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The Cancer Supportive Care Program (CSCP) at Stanford'S Center for Integrative Medicine: Program Development and Evaluation |
In January 1999 we initiated a free CSCP in the Center for Integrative Medicine at Stanford University Medical Center for cancer patients who are recently diagnosed, undergoing therapy or post therapy. The goals of the CSCP are to improve the quality of life of cancer patients and their families by providing information and support, and reducing symptoms, toxicities, and morbidity arising from cancer and its treatment. Providing such structured supportive care and information should also save time for physicians and the medical team. This rehabilitation program consists of weekly lectures and workshops, and provides psychological, nutritional, exercise, and fatigue reduction services to provide information and ways of coping with patient problems. Over the past three years of classes and workshops, we have had 11,568 patient visits, increasing from 42/month in 1999 to 538/month in 2002. The most popular programs were Therapeutic Massage (1,407 visits), yoga (1061 visits), and qigong (751 visits). Evaluation forms were provided after each session, so data represent visits rather than individuals.
| Questionnaire | Yoga | Qigong |
| N | 380 | 334|
| Form Dates | May 2001 to March 2002 | April 2001 to February 2002 |
| STATEMENT | Percent Yes (N) | Percent Yes (N) |
| Increase in energy | 75% (286) | 58% (195) |
| Reduction in stress | 96% (365) | 78% (262) |
| More restful sleep | 65% (247) | 43% (144) |
| Pain reduction | 59% (195 of 329)* 22% (75) | |
| Increased sense of well being | 94% (357) | 74% (247) |
Of 616 ratings of 69 speakers on subjects ranging from chemotherapy side effects to coping and stress, the mean rating was 8.8 (s.d. 1.5) on a Likert scale of 0 (not at all satisfied) to 10 (extremely satisfied). Seventy-nine percent of 70 first-time visitors to classes said they would recommend the class to someone else, and 93% of 321follow-up visitors to classes said they felt better afterward. Eight-three percent of first time visitors and 96% of follow-up visitors reported that they intended to return for another class.
Thus we have preliminary evidence of the popularity, patient acceptance, and improvement in quality of life associated with participation in this Cancer Supportive Care Program. Further information about the program can be obtained on the web at WWW.Cancersupportivecare.Com.
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