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From Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center Synergy magazine: Yawkey Center Features Expanded Patient-Support Services Images Boutique and Cancer Resource Room Help Patients and Families Cope with Cancer At first glance, Images Boutique appears to be a convenience for those in the Cancer Center with little time to spare. Catch snippets of conversation between hair stylists and clientele and you might mistake this for a neighborhood salon anywhere in Boston. But at Images, there is a noteworthy difference: these hair, skin, nail, and fashion specialists are trained to help patients with cancer deal with challenges to their appearance that result from treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy. A short distance away, in the Cancer Resource Room, you are likely to hear good-natured laughter. Patients, family members, and healthcare providers come here seeking information on diagnoses, treatment options, or support services. What they also find is a friendly place to unwind. They meet social workers, nurses, librarians, and volunteers who understand the uncertainty and fear a cancer diagnosis can mean. While assisting in searches for information, these are people who take time to listen, be supportive, and help visitors relax and even joke around. Among the many cancer patient-support services now located in the Yawkey Center for Outpatient Care, the Images Boutique and the main Cancer Resource Room moved to the new building in January (the existing Cancer Resource Room remains open in the Cox Building). Each will use its new, larger, more patient-friendly space to expand services tailored to patients’ and family members’ individual needs. Images Boutique “This is a place to pamper yourself,” says Kathy Gill Bazazi, general manager of Images Boutique. “When people come in, we want them to forget why they’re in the hospital.” Since it opened in the Cox Building in 1997, close to 3,500 cancer patients a year have taken advantage of Image’s services and products. Formerly called the Images Hair and Skin Care Center, the new name reflects the wider variety of offerings for women, men, teens, and children that are now available in the Yawkey Center. Bazazi is a certified post-mastectomy consultant, a Vidal Sassoon-trained cosmetologist, and Boston’s regional coordinator for “Look Good…Feel Better,” a national program for cancer patients that she helped establish at Mass General ten years ago. 1 “In the boutique, cancer patients can focus on their appearance, assisted by our staff of consultants who enjoy helping people look their best,” Bazazi says. “Our goal is to make the physical side effects of therapy less challenging. It’s tough to go back to work or your usual routine, participate in a meeting, speak to an audience, or get together with friends if you are self-conscious about changes in your appearance.” Images is a non-profit service made possible through a grant from the Massachusetts General Hospital Ladies Visiting Committee. Proceeds help support the committee’s patient-care projects. Barbara L. Smith, MD, PhD, co-director of the Gillette Center for Women’s Cancers, calls Images a tremendous service that smoothes the way for patients. “On the same day patients first hear about chemotherapy or radiation, they can go to Images and purchase a flattering wig. They are taking positive steps to help themselves and don’t have to search all over the city.” The time-saving factor is substantial, she notes. Rather than the usual three- to four-week wait for a permanent prosthesis to be ready, breast cancer patients now can be fitted in their hospital rooms for a soft prosthesis that can be worn right away. Men can get advice on skin care products that even out facial coloration. A haircut or a new style can minimize the impact of hair loss. Hats, baseball caps, or hair prostheses, which Images sells, might be another attractive solution. Images’ consultants also can demonstrate using an electric razor to safely achieve a popular shaved-head look. Their tips on moisturizers, exercise, and stress reduction help reduce health risks while enhancing a man’s looks. Women will find a new selection of attractive post-mastectomy lingerie and bathing suits alongside an array of stylish head scarves and wigs. For those with lymphedema, a side effect of treatment that causes swelling in the arms, Kathy Bazazi can measure for massage sleeves and recommend follow-up care. “Soft, feminine, matching undergarments; pretty camisoles; cozy pajamas can be tried on in two private fitting rooms, which is a relief for women who find it awkward or embarrassing to shop in conventional retail stores where privacy often goes out the window,” says Bazazi. This season, a new line of hats and matching gloves and scarves for children will be arriving as well. “Whether people receive treatment at Mass General or elsewhere, they are welcome to visit the boutique. We want to create the most comfortable environment possible for any current or former cancer patients,” she notes. “Often women discover the boutique several years after a mastectomy. They’ve been struggling to find clothes that look right. They’re thrilled to discover that we can help by doing a proper fitting so they can wear what they want. After a consultation, I can’t tell you how many people give our staff members grateful hugs.” 2 The Cancer Resource Room In what feels like two cozy living rooms, the Cancer Resource Room staff has created two libraries—one on the first floor of the Cox Building and now also on the eighth floor of the Yawkey Center—for anyone who wants to understand a cancer diagnosis, anticipate what lies ahead, and learn to cope with the cancer journey. In each location, there are comfortable sofas and chairs; a lending library brimming with pamphlets, videos, journals, articles, and books; free internet access on eight computers in Yawkey and three in Cox; and quiet alcoves for phone calls to family and friends, all at no charge. At the entrances are revolving racks containing “Information Finders”— reference sheets prepared by the staff listing Web sites, books, videos, journals, and organizations related to cancer topics. The Yawkey Cancer Resource Room, which was specially