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Hospital Artist-in-Residence Program Smith Farm Center-in partnership with Washington metro area hospitals-transforms the experience of illness for many in the hospital setting through our artist-in-residence program.
Hospital Artist-in-Residence Program Watch our new Artist-In-Residence video: Watch now (Quicktime) Partner Hospitals: University Cancer Center at Howard University Hospital Washington Cancer Institute at the Washington Hospital Center Holy Cross Hospital	Our artist-in-residence program complements Smith Farm Center's philosophy and approach to working with patients challenged by life-threatening illness. We engage patients in creative arts activities as part of the healing process; we educate and support artists to work in the healthcare community; and we create awareness and support for the arts in healthcare among professionals, caregivers, and the community-at-large. Our artists-in-residence are trained to engage patients and medical staff in creative expression-guiding them to tap inherent creative and cultural roots- through a variety of mediums including visual arts, music, storytelling, and creative writing. Though not trained or expected to function as therapists-they are educated about the issues and challenges faced by patients, caregivers, and staff they will encounter in hospital settings. Periodically, Smith Farm invites artists from the local community to apply for openings available on the artist-in-residence team. Visit this website for future opportunities to apply as a Smith Farm Center artist-in-residence.
Artists-in-Residence	Smith Farm Center maintains a dynamic and culturally diverse team-approximately 15 artists-representing the visual arts, creative writing, storytelling, music, creative movement, and guided imagery. Many of our artists use an inter-disciplinary approach as they work alongside patients. Smith Farm Center artists-in-residence bring personal skills, creativity, and most of all, compassion to their work-whether with outpatients in the infusion center or patients on medical and surgical floors; with family and friends in waiting areas; or with clinical staff for monthly mid-day creativity sessions. Following is a list of our Smith Farm Center artists-in-residence.
	Vicki Berman is a dance instructor and certified movement analyst. She is the creator and teacher of the Helping to Heal through Movement program for cancer patients and survivors. Vicki is a breast cancer survivor and shares with others the tools that helped her in her own personal healing journey. Guided imagery, meditation, writing, movement explorations with props, stretching and strengthening exercises and nature photographs are the tools she uses to empower people to heal emotionally and physically.
	Alpine Bird earned her BA in Italian Literature at Brown University with a minor in Art. She apprenticed for a year at the Shady Hill School in Cambridge, MA while earning her Massachusetts teaching credentials as an Art Specialist. She taught art full-time at the Maret School in Washington, DC for four years and later taught classes for neighborhood children in her home and as a volunteer in public and private schools. Her interest in integrating the arts for patients in healthcare settings began with her experience as a candy striper at Children’s Hospital in Boston. She studied with Joan Kellogg at the Mandala Assessment and Research Institute, Mona Brooks at the National Learning Center, and took mini-courses in Art Therapy at GW. She is certified as a yoga teacher and also in the first level of Reiki and Cranial Sacral work. She is on the Board of Directors for the Art Connection in the Capital Region. Alpine’s greatest challenge as a teacher was to find ways to reengage children who had given up on their “artistic ability” and to motivate them to trust their ability to learn to visually communicate their unique, ever-changing viewpoints and feelings. It is this same challenge with diverse adults in a hospital setting that fascinates her most in her work as a Smith Farm Artist-In-Residence.
	Letitia Brooks, has been creating art from a very young age. She is a gifted artist and uses acrylic, water color and a variety of mediums to create unique art pieces that she hopes will inspire others to go beyond the limitations of this world. Letitia's colorful art incorporates the beauty, strength and spirituality of the family. She views art as a healing force and does not limit herself to one form of expression. She currently has created unique art pieces by applying mixed media to a carved black board base. Letitia also works with young children and adults to use the creative arts as an avenue for self-improvement. She has provided sessions at Howard University, Muhammad University School and various support groups. Letitia has displayed her artwork at a variety of venues including the Montpelier "All Hung Show," and Howard University's Blackburn Center Art Gallery.
	Nazeeha Howard earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Howard University and is a certified music therapist who has worked with children and adults in a variety of settings in Washington, D.C. since 1997. As a self-employed consultant and therapist, she is committed to a "multi-modality" in which motivated individuals participate in music and related creative activities as part of a comprehensive and integrative healing process. She has provided creative healing sessions, including the use of harps and other instruments, with patients and caregivers at the Washington Cancer Institute, Howard University Cancer Center, and Washington Army-Navy Medical Center. She speaks French..
	Mary Alice Jackson, is a craft designer, with certifications as a porcelain doll maker and floral designer, who specializes in general crafts design through creativity and crafts workshops. She earned a Masters of Education degree in Elementary Education from Antioch College and spent much of her professional life in government service (in the area of equal opportunity employment). Mary Alice is a member of a local consortium of African-American designers, and her handiwork has been on display at the Smithsonian's Center for African American History and Culture, the Arts and Industry Museum, and in other local cultural venues. Mary Alice taught crafts for several years at Providence Mental Health Institute and completed a four-year training program in spiritual science with an emphasis on holistic healing.
	Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke earned her law degree from Howard University School of Law and Master of Laws degree from Georgetown University Law Center. She owns Kiamsha.com, LLC, a company that allows her to share her healing gifts as an artist, writer, registered yoga teacher, and certified reiki practitioner. As a self-taught artist, Ananda has exhibited her mixed media collages, acrylic paintings, and wire sculptures in the Washington Metropolitan area, North Carolina, and Kentucky. She weaves poetry, stories, prayers, affirmations, and sacred wisdom teachings into her artwork. She has also provided arts and writing workshops for children and adults with a particular focus on the integration of creativity and healing for women with health problems. In her commitment to programs like Smith Farm, Ananda honors the memory of her grandmother, who died of breast cancer. Her first novel, Love's Troubadours - Karma: Book One was published in August 2007 by iUniverse and is available on Amazon.com. She is currently working on a poetry collection and second novel to be published in 2008.
	Dave Moktoi is an award-winning actor, director, comedian, and Founder of "The Other Africa Festival" - dedicated to promoting cross-cultural understanding between Africa and the USA. He holds an MA in Modern Languages, Theater Arts, and Civilizations from Yaounde University and is currently a Lecturer at Montgomery College. A native of Cameroon, Dave draws upon his unique experiences and skills to create cultural awareness and sensitivity through performances, films, workshops, and one-on-one encounters. As a consultant and creator of cross-cultural programming for the education community, he produced plays, comedies, and films aimed at HIV/AIDS prevention for WHO, UNAIDS, UNESCO, the British Council and other international organizations. Based upon his experience in Africa with persons living with HIV, Dave provides oncology patients and staff with an opportunity to experience warm humor and enlightenment not usually accessible in the hospital setting.
	Ade Moreau is a native of Brooklyn, New York and graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications. Ade is an essayist and former editor and owner of Peace of Paper Productions. Her first collection of essays, The Lotus Approach...piece of mind essays on living, loving and letting go, was published in 2002. She moved to DC in 1998 and began work with the American Cancer Society, where she worked as both employee and volunteer with patients and caregivers. Additionally, she has worked as a mentor with The Capitol Hill Group Ministry and the Speaker's Education Bureau, and as a volunteer with My Sister's Place support center for abused women and their children.
	Roza Oblak earned a degree in special education from her native country of Slovenia and a Bachelor of Science degree in Art Therapy from the City University of New York. Her training also includes certification in Reiki (in the USUI System for Natural Healing) and as a flower essence practitioner. Roza serves as the program coordinator for the Josephine Butler Park Center (located in the most dense and culturally diverse community of Washington, DC). She also teaches arts classes for at-risk children and established a low-cost healing arts clinic offering wellness services to local residents.
	Linda O'Neil earned a Bachelor of Art Education at American University and taught in the Montgomery County Public Schools for 25 years. She taught hearing-impaired, multiple handicapped and special education students. She has written extensive arts curriculums - including a multicultural curriculum. She was a mentor teacher and actin elementary art coordinator. As field supervisor for the University of Maryland, she supervised art student teachers in Montgomery and Prince Georges County schools. Linda paints murals and furniture and is currently exploring mono-printing. She believes that "the creative process is an empowering one, beneficial to most patients regardless of their background or experience.
	Vera Oyé Yaa-Anna, affectionately known as Auntie Oye', is a versatile Culinary Grio who incorporates dance, theater and storytelling to engage audiences in the experience of African culture and diversity within our own community. She is the executive producer of a West African Dinner Theatre, "Palaver Hut," Inc. A native of Liberia, Vera is a cultural educator who transports her audience to Africa through interactive storytelling, dance and music activities. Auntie Oye' shares her skills with patients and caregivers "to uplift the soul and empower the individual to deal with the challenges of illness."
	John Paradiso earned a BFA from the State University of New York at Purchase and an MFA from the State University of New York at Buffalo. John has exhibited mixed media collages, found object sculptures, and installations, at galleries nationally. His work represents a layered and complex dialogue on aspects of risk, loss, growth, strength and the joy associated with gay male sexuality woven with his own personal experience. John has seven photographs in the Prints and Photographs Division, Permanent Collection of the Library of Congress. John served as a health educator for the AIDS Council of Northeastern New York and for the Whitman-Walker Clinic where he developed educational programs and provided counseling.
	Laura Sperling, a flutist with certification in a music for healing and transitions program, joined the artist-in-residence team, September 25, 2007. Ms. Sperling works at Washington Cancer Institute and at Holy Cross. She also works at the Lombardi Cancer Center (Georgetown University, Community Hospice of Maryland and Virginia, and Culpepper Gardens Assisted Living Center. In addition, she teaches flute and recorder lessons in her home studio.
	In Memoriam: Linda B. Karlin (aka KARLINDA) earned her Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University. The degree was a double major in Honors English and International Relations, with a minor in Philosophy. Linda also completed coursework for a Master of Fine Arts at Temple University. As an associate producer on multimedia projects, she worked on exhibits for the Smithsonian Institution. PBS bought one of her video documentaries. She developed scripts for an interactive CD-ROM about prostate cancer. Linda was a three-type cancer survivor who coped with her illness by writing and performing poetry about her experiences. One of her poems had been at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum since 1995. She worked with patients to catalyze creativity through word games and writing exercises that produce poetry. In addition, she created mixed media experiences that combined her own poetry, photography and live music (including improvisation on the zither harp, ocean drum and other instruments). Linda contributed to a “Living Well with Cancer” packet through the Washington Cancer Institute at The Washington Hospital Center. She was certified in Reiki. She built labyrinths and facilitated events for them on site: indoors and outdoors. She had been a member of the board of directors of the non-profit Living Labyrinths for Peace, since 2006. Linda conducted workshops in hospitals, at seminars and on retreats. She was fluent in French. Linda Karlin passed away on August 8, 2009.
	Click here to download a current workshop and program calendar. Return to top of page

