we want to “fix” your cancer-related issues. Thanks to a new partnership with Get Your Rear in Gear, our clients now have access to Cindy Schneider, a Certified Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurse.

But what is an ostomy? For many of our clients living with digestive and urinary cancers it’s a word they know all too well. An ostomy is an opening of the intestine into the wall of the abdomen, required for some patients after the surgical removal or the healing of part of their colons, rectums or intestines.

Patients sometimes feel embarrassed about their ostomies and often find their loved ones are uncomfortable discussing them. Many are sent home with little long-term training or resources to help them adjust. This is where Cindy comes in! In addition to attending support group meetings, Cindy is available for phone consultations and home visits to coach “ostomates” on how to make their ostomies work into their lives, as well as offer emotional support. Cindy says, “The best advice I can give to ostomy patients is that you can still do everything you did before your ostomy. If something isn’t working for you, I can help fix it.” Connecting clients with Cindy’s expertise is another example of how we’re improving life for those living with cancer.

Cancer Services also has a large amount of donated ostomy supplies available to clients free of charge. Our Digestive and Urinary Cancers Support Group meets the third Monday of each month at noon at Cancer Services. Call 225-927-2273 to learn more about the group or our ostomy support services.

The Forgotten Survivors: The Importance of Cancer Services’ Kids Kare Program

Paige, Danielle, Nadia, Courtney and Caleb Julien at Cancer Services after speaking to our Board of Directors about the importance of Kids Kare.

Paige and Caleb ready to ice skate at one of our monthly Children’s Events

Cancer never affects just one person. Like the proverbial pebble in a pond, it ripples out to family members, friends, coworkers and neighbors. Every day, Cancer Services attends to the various needs of ALL those affected by cancer, including the children whose family members are diagnosed. 

When people think of kids affected by cancer, most imagine children who have the disease. Our Candlelighter Program provides support for them and their siblings. But often people forget the impact that a parent’s cancer diagnosis can have on a child. Cancer Services Director of Support Programs Esther Sachse, LCSW, explains, “The children of our parents with cancer are often the forgotten survivors, yet they are a crucial part of our mission.  When Dad is too sick to toss a football or Mom is in treatment and can’t help pick that prom dress, children experience some of the losses associated with cancer.  Our Kids Kare Program creates special family moments that help carry survivors through the cancer journey.”
   
At just 32 years old, Courtney Julien, father of three, experienced kidney failure. One minute he was going about his work day as a process operator at CF Industries and the next minute he was in the hospital, soon to be diagnosed with a rare type of lymphomathat started in his prostate and engulfed his bladder and kidneys. He, his wife Danielle and their children all began a difficult journey that uniquely affected each one of them.
   
Thankfully, the Juliens found that Cancer Services could help the entire family with their various physical, emotional and financial needs. In addition to being a safe place to talk, the agency helped Courtney pay for his prescriptions to ease the high costs of a diagnosis and provided products to ease the side effects of treatment. Treatments were tough and Courtney was in and out of the hospital for weeks. His children  struggled to understand why their strong dad, their “Superman,” was sick. “The day I got home from the hospital, I still had tubes and was recovering,” Courtney says. “When Nadia saw me, she was so excited she ran up to jump on me like she used to and everyone screamed to stop her. Every day they’d ask if Dad could play and they didn’t understand when I couldn’t.”

Nadia and Paige with Santa at the Children’s Holiday Party.

As the Juliens adjusted to this “new normal” they began grasping for things that resembled their old life, including special family time and outings, now difficult because of Courtney’s limited physical abilities and their financial situation. Cancer Services and Kids Kare helped fill that void. The monthly children’s events give the Juliens and dozens of other families the chance to spend time together “outside a world of hurt” and not worry about sickness, shots or chemo. “They’re great times for us,” Danielle explains, “Even the baby can come and enjoy.” She claims it even helped her husband heal quicker, “He was able to enjoy his kids again and we got to meet other families and know we’re not alone.” But Kids Kare is not just about fun activities, it’s about families and giving children a sense of normalcy during a scary and confusing time.

