UAMS Retreat Sept. 27 to Offer Support, Education for Ovarian Cancer Survivors

By todd

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LITTLE ROCK – Survivors of ovarian and other gynecological cancers will be celebrated during a day-long retreat at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).


 


Scheduled for 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Sept. 27, “Shout About the Disease that Whispers” will promote complementary and conventional approaches in the care of women with gynecological cancers. The retreat is hosted by the Just Among Women support group and is open to women with ovarian and other gynecological cancers and their support persons.


 


Cost to attend is $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Advance registration is encouraged by Sept. 15 by calling the Cancer Institute’s Clinical Oncology Social Work Department at (501) 686-8145.


 


The keynote address will be presented at 8:30 a.m. on “Recurrent Ovarian Cancer” by Pamela J.B. Stone, M.D., assistant professor in the UAMS Division of Gynecologic Oncology, a section of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.


 


The lunch presentation on “Journaling for Health” will be presented at noon by Paulette Mehta, M.D., professor in the UAMS Department of Hematology/Oncology.


 


Participants will have the opportunity to attend two breakout sessions, which include a question and answer session with a gynecology oncology nurse, a presentation on hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, therapeutic oncology massage, tai chi and Falun Gong. Tai chi and Falun Gong are Chinese healing arts that use gentle exercise to promote well-being.


 


Ovarian cancer ranks fifth as the cause of cancer death in women. According to the American Cancer Society, there were about 22,430 new cases of ovarian cancer in the United States in 2007.


 


UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, six centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has 2,538 students and 733 medical residents. Its centers of excellence include the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute and the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. It is one of the state’s largest public employers with about 9,600 employees, including nearly 1,150 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in Arkansas of $5 billion a year. Visit www.uams.edu.