Smith Farm Center Leadership, Faculty, and Staff Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts relies upon the work of a network of faculty, staff, and volunteers from a wide variety of disciplines. We welcome inquiries, applications, involvement and/or support from anyone engaged or interested in this work. Please click here for a listing of our current employment opportunities.
Board of Directors
	Michael Lerner, PhD is Founder and President of Commonweal in Bolinas, CA. He is the author of Choices In Healing: Integrating the Best of Conventional and Complementary Approaches to Cancer. He was awarded the MacArthur Prize Fellowship in 1984 for his work in the health field and was a special consultant for the Congressional report on Unconventional Cancer Treatments. President, The Jenifer Altman Foundation; 1983 MacArthur Prize Fellow; Advisor, The Norton and Jean Smith Fund, Rockefeller Philanthropic Collaborative, NY; Trustee, Barbara Smith Fund
	Myrtis Bedolla is Gallery Director and President, Gallery Myrtis, LLC Contemporary Fi Art Gallery, Washington, DC; Owner, Creative Artisans Art Consultancy; Consultant, Metropolitan Consulting Corporation; and Consultant, Africare
	Steven Bookoff is CFO and Board Member, Organic India; and CFO and Board Member, Om Organic, Boulder, CO
	Susan Braun has more than 20 years of health care and oncology experience. She currently serves as the Executive Director of Commonweal. Prior to this, she was Executive Director of the ASCO Cancer Foundation and also served as President and CEO of CURE Media Group, which publishes the award-winning direct-to-patient cancer publication, CURE magazine. In addition, she served as Senior President and CEO of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation (now Komen for the Cure). Prior to joining the Komen Foundation, Ms. Braun worked in the Oncology/Immunology Division at Bristol Myers-Squibb, where she was involved in patient advocacy, strategic planning, public policy, and health care economics and finance.
	Web Coleman, Web Coleman has been a staff member at CHP's Hallowood weeklong cancer retreats for 15 years now. He leads orientation and trail walks, plus Sugarloaf Mountain trips and climbs. He aided his wife Barbara Smith [Coleman] in researching and founding Smith Farm Center. Web's early experiences included camping, scouting, outdoor activities and sports. Careers included teaching, advertising, nationwide corporate consulting: employee communications, technical writing, supervisory training, management development. Web is a lifetime sailor. In retirement, he took up horses and 100 mile competitive trail riding. He knew Barbara for many years, and when both were widowed, married in 1994 at the original Smith Farm on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
	Robert Hisaoka is President of RRR, LLC and is the Founder and Event Chairman of the Joan Hisaoka "Make A Difference" Gala Assisting Those Living with Cancer. Bob is an investor in Venture Philanthropy Partners, a philanthropic investment organization that helps community-based nonprofit organizations maximize their impact. Other local and national charities Bob supports include CharityWorks, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Michael Weiss Foundation, Chuck Norris's KICKSTART, KEEN, San Jose State University, Salvation Army and Greater Washington Sports Alliance.
	Diane Zipursky Quale is Director/President of the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN). She holds a Bachelor's Degree from Stanford University and a Juris Doctor from the National Law Center, George Washington University. She was in private law practice until 1996 when she became Washington Counsel for the National Broadcasting Company, Inc. (NBC), and was later promoted to Vice President, Washington Law and Policy for NBC. Diane left NBC in April 2002, and since that time has been an active participant in the cancer community, serving as the volunteer administrator of a retreat program for cancer patients and fundraiser for a small non-profit cancer organization in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Consumer Advocates in Research and Related Activities (CARRA) program.
	Jeremy Waletzky, MD is Distinguished Life Fellow, American Psychiatric Association, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, The George Washington University, Trustee, Vice-Chairman, Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts, Trustee, Public Conversations Project, Member, Rockefeller Family Fund Investment Committee, and Member, Fetzer Institute Investment Committee.
Administrative Staff	Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts works with a rich network of medical professionals, artists, practitioners, and therapists. This list provides a brief introduction to many of them.
	Shanti Norris – Co-Founder and Executive Director Shanti@SmithFarm.com Ms. Norris serves as Executive Director of Smith Farm Center. She initiated the Smith Farm Center hospital Artist-in-Residence program and Healing Arts Gallery. She runs the weeklong retreats for people with cancer, and oversees new initiatives, including the Faith-based Community Navigation project at Smith Farm Center. Former Vice President of Kent Homeopathic Associates, she has an extensive background in complementary medicine and mind-body approaches to healing. She has taught meditation, yoga philosophy and stress reduction for over 35 years and underwent a formal ten-year mentorship with a renowned yoga master. She is a three-term member of CARRA, the patient advocacy program at the National Cancer Institute and a graduate of Project LEAD from the National Breast Cancer Coalition. She is a graduate of the Georgetown University Non-profit Leadership certificate course and the James P. Shannon Leadership Institute in Minneapolis/St Paul. She is a former board member of the Society for the Arts in Healthcare and Chaired their Annual Conference in 2004. She is a founding board member of The Art Connection in the Capital Region and a founding member of Arts in Healthcare Advocates (AHA.) She is a frequent speaker on the healing power of the arts. Her formal art training began at New York University and The Cooper Union in New York City and includes running the fine art studio of artist Peter Max. She is a member of ArtTable, the mother of three adult children, and is a painter and sculptor.
	Michelle Clermont – Director of Administration Michelle@SmithFarm.com Ms. Clermont manages the administration, operations, human resources, and finances of Smith Farm Center. She has worked in the integrative health and nonprofit industry for over sixteen years. She has broad experience in all aspects of operations, strategic planning, grant management, budget development and control, cash flow management, contract negotiations, event management, and successful teambuilding. Prior to Smith Farm Center, she helped to integrate and manage two DC metro area healthcare clinics and managed an international nonprofit, that worked to integrate healthcare by empowering and educating healthcare providers in mind-body medicine, integrative cancer care, and nutrition. She has studied dance for over thirty-five years, has extensive experience with pilates, yogic philosophy, energy medicine, and nutrition, and is passionate about creating healthy, wheat-dairy-soy free, vegan cooking that is easy to prepare and tastes great. She also maintains a business and practice management consulting service and is a personal holistic health coach.
	Michael J. Hawkins, MD, Medical Director of Smith Farm Center Heal@SmithFarm.com Michael is a medical oncologist, is and the Chief Medical Officer at American Bioscience, Inc., a small privately held pharmaceutical company in Santa Monica, CA, that is developing new formulations of anti-cancer drugs. Formally, Dr. Hawkins was an Associate Director of the Washington Cancer Institute at the Washington Hospital Center (1999-2002); the Director of the Clinical Research and Developmental Therapeutics Program at the Lombardi Cancer Center (1992-1999); and the Chief of the Investigational Drug Branch while at the National Cancer Institute (1984-1992). He was the chairman of the Cancer Advisory Panel to the NIH's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine from 2000-2002 and has served on advisory panels to the FDA. In his oncology practice he encouraged patients to pursue inner healing while being treated for their cancer.