Today Courtney and his family are doing well and still attend events. Despite his progress, cancer is still present in their lives. Over a year later medical bills are mounting and Courtney is still adjusting to being back at work. Danielle smiles and says, “Praise the Lord, everything’s OK today. We’re so blessed to have Cancer Services. Please don’t ever stop doing what y’all are doing.”

For more about the Kids Kare or any other program, call Cancer Services at 225-927-2273.

Meet Judy: Reiki Master and Cancer Services Volunteer

Judy Alonso has volunteered her time and expertise at Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge for nearly a year, coming in weekly to provide Reiki sessions for interested clients.  For those of you who haven’t met Judy or experienced a Reiki session, here's a little background on Judy, and how and why she came to be a Reiki Master.

“In 2005 after 4 1/2 years of my husband battling throat cancer, some friends suggested that we should go to the Reiki Center in Hollywood, Florida, where we lived for 20 years, and talk to the Reiki Master.  They felt she could probably help him with pain since he was done with his radiation and umpteen chemo sessions, and wasn’t going to do anymore.  Nothing to lose at this point for sure with only a 10% chance of survival.

We did not even know how to pronounce Reiki, let alone what it was.  The Reiki Master, Myrna Farbiash, was in that day (hmmmm, what a coincidence) and spoke with Al first and then took a look at me and spoke with me.  She told me there was a Level 1 Reiki class a couple of months or so down the line, and it was already full, and if I wanted to be in on it to go tell the Reiki Master at the counter to put someone out if she had to, but to make room for me.  Being the kind person she was, she did not put anyone out, and not knowing if Al would even still be with us then, I enrolled us both in the class.

As it turned out, he was still with us, and that was the last thing we did together.  He struggled to get there each day for the 2 day class, but he made it.  A week later, the Lord called him home.  The Lord put me on my path of Reiki through Al’s illness.  Maybe, otherwise, I would not have been able to recognize His road sign.

Funny, in the mid 60’s I had 2 dance schools which I thought I would be doing for the rest of my life.  Then, as life went, I worked for the Postal Service for 30 years and retired a year after my husband passed away, Whew!  During that year, I completed my Level II Reiki Class, Reiki Master Class and finished all of my teaching requirements before moving back home to Baton Rouge.

I had already begun teaching my classes and doing my sessions when I received the Cancer Services Bulletin in the mail and noticed you all were offering alternative methods of body, mind, spirit; and Reiki was one of them.  I immediately called and asked for an appointment to bring my cards, brochure, copies of certificates and ministry and asked to “SIGN ME UP!” This was my chance and my honor to give back to the very thing that put me on this journey in the first place—the wonderful people still battling this disease called CANCER.

What is one of the most important things I have learned in life, you ask?  It is said so many ways but this is one of my favorites:

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD

Difficult moments, SEEK GOD

Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD

Painful moments, TRUST GOD

Every moment, THANK GOD

And, when you feel you have come to the end of all you know, and are about to step off into the darkness, trust and have faith in God that he will either give you something solid to stand on, or wings to fly.” 

Love, Light and Angels,

Judy Alonso

Reiki Master Teacher

Baton Rouge, LA

Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

Dark Blue is Colorectal's Cancer Awareness Color.

March is colorectal cancer awareness month. Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer among men behind skin, prostate and lung cancer, and the fourth most common among women after skin, breast and lung cancer. The risk of colorectal cancer increases with age with more than 90 percent of cases occurring in people who are 50 years old or older (CDC).



According to the NCI, risk factors for colorectal cancer are:

• being 50 years old or older,
• having a family history of colon cancer or polyps,
• colorectal polyps,
• a personal history of cancer, especially ovarian, endometrial or breast cancer,
• ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease,
• hereditary conditions like familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer (HNPCC),
• a diet of high fat and low calcium, folate and fiber and
• cigarette smoking.

