Cancer Connection

COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES

Complementary therapies are good for body and soul.  We offer a menu of such therapies with the knowledge that they relieve stress and can help participants cope with pain and nausea during their treatments.  They also provide stress relief and comfort to caregivers coping with a loved one’s cancer.

As we draw more donors and sponsors for our programs, we will be able to expand our appointments for complementary therapies.  In the meantime, we respectfully request you to follow these scheduling guidelines:

You may sign up for one complementary therapy each week.

Complementary therapies are scheduled within a week of the appointment; please call on Wednesday or Thursday for an appointment the next Monday or Tuesday, and on Monday for an appointment the next Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.  The reason for this policy is to prevent the schedule from being completely booked up by participants who want to schedule their next appointment immediately after their last appointment.

Priority is given to participants in urgent need… for instance, about to undergo surgery or currently in treatment for their cancer.  When you are not in urgent need, you are welcome to come in for treatments, but should schedule appointments less frequently than once a week.

Occasionally, you may receive a call asking you to postpone a scheduled appointment if the staff determines that another participant is in crisis and should receive treatment without delay. 

Please notify us at least 24 hours before your appointment if you need to cancel so that we can offer the appointment to someone else.  If you think there might be a chance of a schedule complication due to the nature of your illness or a transportation problem, please let us know in advance.

A doctor’s note is required before having massage therapy and acupuncture.

A parent or guardian must be present when a child (under 18) is receiving a complementary therapy.

If you are unable to schedule an appointment for your preferred therapy, please consider one of our other offerings.  We would be happy to tell you about the therapies and the skilled caregivers who offer them.

We welcome you to take advantage of complementary therapies when you are facing an increase of stress, before a scan or tumor marker test or doctor’s visit, for instance; however, if the increased stress is not specifically related to cancer, we would be happy to refer you to other services in the community.

All programs and services are provided free-of-charge to individuals living with cancer and their loved ones, but donations to support Cancer Connection are welcome to help us serve more people living with cancer.

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