	Michael Lerner PhD President and CEO of Smith Farm Center Heal@SmithFarm.com Michael is Founder and President of Commonweal in Bolinas, CA. He is the author of Choices In Healing: Integrating the Best of Conventional and Complementary Approaches to Cancer. He was awarded the MacArthur Prize Fellowship in 1984 for his work in the health field and was a special consultant for the Congressional report on Unconventional Cancer Treatments.
	Brooke Seidelmann, Gallery Director brooke@smithfarm.com Brooke serves as the Director for The Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery. Brooke works directly with artists to coordinate exhibitions, interfaces with curators, engages collectors, and is constantly in search of stimulating art to bring to Smith Farm. Prior to working in the arts, Brooke served as a medical researcher at the University of Maryland’s Center for Integrative Medicine, where she edited studies on acupuncture and homeopathy. Later, she received her Masters Degree in Art History and the Market at Christies’ Auction House, and has worked in galleries in New York City and Charleston, SC. In her free time Brooke enjoys yoga, painting, making jewelry, hiking, and cooking.
	Abeba Taddese, Executive Assistant
	Carole O'Toole – Director of Navigation Programs carole@SmithFarm.com Carole staffs Smith Farm Center’s CHP retreats, coaches individuals on integrative cancer care decision-making and complementary resources, leads our “Living Well With Cancer” one day workshops, and facilitates our monthly “Healing Words of Wisdom” Book Club. Her work at Smith Farm Center also includes managing our patient navigation programs for African-Americans and Africans at Howard University Cancer Center and through churches in underserved areas. Carole frequently represents Smith Farm Center at national and local conferences and other public forums. She is the author of two books on integrative cancer care: “Cancer Community Healing Network”, and “Healing Outside the Margins”. Carole has been a survivor of advanced cancer since 1994, rows on the Potomac with a survivor crew team, and is a wife and mother.
	Darien Reece – Program Director & Creativity Workshop & Sandtray Facilitator for Smith Farm Center Darien@SmithFarm.com heal@SmithFarm.com Darien is a visionary artist, sculptor and mask-maker and trained sandtray facilitator. She nurtures a deep love of Tex/Mex folk art- retablos, depictions of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and all the little miracles of traditional Latino art. In her previous life she was an antiques dealer in CT and a restoration consultant specializing in 18th century domestic Connecticut and New York Dutch architecture. Recently, she was chosen by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities to paint 2 circular window panels for the Eastern Market Windows Project, Washington, DC.
	Meredith Anderson – Director of Outreach Meredith joined Smith Farm with more than 10 years of marketing experience from organizations such as Discovery Communications, Inc. and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. She is the mother of a toddler and in her spare time enjoys literature, photography and dance. She is a Washington, DC native and is deeply grateful to be a part of the work of Smith Farm.
	Nekose Wills, Administrator of Navigation Programs. Nekose works closely with the Director of Navigation to help implement both hospital and faith-based breast cancer navigation programs for African-American and African immigrant communities in the DC area. Prior to joining the Smith Farm team she was the Deputy Director of Free the Slaves, a non-profit organization working towards the eradication of modern day slavery. Nekose has nine years experience in organizational management and administration and has held various positions at health related organizations. She concurrently works at the National Women's Health Network as the Health Information Coordinator.
Administrative Volunteers
	Lucia Effros – Volunteer Heal@SmithFarm.com Ms. Effros is a 2001 alumna of the Cancer Help Program and is a regular volunteer at Smith Farm. She helps in the staffing of the CHP and works on various projects at the office. She is a retired educator, married to Steve Effros and mother of Jamie, her pride and joy - a young actor, who lives in San Diego. Click here to download a current workshop and program calendar. Return to top of page
Adjunct Program Faculty
	Kristen Arant
	Leah Barr
	Myrtis Bedola
	Karen Baer, MA, A.T.R.-BC, is an art therapist with a private practice in Silver Spring, MD. She specializes in sandtray, guided imagery and mandala assessment with children and adults.
	Corrin Bennett, MS, IYT holds an MS in dance/movement psychotherapy along with teacher certifications in 3 levels of yoga. Since 1971, she has presented wholistic health seminars in the US and Europe utilizing the arts to promote body/mind/spirit connection. Corrin was an invited speaker at the American Medical Association’s Women’s Physician’s Conference in 2005 and 2006. She has worked in the health care field for 37 years and maintains a private practice in Yoga/Movement Therapy and Life consulting, specializing in work with people living with life-threatening and/or chronic illness.
	Barbara Black nationally certified massage therapist and cancer guide, has served on Smith Farm’s Cancer Help Program staff since 1998. She is on the faculty of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine Professional Training Program and integrates mind-body skills into her work with individuals and groups. A cancer survivor herself, Barbara uses journaling, movement (Nia), and SoulCollage® with her clients for exploring self-awareness and healing.
	Julie Bondanza, PhD
	Irene Borger is a journalist, fiction writer, and educator whose work has appeared in Vogue, Mirabella, Architectural Digest, The Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Since 1990, as artist-in-residence and founder of the AIDS Project of Los Angeles, Irene has created a forum of non-professional writers living with AIDS.
	Jnani Chapman, RN is the massage coordinator and senior staff member for both the Smith Farm and the Commonweal Cancer Help Programs. She is a clinical specialist in complementary medicine for the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, specializing in acupressure, yoga and massage. Jnani is the former executive director of the International Association of Yoga Therapists. She conducts massage and yoga certifications and workshops throughout the country.
	Web Coleman has been a staff member at CHP's Hallowood weeklong cancer retreats for 15 years now. He leads orientation and trail walks, plus Sugarloaf Mountain trips and climbs. He aided his wife Barbara Smith [Coleman] in researching and founding Smith Farm Center. Web's early experiences included camping, scouting, outdoor activities and sports. Careers included teaching, advertising, nationwide corporate consulting: employee communications, technical writing, supervisory training, management development. Web is a lifetime sailor. In retirement, he took up horses and 100 mile competitive trail riding. He knew Barbara for many years, and when both were widowed, married in 1994 at the original Smith Farm on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
	Lucia Effros
	Richard Grossman for twenty years the Director of The Health in Medicine Project at Montefiore Medical Center serves on the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The former Director of the Cancer Support Program at Wainwright House in Rye, NY, he has worked with many people with cancer, both individually and in group settings, providing guidance in relaxation and stress management, meditation, mental imagery and life planning. The author of five books, including The Other Medicines and The Natural Family Doctor, he is a consultant to the faculty of the Department of Family Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. He has a private practice in health counseling and psychotherapy in Salisbury, Connecticut.
	Lillian Fitzgerald serves as Healing Arts Gallery Curator. Lillian is also curator at the National Institutes of Health and the US Department of Health and Human Services and is an exhibit specialist for the US Botanic Garden Galleries. She is a current board member for the Society for the Arts in Healthcare and is Director of Fitzgerald Fine Arts.
	John Fox, CPT
	Christina Giallourakis JD, CHHC
	Richard Grossman
	Cheryl Harris