It is important to get tested for colorectal cancer if you are 50 years old or older because it can save your life. Many cancers in the early, treatable stages do not cause symptoms so it is important to get tested regularly. Symptoms usually begin to emerge when the cancer has progressed. Some of the symptoms of colorectal cancer include:

• Constipation or Diarrhea
• Blood in or on the stool
• Weight loss with no known reason
• Fatigue
• Vomiting or nausea
• The sensation that the bowel does not empty completely
• Narrow stools (which indicate an obstruction in the colon)
• Chronic abdominal discomfort, like gas pains or cramps or feeling bloated or full

These symptoms may be caused by something other than cancer, but it is important to visit a doctor so that a proper diagnosis can be made. For more information about colon cancer or screenings in our area, call the Cancer Services Library/Resource Center at 225-927-2273.

Each week, Cancer Services posts a Cancer Q&A in the Health section of The Advocate.

Not Alone: Pancreatic Cancer Survivorship Luncheon

Attendees at Cancer Services' first Pancreatic Survivorship Luncheon.

 
Survivors, caregivers and supporters gathered at Cancer Services this past Monday for our first Pancreatic Cancer Survivorship Luncheon. Survival rates tend to be dramatically lower for pancreatic cancer than other cancers and because of these statistics, many survivors* can feel hopeless and isolated, even within the cancer community. The Survivorship Luncheon gave them the opportunity to speak with fellow pancreatic cancer survivors who can empathize and share information. Conversation ranged from comparing their experiences of being diagnosed, to coaching a caregiver on what her mother might be going through, to sharing diet tips. For most though, simply meeting others with the disease was the reason for coming. Many of the attendees had never met a single other person with pancreatic cancer.
Paula Aliers, PANCAN facilitator of the monthly Pancreatic Survivor Network Meetings explains that, “It’s nice for patients to hear they’re not going crazy, that they’re not the only one and sometimes that’s hard because people don’t want to talk about pancreatic cancer – there’s a stigma there.” But there’s no stigma at Cancer Services. One of the attendees expressed in a thank-you note that, “I left the survivor party yesterday with such a sense of encouragement and finally felt like I had truly come to place where I could ‘take the mask off.’”

The Pancreatic Survivor Network meets at the General on Bluebonnet on the third Thursday of each month, from 6:30-8:30. For more information about Pancreatic Cancer, our support groups or anything else call Cancer Services at 225-927-2273 or visit our website.

Each month, Cancer Services will be hosting a different survivorship event to celebrate and honor survivors’ unique journeys. It’s no secret that some cancers get more attention than others. At Cancer Services we want to make sure all our clients feel supported in meaningful and relevant ways. Click here for a tentative schedule of the 2012 Survivorship Events.

*According to the National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation, a cancer survivor is anyone with a history of cancer, from the moment of diagnosis through their journey. Thus, Cancer Services refers to all clients as "survivors.” We are here for you and all 6,000 of our clients as you live with, through and beyond cancer.

Cancer Services: For Body, Mind and Spirit

“YOU HAVE CANCER.”

This year, over 4000 people in the Baton Rouge area will hear these words and join the thousands of others who have already heard them.

For all of them and their families,

Cancer Services is here...

for body

Replenishing much-needed vitamins and nutrients through nutritional supplements

Providing mobility and independence by loan of hospital beds, wheelchairs and other equipment

Giving comfort and well-being though medical and post-surgical supplies

Improving physical function through exercise programs tailored to the needs of cancer survivors

mind

Easing the anxiety of navigating the complicated healthcare system

Relieving financial burdens with prescription assistance and mileage reimbursement to ensure patients get the treatment they need

Offering empathetic ears and the chance to share experiences, thoughts and feelings with others on the same journey through support groups

Empowering patients and family members to make sound decisions regarding their treatment and health with educational programs and up to date resource information

and spirit

Restoring confidence and self-esteem by sharing wigs, hats, scarves and other accessories

Calming the stresses associated with a life-altering diagnosis though yoga and reiki sessions

Improving one's ability to cope through personal counseling

Facilitating opportunities for children to forgo their illness, laugh, play and experience childhood



For more information about Cancer Services, visit our website, call 225-927-2273 or stop by our office at 550 Lobdell Ave. in Baton Rouge. We're open 8:30-4:30 Monday-Friday.