Finding Solace On The East End

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and a perfect time to explore the wellness options offered for those across the East End fighting the disease. Thanks to the women at Stony Book Southampton Hospital, people who struggle with breast or gynecological cancers have many options available to them.

Susie Roden is the Oncology Patient Navigator and Outreach Coordinator at Stony Brook Southampton, in addition to being a founder and president for the Coalition of Women’s Cancers and a 27-year breast cancer survivor herself. “We try to become healthier spiritually, mentally, and physically to become thriving women,” Roden explained of the programs offered.

One of these programs, Swim at the Y in East Hampton, is held on Mondays from 5:45 to 6:45 PM.

Yoga will be guided by Eric Pettigrew at the Wellness Center at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital at 10:15 AM on Wednesdays.

Other six-week workshops geared toward mind and body wellness will be available, such as art therapy and massage therapy, in areas from Westhampton to East Hampton. Qigong, the coordinated body posture and movement, will be held in Hampton Bays for a six-week program beginning sometime in November. Call Roden at 631-726-8715 for more information.

Margaret Ianacone is an acupuncturist and addresses the issues patients experience, such as headaches, insomnia, and chronic pain. Circles are six weeks long, breaking for three to four months, in groups of six per circle and are an hour and half each. With two options, evening sessions are scheduled to begin Wednesday, October 24, and afternoon sessions will begin on Thursday, October 25.

“There’s a lot of women out there that are diagnosed and they don’t know where to go,” said Ianacone. “Their support system is very limited unless they know about these circles, groups, and people out there who can give them this support.”

Edyle O’Brien is a familiar name to pink patients. She does mind-body healing for both groups and individuals on an as needed basis in Hampton Bays and East Hampton. Her goal is to clear a patient’s mind so they can continue to cope with their cancer diagnosis in a healthy way, in addition to ongoing struggles. She also invites individuals who cannot make the groups to call her. “It’s really recognizing anything that resonates with a person to help them destress and become aware of where they are,” she said of her services. O’Brien can be reached at 631-329-0520.

All classes are free through the Ellen Hermanson Foundation.

nicole@indyeastend.com
@NikkiOnTheDaily