	Carolyn Hendricks, MD
	Jackie Hoffman
	Tom Large
	Tina Lassiter is passionate about using the arts to heal, evoke change, stimulate thinking, and transform lives. A collage artist and writer, she is the Director of Art Programs and Acquisitions at Children’s National and a current board member for the Society for the Arts in Healthcare. Tina attended the Arts in Medicine Intensive at University of Florida Center for the Arts in Healthcare Research & Education and holds a BA in Communications from Howard University, and an MBA in Marketing from Leonard N. Stern School of Business at NYU.
	Lenore Lefer, MS, MFCC, MFT is a licensed psychotherapist, teacher and consultant who has used Psychosynthesis, a spiritual psychology, as the central framework for her work for more than 25 years. She has worked with women's groups in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Lithuania and Russia. Her work with Hospice and people with heart disease and cancer includes imagery, meditation, group process and dream symbols as means of renewing the spirit.
	Charles Leighton, LCSW, CGP is director of group support services for the Center for Cardiac Health at Beth Israel Medical Center and was director of group support for The Dean Ornish Program For Reversing Heart Disease at Beth Israel from 1995-1998. In 1990 he co-founded the Heart Group that was featured on WPIX News for its leading work with people with heart disease. He was a consultant for Gilda's Club from 1996-2002 where he ran several weekly support groups for people with cancer, and to organizations developing wellness programming such as Beth Israel Medical Center and Health, Inc. He has published articles and abstracts in The Journal of American Nursing and The Journal of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation and has lectured for such organizations as The New York Times, New York Hospital and The Preventive Medicine Research Institute. Charles is a certified yoga and meditation instructor from the Integral Yoga Institute and has a private psychotherapy practice in New York City and Wayne, New Jersey.
	Lucia Mercer has been practicing massage therapy/bodywork for 16 years. While she has advanced training in several modalities, she holds the deepest respect for the wisdom and healing capacity found when one listens deeply to one's self and one's body; when one is deeply heard and respectfully touched. She finds peace and joy in Nature, animals, her work, friends and kayaking. Her horse, Pocket, loves bodywork - her cat, Ecco, does not.
	John Patterson, MD, is a family physician in private practice in rural Kentucky, past president of the Kentucky Academy of Family Physicians, and board-certified in both family practice and holistic medicine. He is Assistant Professor, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, where he teaches complementary and alternative medicine under the auspices of a grant from the National Institutes of Health. He became certified by the Center for Mind-Body Medicine and Integral Yoga Institutes as part of his desire to learn to help individuals safely and naturally promote health, manage stress, and prevent and treat illness.
	Laura Pole, RN, MSN, is head chef, nursing consultant, educator and musician at Smith Farm Center retreats. She is also the researcher and listserv manager of the Media Watch Cancer News listserv. Laura holds a masters degree in nursing, chef certification and professional music training. She integrates her careers as a natural foods gourmet chef, professional musician, oncology clinical nurse specialist, and palliative care educator to be of service to Smith Farm.
	Connie Reider
	Rachel Remen, MD, is co-founder and Medical Director of the Commonweal Cancer Help Program and is Assistant Clinical Professor of Family and Community Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. Dr. Remen is the founder and Director of the Institute for the Study of Health and Illness, a training program for health professionals who wish to serve people with life-threatening illness. She is a pioneer in the transpersonal counseling of people with chronic and terminal illness, and their families, and has a forty-year personal history of chronic illness. Her work represents a unique blend of the perspectives of physician and patient. She is the author of Kitchen Table Wisdom and My Grandfather's Blessings.
	Julia Rowland, PhD has worked with both pediatric and adult cancer survivors and engaged in numerous funded studies on quality of life and health outcomes in these populations. She has also written extensively about women's reactions to breast cancer, as well as on the role of coping, social support and developmental stage in a patient's adaptation to cancer, and served as co-editor of the groundbreaking text, Handbook of Psychooncology. Dr. Rowland is Director of the Office of Cancer Survivorship at the National Cancer Institute and has been active as a clinician, researcher and teacher in the area of psychosocial aspects of cancer for more than two decades. Since joining the NCI, Dr. Rowland has championed the identification of Cancer Survivorship as an area of Public Health Emphasis both within and outside the institute. Dr. Rowland, who received her PhD in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University, trained and worked at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, and held leadership positions in psycho-oncology at Georgetown University and the Lombardi Cancer Center in Washington, DC, prior to assuming her current position.
	Siddharth Ashvin Shah, MD Siddharth Ashvin Shah, MD is a physician specializing in integrative medicine, behavioral medicine, public health and healing trauma. A common thread to all of Dr. Shah’s work is demonstrating how people can meet trauma and related psychosocial difficulties with resiliency and positive strategies. He travels worldwide to train diverse groups on Integrative Psychosocial Resilience, which blends East-West therapies and mind-body strategies. He is medical director of Greenleaf Integrative Strategies, a service firm that helps caregivers prevent compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma. In addition to standard medical education at Baylor College of Medicine and Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Dr. Shah trained in psychotherapy, group dynamics, medical hypnosis, meditation and yoga. Dr. Shah is also a certified Laughter Yoga teacher and has led laughter therapy sessions with Smith Farm navigators. He is the author and artist for albums that assist in eating mindfully, sleeping, caregiver self-care and stress relief. More about Dr. Shah at www.siddharthshah.com.
	Patricia Stevenson
	Savneet Talwar, MA, ATR-BC, serves as an artist, educator, and consultant. She studied at the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute, and has trained in EMDR. Savneet taught art therapy at Southern Illinois University, and at George Washington University- where she also served as Assistant Director of the Art Therapy Program.
	Adruma Victoria
	Swami Vidyananda
	Kathy Vogt
	Kim Weeks is certified Integral Yoga instructor and student of yoga for 14 years, Kim Weeks left Wall Street in 2002 to start the Washington, DC-based yoga studio Boundless Yoga. Her classes draw from the Krishnamacharya tradition of yoga, which focuses on one student at a time. Kim values the body as a constantly changing object in time and space, encouraging yoga students to experience delight and forgiveness as they observe themselves, with simultaneous discrimination and non-judgment, according to the breath's direction. She believes that yoga is rooted in love.
	Elise Wiarda was born and raised in the Netherlands. She is an artist, and has been a certified massage therapist for over twenty years. She is certified in Rosen Method Bodywork and Human Transpersonal Bodywork, therapies that focus on the connection between body, mind and spirit.
	Rebecca Wilkinson, MA, ATR-BC Rebecca is an art therapist native to DC returning after many years away in the Southwest. Rebecca is a Registered and Board Certified Art Therapist who received her training from the George Washington University. She currently works at Washington Adventist Hospital and serves as Adjunct Faculty at the George Washington University. Rebecca maintains both a personal and a professional commitment to the transformative potential of the creative process and of mind/body healing in managing physical, mental, and spiritual distress.

