FitzPatrick Cancer Center Group Introduces Survivors to the Healing Benefits of Nature
Nature-based Approach to Living Beyond Cancer begins March 25
PLATTSBURGH, NY - Retired science teacher, Presbyterian lay preacher and cancer survivor Barb Perry says participating last year in the FitzPatrick Cancer Center’s Nature-Based Approach to Living Beyond Cancer group was responsible for one the best years she’s had since receiving her cancer diagnosis 8 years ago. A new session begins Tuesday, March 25 and will take place every other Tuesday at 5 pm through Oct. 21. The location of the meetings will either be at Point Au Roche State Park or CVPH, weather conditions determining the setting.
The FitzPatrick Cancer Center is a program of the University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH).
From the quiet meditations that began each walk at Point Au Roche State Park to the friendships she’s made with other survivors in the group, Perry says she is glad she made the decision to participate. “When I first learned of this group, I wasn’t sure I’d even be alive to attend all the meetings but I signed up thinking, ‘we’ll just see what happens.’ I give myself credit for making that decision. It really was the best year I’ve had since receiving my diagnosis.”
Perry is living with stage IV ovarian cancer. She was part of the first Nature-Based Approach to Living Beyond Cancer group launched last year and facilitated by Stacey LaFave, MS, oncology social worker and certified forest therapy guide who is also certified in horticultural therapy.
“This program is helping cancer survivors learn more about the impact the natural world can have on their well-being. Research has shown, for example, that trees actually emit a chemical that increases our immunity,” she explained. Lafave also encourages participants to engage in gardening as a way to reduce stress. Perry was skeptical at first. “It was new to me but it was exciting to see the seeds sprout, transplant them and watch them grow.”
Today, Perry and other participants of the first group are still in touch and meet when they can to walk trails or take in the natural beauty of the region. “We just bonded. It’s a mystical thing because we are all very different people.”
Perry credits Lafave for the success of the program and its impact on her life. “With her background as a social worker and experience in oncology she understands what cancer survivors go through,” she said.
To learn more about Nature-Based Approach to Living Beyond Cancer program or to register, call 518-562-7534 or afleming [at] cvph.org (afleming[at]cvph[dot]org).