Wellness & Educational Programs | Wellness Program Offered by Club Fit

Our program calendar changes quarterly. Please view this page often to check for new wellness and educational programs. Please obtain your doctor's approval before participating in any Wellness Program.

Yoga - A Path Toward Wellness

Open to women with cancer
Appropriate for beginners or more advanced students. Emphasis is placed on movement with breath awareness as a way to achieve a more tranquil mind. Experience the benefits of yoga, which include a stronger, healthier body and a calmer, more focused mind.
Dates: Saturdays, noon - 1:30 pm (no classes Jan. 14th and April 7th)
Location: Club Fit, Jefferson Valley
Please call Support Connection to register. 914-962-6402.

Knitting Circle

Open to people living with breast, ovarian and gynecological cancer.

Whether your New Years resolution was to learn something new or finish a project, our Knitting Circle is for you.

Join the Knitting Circle and add a little color to those short winter days. We have yarn and knitting needles to share with those of you willing to try something new. For our more seasoned knitters there is always shared information and ideas.

Every year, in June, some very lucky guests leave our Celebrate Life Day luncheon with a handmade item from our knitters. This could be the year you warm up the life of another survivor.

To register, call Support Connection at 914-962-6402.

Toll-Free Teleconference: Intimacy and Sexuality after Cancer

Open to Women Living with breast, ovarian and gynecological cancers. Pre registration is required.

Please join us from the comfort of your home for this Toll-Free Educational Teleconference: “Intimacy and Sexuality After Cancer.” In addition to offering educational information, the teleconference format enables women to make connections with and gain support from other women, regardless of where they live.

Guest speaker will be Mindy R. Schiffman, PhD, a senior staff psychologist at the NYU Fertility Center. Dr Schiffman is a clinical instructor in NYU’s obstetrics and gynecology department, and has a private practice in individual and couple counseling, and sex therapy. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Psycho-oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and held a joint appointment in the Human Sexuality Program at New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center.

Topics to be covered include:

• • Removing the stigma: Normalizing the impact of cancer on sexuality and intimacy.
• • Body image, sexuality, intimacy, and your relationship after cancer.
• • Explicit discussion of sexual difficulties after cancer: Has anyone seen my libido?
• • Recommendations and resources for improving one’s experience

In addition, there will be an open discussion where participants can ask questions, share their concerns, offer support and information to one another, and learn ways to cope with the impact of cancer. Robin Perlmutter, Support Connection Clinical Director, will help facilitate the discussion.

To participate, please call IN ADVANCE to register and receive instructions. On the night of the teleconference, participants will call a special toll-free number and be connected with the group. To learn more or to register, call Support Connection at 914-962-6402 or 1-800-532-4290.

Meditation

Open to people living with breast, ovarian and gynecological cancers. Pre registration is required.

Meditation includes a wide range of techniques you can practice any time, in any way, and anywhere. In this six session workshop, instructor Chun Kim-Levin will gently guide you to experience many different ways to practice meditation so that you can reap its benefits. Some of these benefits include slowing and deepening breath, relaxing the nervous system, muscles and tendons, increasing the efficiency of the immune system, aiding in blood flow and heart efficiency, and increasing digestive system functioning.

Chun Kim-Levin, MPA, RN, HN-BC, CYT has been a healthcare professional for over 35 years, with 15 years of healthcare management experience. In 1997 Chun made a major career change, founding Life-Spring Holistic Services.

To register, please call Support Connection at 914-962-6402.

Drumming Circle

Open to people living with breast, ovarian and gynecological cancers. Pre registration is required.

Join us for an exciting workshop of rhythms, songs, and instruments from around the world. This workshop, facilitated by Maya Benattar, will provide an opportunity to connect with our own personal internal rhythms, and create powerful group rhythms together. Drumming is a great way to release stress, increase energy, and have fun! All are welcome- absolutely no previous music experience is needed.

Maya Benattar MA, MT-BC, LCAT is a board-certified music therapist and NYS licensed creative arts therapist. She holds an MA in Music Therapy from New York University, and a BS in Music Therapy from SUNY New Paltz. She is a trained Health Rhythms facilitator, having completed training with Remo, an international drum company. Maya enjoys helping people explore music to access their creativity and release stress.

To register, please call Support Connection at 914-962-6402.

Lymphedema After Breast Cancer

Open to women living with breast cancer. Pre registration is required.

When a person has lymph nodes removed and/or undergoes radiation therapy, they are at risk to develop lymphedema. This workshop will focus on the following:

• • What is Lymphedema and who is at risk?
• • How to prevent Lymphedema (including skin care precautions) and how to avoid causing a tourniquet effect (cutting off circulation in the affected limb)
• • Current treatment methods - Manual Lymphatic Drainage, options for Compression Therapy (multiple-layered bandaging vs a compression sleeve), Compression Pumps and Exercise
• • Common myths associated with Lymphedema, e.g. whether or not to travel by plane with a compression sleeve, etc)

Presenter Michele Berliner is a physical therapist specializing in Breast Cancer Rehabilitation and a Certified Lymphedema Therapist. Currently practicing at Access Physical Therapy and Wellness in Armonk, Ms. Berliner began her career at the RUSK Institute, later working at a private practice in New York City where she assisted in launching a Breast Cancer and Lymphedema Rehabilitation Program. She has lectured to physicians and the community on this topic and also presented a research study on breast cancer patients and the effects of lymphedema therapy on their quality of life.

To register, please call Support Connection, 914-962-6402.

Nutrition

Open to people living with breast, ovarian cancer and gynecological cancers. Pre registration is required.

Dr. Barry Boyd will speak about the role of integrative care in cancer, focusing attention on the impact of nutrition and lifestyle on cancer survival and overall well-being. He will address seemingly conflicting research findings, bringing them together with a broader, more comprehensive view. Some highlights will include:

• • Common misperceptions about cancer and nutrition.
• • The role of "energy balanc" (nutrition + activity) on cancer risk and survival.
• • The possible influence of blood glucose, insulin and individual metabolism.
• • Recent research on exercise and cancer survival.
• • Potential benefits of dietary supplements.

D. Barry Boyd, M.D., M.S. has 23 years experience as a board-certified medical oncologist/hematologist and a Master's degree in nutritional biochemistry, with a recognized specialization in cancer treatment and recovery. He is a pioneer in the field of integrative cancer care with a focus on nutritional support for cancer patients and the healing process.

Dr. Boyd attended the Institute for Human Nutrition at Columbia University and received his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College. He completed a fellowship in Hematology-Oncology at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center in New York and is presently an attending physician at Greenwich Hospital – Yale Medical Center. Dr. Boyd is an assistant clinical professor at the Yale University School of Medicine and has been appointed Director of the Nutrition and Integrative Medicine Curriculum at Yale University School of Medicine.

Dr. Boyd is founding president of The Integrative Cancer Care Research Foundation and has also recently published a book entitled, The Cancer Recovery Plan.

To register, please call Support Connection, 914-962-6402.

Connecting Through Loss: Men’s Open Discussion Group

This program is open to widowers whose wives have utilized our services. Pre registration is required.

Support Connection is opening its doors to support those of you who have lost your wives. Connect with each other and see firsthand, as your wives did while they battled their disease, that you are not alone.

We understand that what your wives received from attending a support group or speaking with a peer counselor was, at times, mystifying. Join us for a better understanding of how Support Connection helped your wives, as well as an open exchange of personal experiences, concerns and support. The discussion will be facilitated by Mike Murphy, a member of our Board of Directors who lost his wife to breast cancer, and Andrea Karl, Peer Counselor.

To register, please call Support Connection, 914-962-6402.

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