Financial Considerations

Together with our alumni, staff, donors, and volunteers - we work to make Smith Farm Center retreats, programs, and workshops accessible to all- regardless of financial need. We offer generous financial support in the form of scholarships for programs, as often as possible. Programs in the artist-in-residence programs at hospitals and infusions centers are provided at no charge to patients, caregivers, and their families. We also offer a range of services available to the community without charge.

For a synopsis of Smith Farm's current work, download our 2009-2010 Overview Report by clicking on the button below.

Gifts

To donate click on an icon below.

Gifts come in all shapes and sizes. For some, it is a financial contribution. For others is a contribution of time and talent. We rely upon these generous gifts in order to make our services available to all who would benefit from them.

Your giving can make it possible for someone with cancer to attend a weeklong retreat or participate in a healing workshop. You can make it possible for patients to be visited by artists as they receive chemotherapy or at their bedside in the hospital. You can make it possible for a weary medical professional to participate in a renewing workshop.

Please consider making a contribution to Smith Farm Center. Contributions are tax deductible. If you wish, you can designate your gifts for our scholarship fund, for the hospital artist-in-residence program, for general support, or a special program.

Smith Farm is now accepting donations online!

If you find this an easier way to support Smith Farm Center, please click one of the donation icons to the left.

Smith Farm Center can now accept Visa and MasterCard. Please call for information about making a donation of stocks, real estate, bequest or other tax advantage gifts. Thank you for your generosity.

Volunteer
A committed core of volunteers furthers much of our work. Without their commitment and service Smith Farm Center would miss significant opportunities for impacting our community. If you would be interested in being considered for a volunteer position, we look forward to hearing from you.

Grants

[Institution Sponsors]

Photograph by Melissa Schelling

[Institution Sponsors]

Smith Farm Center programs are supported in part by grant funding from:

Barbara Smith Fund
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
Johnson and Johnson
Lance Armstong Foundation
Matthew and Barbara Black Foundation
National Endowment for the Arts
Quality Health Foundation
Society for the Arts in Healthcare
Susan G. Komen Cancer Foundation
The Boston Foundation
WL Lyons Brown, Jr. Charitable Foundation, Inc.

Along with the generous gifts of many of our alumni and friends we rely upon these grants to continue providing our services to all in need.

Smith Farm Center takes seriously our financial responsibilities. We have been chosen as one of the best small non-profits in the DC area in the new Catalogue for Philanthropy, created by the Harman Family Foundation. Smith Farm Center received the 2004 Innovations Award by the Washington Cancer Institute at Washington Hospital Center. We are also a two-time recipient of the Susan G. Komen Cancer Foundation Virginia Kelly Award for Excellence in Cancer Survivorship - in 1997 and 1998. Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts is a Washington DC-based, non-denominational, 501(c)3 nonprofit. We welcome people of all races, and religious traditions.

Frequently Asked Questions

[Institution Sponsors]

What is Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts?
Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts is a nonprofit health, arts, and education organization that serves individuals, families, and communities affected by cancer and other serious illness. Since 1996 we have worked to transform the experience of living with cancer and other serious illness- for adults, their caregivers, and the medical professionals who support them.

Where are you located?
Our City Center is located at 1632 U Street, NW near downtown Washington, DC in an area known as Adams Morgan and the U Street Corridor. We also partner with a conference center in rural Maryland to provide our Cancer Help Program Retreats.

What types of programs and events do you offer?
Smith Farm Center offers retreats-modeled after the internationally recognized Commonweal Cancer Help Program developed by Dr. Michael Lerner; programs for health, creativity, and nutrition; workshops for medical professionals; gallery exhibitions; and artist-in-residence programs at area hospitals.

Who leads your programs and retreats?
Our programs and retreats are led by a network of local and national physicians and medical professionals, artists and writers, psychotherapists and educators, nutritionists and chefs, yoga and massage facilitators, along with our staff and volunteers.

Who may attend your programs?
Smith Farm Center programs and retreats are designed for adults living with cancer and other serious illness, their caregivers, and the medical professionals who support them. We welcome people of all races and religious traditions and work to insure that all may attend, regardless of financial means.

How do I apply or register?
When you have reviewed the information, we encourage you to call our office at 202-483-8600. One of our staff will talk with you about your interest and the application process.

What does it cost?
Most or our programs have liberal scholarships provided due to the generosity and vision of our donors, friends, and alumni. In most cases, the fees do not cover the full cost of the retreat or program. These are supported by generous gifts and grants from donors, alumni, and friends of Smith Farm Center. Most fees are noted in the program guide, or call our office for specific details.

Why are you called Smith Farm?
Our founder, Barbara Smith Coleman envisioned a healing place much like the New Jersey farm where she was raised. Barbara envisioned such a place on the Eastern shore of Maryland. Her vision also included serving adults living with cancer and other serious illness in the urban center of Washington, DC. When you visit our City Center you will see a portion of the "farm" on the colorful mural as you enter the building.

