Healthy Me PA sat down with Wayne Mylin, a shiatsu therapist at the Pennsylvania Hospital at the Abramson Cancer Center, to learn more about the Integrative Medicine/Whol(istic) Approach to Cancer Treatment, also known as the Holistic Living Challenge.
What is the program?
While oncologists treat patients’ cancer, the supportive care team (nurse navigators, social workers, nutritionists, psychologists, financial counsellors, nurse practitioners, chaplains, art therapists, and shiatsu therapists) aide them through treatment and post-treatment.
“The whole program is wellness focused,” Mylin said. “We don’t spend any time talking about their disease, conditions, side effects, or symptoms. We make it clear that is not what the program is about.”
How it works: Two-part, two-hour sessions
According to Mylin, sessions run once a week for two hours over a seven-week period. For the first hour, the group focuses on informational and experiential learning. The Holistic Living Challenge is based on the six fundamentals of health, as outlined by Chinese medicine. These six pillars — sleeping, breathing, moving, nutrition, thinking, and relationships — are things we do every day without even thinking about them, Mylin said.
Next, the group practices a technique that relates to the aspect of health. For example, if the group is studying sleeping and breathing one week, they will learn how sleep impacts health. Then, during the second hour, there will be a guided session where the group will practice some breathing meditations they can use throughout the week.
Once patients know the importance of proper day-to-day health and how to live it out, they are able to build these practices into their lives on a week-to-week basis. The program has the patients share their experiences from throughout the week — when they actually tried these exercises — to instill accountability.
The results
According to Mylin, one of two things typically occurs after the program concludes. The first is that participants truly feel empowered. During a medical crisis, it is easy to adopt a “patient identity.” Remember, you are an individual who is able to serve your life purpose, despite a health crisis.
Many of the people in the sessions are battling cancer while still taking care of their families. The Holistic Living Challenge helps them develop a toolkit of skills and learn when to say “no,” which they can use going forward.
The second thing that occurs is people gain clarity as to what their life purpose is. This usually has a powerful effect on people as they discover who or what they are here to serve.