|
|
|
You've read the article. Now tell us what you think. Related sites |
Interview by
Mary Ann Hellinghausen Mary Jo Perley, PhD, RN, teaches management, leadership, and palliative care courses at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Nursing. She began coordinating Time to Heal Cancer retreats in 1996, patterning them after a successful Commonwealth Cancer Help Program in Northern California. The retreats, which are held at a campground near Dallas, offer a way for cancer patients to develop complementary healing skills and explore existential issues that accompany a cancer diagnosis. Q: What is the Time to Heal Cancer Retreat? How are nurses and other healthcare professionals involved? A: It is a five-day, intensive program of psychological, social, and spiritual support for cancer patients. It brings together small groups of cancer survivors, about eight to 12, and gives them an opportunity to learn complementary healing skills, to explore some of the issues that cancer has brought to their lives, and most importantly, to develop a sense of community with each other. At least two nurses are on site during the retreat in case we have any kind of medical emergency. We have people from many different disciplines working in a supportive environment, including an art therapist, music therapist, a psychologist with a master’s degree in divinity, a yoga instructor, and several nurses who are registered massage therapists. Q: What kinds of complementary therapy do you use in these retreats? How are they helpful to cancer patients? A: We try to use complementary therapies that help people explore who they are; what they love, value, and hold dear; what their gifts are to the world; and how they want to live knowing that they’re going to die. Cancer gives people an opportunity to look at life in a new way. We help them get a sense of control. When they take yoga and learn they can control the breath and get a sense of peace and calm, that’s a really powerful message. We use art, writing, sand tray, and music primarily to look at the psychological, social, and spiritual issues of cancer. Because it’s holistic, everything we do has an element of the physical, spiritual, and psychological in it. Q: What kind of outcomes do you see? A: The retreat makes a tremendous difference in their sense of hope—not just for survival, but in their quality of life and sense of control. Most people who participate in the retreat suddenly see there are opportunities out there. Those whose chances for long-term survival are higher continue to use the skills we use in the retreat. Studies suggest that any or all of the things we use can enhance the immune system and strengthen the ability of the body to fight cancer—but that’s not our goal. We tend to look more at how people handle existential issues. Some participants report a lack of fear and the ability to be in control. A lot feel a tremendous burden has been lifted. Q: How did you become involved in this program, and how do nursing and complementary therapy connect? A: I’m a nurse who has worked in high-level positions. After working in administration, I became increasingly drawn to healing. I went into this profession because I wanted to help people heal, but I got farther away from that in my nursing career. I realized that people don’t heal in the hospital; they heal at home. I saw a PBS program on the Commonwealth retreat program in the early 1990s and decided, ‘that’s it.’ It took about a year to get the program together. Nursing is one of the few professions that really integrates the physical and emotional aspects of healing. The complexity of cancer is that it has physical dimensions too—nursing brings these pieces together. We’re the great integrators in this modality. |