What is the Cancer Help Program?
The Smith Farm Center Cancer Help Program (CHP) is a weeklong retreat for people with cancer. Our goal is to help participants live better and, where possible, longer lives. The Cancer Help Program addresses the unmet needs of people with cancer. These include finding balanced information on choices in healing, mainstream and complementary therapies; exploring emotional and spiritual dimensions of cancer; discovering that illness can sometimes lead to a richer and fuller life; and experiencing genuine community with others facing a cancer diagnosis.

What does the Cancer Help Program offer?
The Cancer Help Program offers an integrated program of healing that includes daily group support sessions led by a psychotherapist, massage, yoga, meditation, deep relaxation, imagery work, symbolic learning, poetry, exploration of sacred space, and a gourmet vegetarian diet. Evening sessions explore choices in healing, mainstream therapies, integrative therapies, pain and suffering, and death and dying.

Who can benefit?
The Cancer Help Program is beneficial for people at any stage in the cancer journey, along with their significant others. The CHP works best for people who understand what the retreats are and believe they would benefit from participating. They also work best for people who are comfortable in small group settings and are curious about the healing process. The Cancer Help Program is an educational program, not a treatment program. Participants must be under the care of a physician, able to care for themselves, able to participate in the daily program, and sufficiently medically stable to spend a week in a rural retreat setting.

What do former participants say about the Cancer Help Program?
Most CHP participants find the Cancer Help Program has a powerful and lasting positive effect on their lives. We have learned that the Cancer Help Program has profound effects on anxiety, fear, loneliness, helplessness and other psychological conditions that often accompany cancer. Many participants come to the Cancer Help Program with questions about next steps in treatment or in living with a serious cancer diagnosis. Participant evaluations often say that the Cancer Help Program far exceeded their expectations.

Who is on the staff at the Cancer Help Program?
The Cancer Help Program has a highly experienced and distinguished, professional staff. Please visit our Faculty and Staff page to review some of the staff members.

How often do Cancer Help Program retreats take place?
Smith Farm Center generally offers the Cancer Help Program five times a year. Sometimes there is a waiting list so it helps to apply early to ensure that you can participate.

What does the Cancer Help Program cost?
The Cancer Help Program fee is $1800 per person for the week, an all-inclusive fee. The fee covers housing, meals, program and materials. We are able to offer the Cancer Help Program at this fee only because contributions from Cancer Help Program alumni cover half the cost of the program, and enable us to offer scholarship assistance to some participants who would not otherwise be able to join us. The Cancer Help Program is in this real sense a gift offered by CHP Alumni to participants who come after them.

