Saturday, February 04, 2012

Support Services

Your treatment at The Edwards Comprehensive Cancer Center will start with you and your doctors and nurses. Along the way, your doctor may recommend some of the support services available to you. These may included consultations with staff members from the Pharmacy, Food Service, Social Work, Home Health and/or Pastoral Care.

Pharmacy

You may meet with a member of the Pharmacy staff to learn more about medications you are taking. The pharmacist may advise you about interactions with other drugs or foods.
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Food Service

A dietitian can offer you advice about your diet and nutrition. The dietitian can recommend specific foods or supplements that will help you maintain proper nutrition during treatment.

Home Health

If you need nursing care or other medical treatment at home, staff members from Home Health will meet with you and your doctor to discuss how they can be of service.
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Counseling Center

The Cabell Huntington Hospital Counseling Center has a staff of trained counselors available to help with problems related to stress, depression, anxiety and other issues that may be difficult to address on your own.

Volunteers

In addition to their assigned duties, the Volunteer Ambassadors of the Edwards Comprehensive Cancer Center create blankets to provide comfort to patients. Each blanket is 60 by 48 inches and costs $15 to make. There are many different patterns for men, women and children, and 100 percent of any donation is used for purchasing materials for the blankets. The blankets will include a tag that will indicate if they were made in honor or memory of someone, along with the names of the people who paid for the material to make them.

Anyone who would like to help pay for the materials to make a blanket can send a donation to the Edwards Comprehensive Cancer Center c/o Cabell Huntington Hospital Foundation, 1340 Hal Greer Boulevard, Huntington, WV 25701. Donors are asked to write "Lap Blanket Project" on the memo line of their checks. More information is available by calling Jane Browning at (304) 544-6275. More information about volunteering is available here or by calling (304) 526-2113.

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Support Groups

Sisters of Hope is a free support group for women with breast cancer. It meets monthly on Mondays at 5:30 p.m. under the direction of surgical breast oncologist Shawn McKinney, MD, for friendship, education and sharing. For more information, please contact Gigi Gerlach, RN, at (304) 526-2443 or gigi.gerlach@chhi.org.

Sharing is a free support group for women with gynecologic cancers. It meets monthly on Mondays at 5:30 p.m. under the direction of gynecologic oncologist Gerard Oakley, MD, for friendship, education and sharing. For more information, please contact Gigi Gerlach, RN, at (304) 526-2443 or gigi.gerlach@chhi.org.