designed for this purpose, is spacious, light-filled, cheery, and decorated in soothing pastels. It also has a group room large enough to comfortably accommodate support groups and the extensive, free workshops and wellness services of the HOPES Program. (see Fall 2004 Synergy). Natalie (Nat) Lawton has volunteered in the Cancer Resource Room for six years. A dynamic woman who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer 14 years ago and survived a recurrence four years later, she regularly drives two hours from her home in New Hampshire to be there. “The atmosphere is calm, positive, and restful, but more than that, it is filled with information and people who can help you do research really quickly,” says Lawton. “Knowledge is power and here you can get explanations in lay terms. You can get the tools you need to make informed decisions.” When Nat Lawton’s husband, Buck, was diagnosed with prostate cancer, the couple used the Cancer Resource Room to find reliable books and online information about medications so Buck could evaluate his options. Following his surgery, Nat used the computers to stay in touch with concerned, out-of-town family and friends. “This service is an incredible gift to people,” says Lawton. “Buck and I are schoolteachers so we’re accustomed to doing research, but many people don’t know how to dig for information. Friends can be so supportive but they don’t always understand what you need and when you need it. Sometimes they can overwhelm you while trying to be helpful. That doesn’t happen here.” Sally Hooper, MSW, LICSW, and with Debbie Essig, MSW, LICSW, are co-directors of the Cancer Resource Room which began in 1995. The room was a collaboration with Treadwell Library, MGH’s comprehensive medical library, and the Friends of the MGH Cancer Center, which provided the initial grant. The Friends have continued 3 their support annually, enabling the Cancer Resource Room to expand its services. “The Friends have been phenomenal,” says Hooper. “Without them, we wouldn’t exist. Right from the start, we wanted this to be a combination drop-in center, living room and library so that people coping with cancer feel welcome while obtaining information that ranges from basic guides to sophisticated searches in medical journals. We have continued our relationship with Treadwell whose staff provide reference searches of their vast collection of medical texts and journals. “This room really is a collaborative effort,” she adds. “We rely on many social workers, chaplains and nurses who pitch in one hour a week to work here as well as our wonderful volunteers, many of whom are cancer survivors.” Liz Johnson, a Clinical Nurse Specialist who works on an inpatient unit, provides a nursing perspective when she volunteers in the Cancer Resource Room on Thursday afternoons. “When someone walks in, we determine their starting point, give information appropriate to their current level of knowledge and help them prioritize and narrow their search.” “Mass General can be intimidating to some people because it is a big urban hospital,” adds Debbie Essig. “We help make it less daunting, more human.” Among the creative ideas that the Cancer Resource Room provides are: The Pediatric Cart—books and magazines for children and teens; Borrow for a Day—a loaner program on a rolling cart stocked with CDs, tape players, and relaxation, music, and comedy tapes as well as blank tapes; Patient Information—a growing collection of print and online material written in clear language; DIP—Digital Information for Patients—a user-friendly database created in tandem with Mass General’s Treadwell Library that currently contains more than 800 scanned documents including information on rare cancers, presented in non-technical language; Spanish-language videos, pamphlets, and Web sites as well as access to multilingual assistance through the Mass General Interpreter Office; Referral to the Network for Patients and Families, a peer matching program; Hat Tree—knitted and fabric hats for patients handmade by people throughout Boston for Friends Fighting Breast Cancer in partnership with the Fabric Place, which supplies patterns and makes a donation for each hat created; 4 Questions to Explore—a helpful guide written by Cancer Resource Room staff to help patients figure out what questions to ask (available soon on the Web site); Information Finders—useful guides prepared by the Cancer Resource Room staff on cancer types and topics (also available in the Resource Room and on the Web site). “People spend a lot of down time in the hospital and need things to make the hours pass more pleasantly,” says Essig. “For example, Borrow for a Day helps patients and their visitors relax. They can use the tape player to listen to music or a relaxation tape or to record sessions with physicians because it is often hard to remember everything that is discussed.” Nat Lawton, like other volunteers, gives her time in gratitude for the care she received. “For a large hospital, I’m constantly struck by how personal and caring Mass General is. These expanded services take it to a whole new level.” The Cancer Resource Room 617.724.1822 Hours: Monday-Friday 9-5; Thursdays 9-7:30 Two locations: Yawkey Center, 8th floor, Cox 110 www.massgeneral.org/cancer/resources A welcoming place for patients and family members that offers: Help from caring staff In-depth literature searches Computers for internet searches and e-mail Books (reference and lending) Pamphlets Videos Network for Patients and Families, a peer matching program Location for HOPES Program workshops and services Telephones Images Boutique 617.726.3211 Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30-4 Location: Yawkey Center, 9th floor www.massgeneral.org/visitor/salon.htm Individualized attention to help women, men, teens, and children with cancer look and feel their best. Open to everyone. Full salon services In-room salon services for patients Certified “Look Good…Feel Better” consultant Skin care and cosmetic consultation for cancer patients 5 Wig styling Post-mastectomy products and apparel Educational videos and books Large selection of hats, scarves, turbans, and hairpieces Relaxation tapes and aromatherapy products Non-metallic deodorants, and more Synergy (Spring 2005) 6