Click here to download a current workshop and program calendar.
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Resources
	Smith Farm Center co-convened and is one of the subject organizations of the white paper Arts in Healthcare Programs and Practitioners: Sampling the Spectrum in the US and Canada. The paper, a collaboration of the Arts in Healthcare Advocates (formerly known as Center Colloquium Group) with generous support from Ucross Foundation, San Diego Hospice and Palliative Care, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and The Creative Center: Arts in Healthcare examines best practices of arts in healthcare programs and practitioners across North America. Click here to download a copy of the white paper.
Smith Farm Center Resource Library	Smith Farm Center Media Watch Resource Library We invite patients and interested professionals in the Washington area to visit our Media Watch Resource Library located in our City Center. You will find a wealth of up-to-date information related to cancer, networks, resource materials, books, literature, and research. Additionally, you can subscribe to the Media Watch Resource listserve by emailing Laura Pole at Lpchef@earthlink.net Following is a list of other sources for information on cancer, mainstream and complementary/integrative therapies and support services along with their internet address and a brief description:
General Resources	Commonweal http://www.commonweal.org/ West Coast model for our Cancer Help Program; on-line text of Michael Lerner's "Choices in Healing: Integrating the Best of Conventional and Complementary Approaches to Cancer". Greater Washington Coalition for Cancer Survivors 4848 Albemarle Street, NW Washington, DC 20016-4347 (202) 364-6422 http://www.gwccs.org/ The Greater Washington Coalition for Cancer Survivorship puts out a DC area Support Group Guide listing over 150 general and specific cancer support groups, some 30 for breast cancer alone, meeting regularly in Washington, Maryland and Virginia; their telephone number is 202-364-6422. The DC Cancer Plan http://www.cancerplan.org The plan provides the Comprehensive Cancer Control designed to meet the challenges facing the Washington, DC region. The plan can be viewed from a drop down menu on the home page. American Cancer Society http://www.cancer.org Information and materials on cancer (especially breast and prostate), services, and the A.C.S., including a toll-free telephone number: 1-800-ACS-2345. CancerNet http://www.cancer.gov/cancerinfo/ The National Cancer Institute makes available a broad range of useful data through such topic headings as Cancer Information Service, Treatment Information, Clinical Trials, and CANCERLIT article references. OncoLink http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/v48/n19/OncoLink.html A vast multimedia resource for health professionals and patients developed at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School; has a long category menu, search feature and "AboutOncoLink"-- a 13 minute audio guided tour. Ask NOAH http://www.noah-health.org/english/illness/cancer/cancer.html Information about cancer types, treatments, trials, etc. provided by New York Online Access to Health (NOAH) from many consumer health resources. Cansearch http://www.canceradvocacy.org/ National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship advice for researching diagnoses, link into other resources, pain management, local support groups, et al. (The Greater Washington Coalition for Cancer Survivorship puts out a DC area Support Group Guide listing over 150 general and specific cancer support groups, some 30 for breast cancer alone, meeting regularly in Washington, Maryland and Virginia; their telephone number is 202-364-6422.) NABCO http://www.nabco.org The National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations that provide medical care to breast cancer patients, offers fact sheets on risk, detection, treatments, follow-up, etc., plus an event calendar, book list, survey section and Email Q & A service. Annie Appleseed Project 7319 Serrano Terrace \| Delray Beach, FL 33446-2215 http://annieappleseedproject.org/index.html The Annie Appleseed Project, a 501 (c)3 non profit corporation, provides information, education, advocacy and awareness for people with cancer, family and friends interested in, complementary, alternative medicine (CAM), natural therapies from the patient perspective. Latest studies continue to show that a majority of cancer patients use some form of CAM.
Mainstream Treatment Resources	Association of Cancer Online Resources http://www.acor.org ACOR hosts a number of cancer-related resources written by patients or their caregivers. These are informative sites, written by patients about their experiences following cancer diagnoses. National Cancer Institute www.cancer.gov 1-800-4-CANCER http://www.cancer.gov/newsletter/ This site should be the first stop for any patient looking for up-to-date information on a cancer diagnosis and mainstream treatment opions. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the government's cancer research program. NCI is the largest of the 17 biomedical research institutes and centers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NCI Web site provides easy access to the most current information on cancer. Many of NCI's patient education resources are located on the Web site, including full-text publications and fact sheets for cancer patients and their families. An easy-to-use site map will direct you to the various kinds of information available on this site, including descriptions of standard treatment protocols for both patients and physicians (Physician Data Query, or PDQ), "Cancer Facts" about Types of Cancer, and various publications about coping with treatment. Patients can also find a list of NCI-designated cancer centers and current clinical trials. OncoLink: The University of Pennsylvania Cancer Resource http://oncolink.upenn.edu:80/ This site is one of the most comprehensive of all sites dedicated to cancer on the Internet. Oncolink provides information from the National Cancer Institute and from other sources as well. This site also has a helpful section on psychosocial support and methods of coping with cancer. It contains information on both conventional and complementary therapies and links to many other useful sites, as well. American Society of Clinical Oncology http://www.asco.org/ This site is a primary interest to physicians. There are many links, however, to organizations of interest to patients, particularly in the area of social support for cancer. Some patients may find the abstracts for the ASCO publication Journal of Clinical Oncology useful. ASCO OnLine is provided as a service to members of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. The information and opinions of ASCO OnLine do not represent medical advice, and physicians must exercise their own professional judgment in treating patients. In particular, ASCO OnLine may contain information that is inconsistent with the Food and Drug Administration's approved labeling for therapeutic products. Therefore, the approved labeling should always be consulted before of product is used. Rational Therapeutics http://www.rational-t.com As their name suggests, Rational Therapeutics was founded to fulfill a mission to advance the field of cancer treatment by studying the most rational and reliable indicators of positive response to therapy: each patient's own cancer cells. Their objective is to provide information that will enable cancer patients to make the best decisions about their own cancer care. Rational Therapeutics does not provide medical advice, but will provide in-depth analysis and evaluation of your cancer tissues. This will provide additional information to enable you and your doctor to make the best decisions concerning treatment for your particular cancer. American Cancer Society (ACS) 1599 Clifton Northeast Atlanta GA 30329-4251 1-800-ACS-2345 http://www.cancer.org The ACS Web site provides useful patient information concerning various types of cancer including free ACS written materials on cancer risk, prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment. Some not particularly sympathetic information on complementary therapies is also available, as well as information on support and coping with cancer. The site is searchable, making it easy to locate the information you are looking for. Links are also provided to many other on-line resources.
Support Resources	National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship 1010 Wayne Avenue Fifth Floor Silver Spring MD 20910 301-650-8868 http://www.canceradvocacy.org The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) provides support for people wishing to locate or form self-help groups, assists survivors with insurance and employment problems, provides speakers on a wide range of topics, promotes the interests of survivors through the media, testifies in state and federal hearings, and provides a variety of publications of interest to survivors, including The National Networking Directory of Cancer Support Services. The NCCS also publishes the Networker, a quarterly newsletter that discusses issues affecting survivors. BCAN Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network, Inc. P.O. Box 341105 Bethesda, Maryland 20827 301-469-6865 http://www.bcan.org Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN, pronounced like "beacon") is the first national patient-based advocacy organization dedicated to improving public awareness of and educating the public about bladder cancer, and promoting an increased allocation of resources dedicated to efforts towards the treatment and cure of the disease. In addition to publishing educational information about bladder cancer, BCAN is sponsoring the creation of bladder cancer support groups around the country, and is sponsoring a "Hand-in-Hand" mentoring program for newly diagnosed patients. Arts and Healing Network PO Box 276, Stinson Beach, CA 94970 ahn@artheals.org Arts and Healing Network is an on-line resource celebrating the connection between art and healing. Our web site serves as an international resource for anyone interested in the healing potential of art, especially environmentalists, social activists, artists, art professionals, health care practitioners, and those challenged by illness. Our hope is that the information presented here will educate and inspire. http://www.artheals.org/inspiration/organizations.php?startPlace=80 Cancer Care, Inc. 1180 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10036 212-302-2400 1-800-813-HOPE http://www.cancercare.org/ Cancercare is a nonprofit organization that provides a wealth of on-line, telephone and referral services including medical referrals, second opinions, counseling, financial assistance information for non-medical expenses, and local support referrals, such as housekeeping and health aids. A free hotline offers immediate assistance with medical information, one-to-one counseling over the phone, referrals to services in your local area, and free educational materials. Services also include telephone access to educational programs and on-line support groups. CancerWeb http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cancerweb.html This is a British site that offers a wide range of information on cancer, cancer diagnosis and treatment, and links to other organizations (including many in the United States), including support organizations for specific cancers. It also provides links to resources that provide emotional support, and links to cancer survivor stories and experiences. Look Good...Feel Better: Some Beauty Tips 800-395-LOOK http://www.lookgoodfeelbetter.org/ Look Good...Feel Better (LGFB) is a free, non-medical public service program that helps women cope with the side effects of chemotherapy & radiation. Look Good Feel Better offers free workshops, literature & information on skin care, make up, hair loss & nail care. This public service program is an initiative of the member companies of the Canadian Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association. The Web site gives a few beauty tips, but you can call the toll-free number to learn where to find a LGFB chapter in your local area (in Canada) that teaches women ways to cope with the side effects of treatment. Cancer Free Connections http://www.cancer-free.com/ A site with the stories of many well-known and not-so-well-known cancer survivors, their strategies and other resources available to people in the fight for life. The Cornell Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors in New York State (BCERF) http://www.cfe.cornell.edu/bcerf/ The BCERF web site is a comprehensive source of impartial, science-based information on the relationships between breast cancer and environmental risk factors. The newly enhanced site addresses the roles that pesticides, diet, lifestyle and genetics may play in breast cancer risk, and offers strategies on what women can do to reduce their risk of breast cancer.
