[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 56 (Thursday, May 7, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E788]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      IN HONOR OF LIFE WITH CANCER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. THOMAS M. DAVIS

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 7, 1998

  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the Inova 
Fairfax Hospital Program, Life with Cancer, for its fine work helping 
cancer victims and their families cope with the disease and enhance 
their quality of life. Life with Cancer is entirely supported by 
community funds and offers its programs free of charge to patients in 
the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. area and their families and friends, 
regardless of where the patient is being treated.
  The group was started at Fairfax Hospital in 1987 by a widower whose 
wife had died of cancer. He was left with two children and a great deal 
of emotional pain. He used his two-year experience of coping with his 
wife's illness and its impact on his family to create a program to 
support families affected by cancer at all stages of the illness. The 
resulting program is one of the most comprehensive of its kind in the 
United States. Because the program is based in Fairfax Hospital, which 
treats more cancer patients than any other hospital in the Washington, 
D.C. Metropolitan area, program staff are able to work closely with 
highly skilled physicians and allied health care professionals to 
provide the most beneficial services to patients.
  Life with Cancer supports family members through the duration of the 
cancer experience by providing the most current information on cancer 
diagnoses, treatment, and psychosocial impact, assisting children and 
adults who have lost a loved one to cancer, collaborating with other 
health care professionals to assure that patients and their families 
are receiving comprehensive and coordinated services, and educating the 
community about cancer and its impact.
  Classes available to patients and their families include: I Can Cope, 
a seminar discussing basic facts about coping with cancer, Look Good . 
. . Feel Better, for patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation 
treatments, Spirituality and Cancer, to help families reexamine their 
religious beliefs given the cancer experience, and Humor and Cancer, to 
help patients and family members use humor as a means to strengthen 
their mental attitude toward cancer. Ongoing emotional support is 
provided by support group and family meetings. Short-term counseling 
and crisis intervention is available for individual assistance.
  Mr. Speaker, I know my colleagues join me in thanking the staff and 
volunteers of Life with Cancer for their dedication to helping cancer 
victims and their families. This valuable program, which should serve 
as a national model, provides a much-needed network of support for 
those dealing with the impact of this devastating disease.

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