Events Archive

“Expressions of Hope and Healing”:
Helping Cancer Survivors Through Art

At the November 2010 board meeting, Arash Asher, MD, Director of Cancer Survivorship and Rehabilitation at Cedars-Sinai, along with Flori Hendron and Barbara Cowan, presented an overview of the Women’s Guild-supported program “Expressions of Hope and Healing.”

This program is based on the premise that art programs can guide cancer survivors through their healing process and help them integrate their difficult experiences into their new identities.

Flori Hendron, herself a cancer survivor, leads the eight-week program. Barbara Cowan, the volunteer coordinator, oversees the program’s activities.

Dr. Asher states, “We have found that the program can increase self-esteem through engagement in the creative process, decrease a sense of isolation, given the communal nature of the class, and improve coping skills by decreasing stress levels.”