Talking with Others	OncoChat http://www.oncochat.org/ OncoChat is an online peer-support group for people coping with cancer and their loved ones. The home page contains links to help for new chat members You will need to download an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) application to use the service, but once you do this, you'll be all set to chat with other people who share similar experiences and emotions.
Listservs	Listservs A listserv is a discussion of a particular topic, which may have a mediator. Listservs are conducted entirely through email, although they may be archived in other parts of the Internet. These listservs have a high volume of interaction, which will fill up your email-box. You may want to try them one at a time. Also, when you subscribe you will receive a message that confirms your subscription; it also contains the information that will tell you how to unsubscribe. CANCER-L Listserv This listserv can be used for general cancer information. To subscribe send an email message to LISTSERV@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Leave the subject line blank, and in the body of the message type: subscribe cancer [your first and last names] PAIN - L Mailing List A listserv for people coping with chronic pain. To subscribe send an email message to LISTSERV@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Leave the subject line blank, and in the body of the message type: subscribe pain-l [your first and last names]. OncoPain Mailing List Another listserv for people coping with cancer pain. To subscribe send an email message to LISTSERVE@MED.UCALGARY.CA Leave the subject line blank, and in the body of the message type: subscribe oncopain [your first and last names]
Complementary Therapies	National Center for Alternative and Complementary Medicine (NCCAM, formerly Office of Alternative Medicine) http://nccam.nih.gov This National Institute of Health web describes the mission of the NCCAM, its Program Areas (including cancer research at the University of Texas affiliated center described below), News & Events (including the current and back issues of the Center's newsletter, Information Resources and a new search engine providing access to more than 90,000 bibliographic citations from1966 to 1997 obtained from the National Library of Medicine's Medline database. University of Texas Center for Alternative Medicine Research PO Box 20186; #434 Houston, Texas 77225 http://www.mdanderson.org/cimer The University of Texas is one of eleven Specialty Research Centers funded by the NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), formerly the Office of Alternative Medicine. Here you'll find analyses of the research on many therapeutic agents and regimens in complementary cancer therapy today. This outstanding web site provides the highest quality information about alternative and complementary therapies for cancer. The Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine Research in Women's Health For information by phone contact Christine Wade: 212-543-9536 http://www.rosenthal.hs.columbia.edu/Women.html The Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine Research in Women's Health is a project of the The Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine at Columbia University. This Center (along with one at the University of Texas) is one of the Specialty Research Centers funded by the NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), formerly the Office of Alternative Medicine. Besides their mission to facilitate research on women's health issues, the Center is developing an information resource on alternative medicine for women's health, including cancer. People Against Cancer 604 East Street, PO Box 10, Otho, IA 50569 515-972-4444 Fax: 515-972-4415 http://www.peopleagainstcancer.com People Against Cancer is an information resource for members in the area of "non-toxic innovative methods of cancer therapy." For Sustaining Members, People Against Cancer offers direct consultations with physicians and researchers throughout the world and counseling for those seeking guidance regarding treatment options. The organization also publishes the newsletter "Options" and makes available a wide variety of educational materials, including books, articles, audio and videotapes. Members and their companions may receive substantial discounts on medical travel costs. CancerGuide: Alternative Therapies http://cancerguide.org/alternative.html This site written by cancer survivor Steve Dunn contains short evaluations of some of the better-known alternative cancer therapies that are available today and links to many complementary cancer centers. Dunn also provides information on how to search the medical literature, how the evaluate research and how to decide if a clinical trial is right for you. Ask Dr. Weil http://www.drweilselfhealing.com/ Dr. Andrew Weil, proponent of "integrative medicine" and Director of the Integrative Medicine Program at the University of Arizona provides well-balanced responses to questions from readers daily on his web site. Simply use the site search engine to find Dr. Weil's answers to questions about specific cancer issues.
Alternative Treatment Centers	Burzynski Research Institute 12000 Richmond Ave Houston TX 77082 281-597-0111 281-597-1166 (fax) http://www.cancermed.com/ Stanislaw Burzynski is a controversial physician based in Houston, Texas, who treats advanced cancer patients with peptides and amino acids called antineoplastons, which he considers to be part of a biochemical defense system that parallels the immune system. On this Web site, you'll find information about clinical trials of antineplastons, a report on antineoplastons from the National Cancer Institute, and other information about Burzynski's therapy. Cancer Hyperthermia Holistic Center Valley Cancer Institute 12099 W. Washington Blvd., #304 Los Angeles, CA 90066 310-398-0013 310-398-4470 (fax) http://www.vci.org/ Hyperthermia is the use of therapeutic heat to treat cancer. The Valley Cancer Institute offers hyperthermic treatment in addition to conventional radiation and oncological therapy. Kushi Institute: Cancer and Diet Information PO Box 7 Becket, MA 01223 1-800-975-8744 http://www.kushiinstitute.org The Kushi Institute promotes the macrobiotic diet. Through eating a balanced diet centered around whole grains and predominantly vegetable foods, as well as living a lifestyle in harmony with nature, practitioners of macrobiotics believe that cancer can be prevented and sometimes relieved. They also have a weeklong "Way to Health" program for cancer patients in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts. Somatidian Orthobiology PO Box 6231 Rock Forest Quebec, Canada J1N 3C8 819-564-0492 http://www.cerbe.com/ Gaston Naessens is a Canadian physician who has developed a new biological theory, based on the presence of "somatids" in the blood. Naessens detected these with a new type of microscope of his own invention. You can send away for books and videotapes about Somatidian theory, or for Naessens' product, 714X, which is a nitrogenated camphor-derivative mixed with mineral salts. The goal of 714X treatment is to direct nitrogen to cancerous cells in order to stop their toxic secretions, which are said to block the body's defense system.
Custom Research	The Health Resource, Inc. 564 Locust Street Conway, AR 72032 800-949-0090 or (501) 329-5272 Fax (501) 329-9489 http://www.thehealthresource.com/ The Health Resource, Inc., is a medical information service that will provide you with an individualized research report on your specific type of cancer. These reports "survey both mainstream and alternative treatments for your type of cancer and examine profiles of patients with the same type of cancer who either recovered or well-outlived their life expectancy." The reports also include information on experimental treatment and clinical trials and "the top conventional cancer specialists who have had success in treating your type of cancer." The Health Resources will "identify alternative cancer clinics whom we consider to be reputable and who have had success in treating your type of cancer." The Health Resource, Inc., also provides a newsletter and an up-date service. Reports on cancer topics are $375 (plus shipping) and are shipped in 4 to 5 working days. Reports also come with a money-back guarantee. The Moss Reports 144 St. John's Place, Brooklyn, NY 11217 718-636-0186 http://www.ralphmoss.com/ Ralph Moss, Ph.D., is science writer and vocal advocate of alternative approaches to cancer. His "Moss Reports" are custom reports costing $275.00, including 2-Day Priority shipping inside the continental U.S. Each report is between 40 and 60 pages and is personally researched, written and updated by Dr. Moss. Reports are available for a wide range of cancer diagnoses. In the report you will learn Dr. Moss's views on such things as: the most promising alternative treatments for your type of cancer, such as nutritional, immunological, herbal and biological approaches; an overview of your conventional treatment options, an assessment of your chances for success with those treatments, information on which supplements you should avoid, and more. Resources are given, including the names, addresses and phone numbers of practitioners who may be able to help. There is also a section on diet, less-toxic drugs, food supplements, and herbs. CANHELP http://www.canhelp.com Through his service for people with cancer, Patrick McGrady assists patients to make informed decisions regarding cancer treatments. McGrady has assembled a network of practitioners in the area of complementary treatment for cancer to provide you and/or your physicians with up-to-date data and an understanding of the range of treatment options that lie outside the mainstream. For a fee, patients can receive a CANHELP packet that contains a computer printout of relevant research and treatment information from medical databases, a personal interpretation of these data for you and your physician and a synopsis of conversations on your behalf with CANHELP's network of medical advisors.
Other Residential Support Programs	The following list identifies additional nonprofit, Residential Healing Programs serving people whose lives have been touched by cancer. Even though we support their work, thoughtful inquiry should be used to insure that a particular program meets your needs. Commonweal POB 316 Bolinas, CA 94924 415-868-0970 commonweal@commonweal.org http://www.commonweal.org/ Harmony Hill Cancer Retreats E. 7362 Hwy 106 Union, WA 98592 360- 898-2363 http://www.harmonyhill.org Callanish Healing Retreats #314 - 2902 West Broadway Vancouver, B.C. Canada V6K 2G8 604-732-0633 fax: 604-732-0689 info@callanish.org http://www.callanish.org Tapestry Retreat Dept. of Psychosocial Resources Tom Baker Cancer Centre 1331 29th St. NW Calgary, AB T2N 4N2 403-670-1767 helenmac@cancerboard.ab.ca http://www.cancerboard.ab.ca/tapestry The Light Center 1542 Woodson Road Baldwin, KS 66066 785-255-4583 ltcenter@grapevine.net Sunstone Cancer Support Foundation 2545 North Woodland Drive Tucson, AZ 85749 520-749-1928 Contact: Lora Matz lmatz@sunstonehealing.net http://www.sunstonehealing.net Click here to download a current workshop and program calendar. Return to top of page

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Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts is a Washington DC-based, non-denominational, 501(c)3 nonprofit. We welcome people of all races and religious traditions. Smith Farm Center has been awarded the Susan G. Komen Cancer Foundation Virginia Kelly Award for Excellence in Cancer Survivorship in 1997 and 1998, the 2004 Innovations Award by the Washington Cancer Institute at Washington Hospital Center and has been designated as a Catalogue for Philanthropy Charity. Smith Farm Center provides scholarship assistance for our programs on a needs basis, whenever possible.