ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
CREATING A HEALING
48
Treasure Coast Medical Report
ENVIRONMENT
Cancer patients gain strength and
optimism through art therapy
KERRY FIRTH PHOTOS
Artist Barry Shapiro helps patient Antonio Jenkins finish an art project through the Arts in Medicine program.
BY KERRY FIRTH
Cancer. The word alone sends chills up and down the
spine. Images of sitting in a room for hours at a time,
worrying about the outcome, run through the mind.
It’s part of the treatment process, but it doesn’t have
to be as miserable as some think. What if one could pass that
time by creating a work of art or by listening to some cool
jazz? It might just make the treatment a little more tolerable.
The Cultural Council of Indian River County and Florida
Cancer Specialists have created a holistic approach to treatment
with an innovative Arts in Medicine program in Vero
Beach. The program combines arts and artists into a normally
sterile and clinical setting. Patients, caregivers and healthcare
professionals in the FCS practice are better able to deal with
serious illness through this unique method, the first of its
kind in the state to use art and medicine in a private practice.
“This is the most exciting thing to happen in my career,”
says Dr. Raul Storey, medical oncologist and hematologist.
“While it doesn’t change the course of the disease, it absolutely
improves their sense of well-being. We treat the patient
as a whole, attempting to balance the mind, body and soul.
Patients who are entertained during their chemotherapy
are less likely to be depressed and more likely to be positive >>