By Smith Center for Healing and the Arts and the Thelma D. Jones Breast Cancer Fund
Smith Center for Healing and the Arts and the Thelma D. Jones Breast Cancer Fund (TDJBCF) partnered for an evening of healing on Wednesday, July 19. The evening, hosted via Zoom and live streamed via TDJBCF Facebook Live, offered information on the seven healing practices and how to incorporate them into your daily life.
“We are thrilled that our annual tradition of joining our friend Thelma Jones and the Thelma D. Jones Breast Cancer Fund continued for the fifth year,” said Smith Center Executive Director Lisa Simms Booth. “This year’s convening aligned perfectly with our guiding mission of sharing healing practices that people can use to navigate a cancer diagnosis as well as live healthier and fuller lives.”
The evening, which was emceed by Lisa Simms Booth, featured Erin Price, Young Adult and Psychosocial Support Program Director, Kiersten Gallagher, Cancer Support Program Director and Laura Pole, Nurse Navigator and Nourishment Instructor and Senior Clinical Director, Cancer Choices.
The gathering opened with an invitation for the group to share what self-care means to them followed by an opening meditation led by Kiersten Gallagher. Laura Pole led a discussion about the difference between curing and healing, and explained that although curing, being absent from disease is not always possible, healing is. Healing is about returning to wholeness – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Healing is very personal, sought after in different ways, and always possible.
Following the discussion of what healing means, Price, Gallagher and Pole led a robust discussion on the Seven Healing Practices – Exploring What Matters Now, Eating Well, Moving More, Managing Stress, Sleeping Well, Creating a Healing Environment, and Sharing Love and Support – along with suggestions on how to incorporate them into daily life.
At the end of the event, the presenters shared how to get support in applying these practices by utilizing programs offered by Smith Center for Healing and the Arts or by getting further information from Cancer Choices. The evening closed with Laura Pole leading us in a song about community and connection titled “We Are Going.”
For more information on Smith Center for Healing and the Arts and its programs, visit www.smithcenter.org or call (202) 483-8600.
For more information on the next meeting of the Thelma D. Jones Breast Cancer Fund, visit www.tdjbreastcancerfund.org, email thelma@tdjbreastcancerfund.org or call (202) 251-1639.
For more information about Cancer Choices, visit www.cancerchoices.org.