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Welcome pageWhat's NewCNI Center for
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To request an initial team
consultation, call Dr. Arenson, For more information about
CNI's Brain & Spinal Tumor Team,
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At the CNI Center for Brain and Spinal Tumors we offer the following services to augment our aggressive medical treatment:
All of our support services are designed to assist our patients and families find their inner strength. We believe strongly in the inherent strength of all humans and know that we meet people at a crisis in their lives. We want to help you make decisions that you will be able to live with, to look back on without regret, that will be respectful of your family values, and maintain the cultural and religious beliefs that you and family had when you came into this situation.
We try to arrange for our patients and families to meet our Care Coordinator, Wade Jensen, M.Div., prior to any surgical intervention and he will follow them through their hospital stay, into rehab (if needed) and then into the out-patient setting. He will make certain the treatment team is kept abreast of the progress that the patient is making and that the patient moves as smoothly as possible through the medical system. Our coordinator also facilitates our Support Groups, is the hospital liaison for the chaplain services, provides the Program with social worker services, and maintains (with the invaluable assistance of the Program Assistant) the Patient and Family Resource Center.
This group meets once a month on the 2nd floor conference center at Swedish Medical Center -- check the schedule on the right of this page for details. Please call Lorre Gibson at 303-806-7420 if better directions are needed. We meet as a Patient and Family/Concerned Others Group for about 15 minutes and then we split into one group for patients and one group for families and concerned others for about one hour and then reconvene to wrap up.
For those patients and families that wish to utilize the services of a chaplain, especially during their hospitalization, there is a designated chaplain for our team. Wade Jensen, MDiv, attends all of our team conferences and is an integral part of the support services that we provide.
During the aggressive medical treatment that is provided by our Program, we strive to not lose track of the importance of healing to our patients and their families. Although we strive for a cure for brain cancer, the goal of spiritual healing is often more attainable. Healing, to make sound or whole or to cause an undesirable condition to be overcome can often be obtained by many of our patients and our families. Our monthly interfaith service focuses on music as a way to tie us together in our common desire to transcend our pain.
Every Spring we hold a special service on the grounds of Swedish Medical Center to remember those that have died from the disease of CNS cancer, to acknowledge those who continue to struggle daily with deficits brought on by this disease, to thank those who give so much of themselves to make a difference in the lives of individuals touched by this disease, to celebrate the courage and spirit of our survivors, and just to take a few moments to stop, to be together, and to acknowledge and thank each other.
The 9th Annual "Reflecting the Light" Services will be held in May of 2008. Details to be determined.
The support group attendees are planning additional potlucks and "going out for coffee".
Our educational notebooks are paid for by grants. They are customized for each patient and filled with information pertaining to their tumor type and their treatment plan. This has become a model for all patients at The CNI.
The maze of insurance, disability, family medical leave act, medical retirement, etc, can be overwhelming to someone who feels well. To someone who has undergone brain surgery, this can be too much. Having a social worker to guide you through this process and at times, just take over, can ease the burden tremendously. Our program wants to make certain that our patients and families do not "get lost in the system" and that they get expert guidance at a time when they are vulnerable, scared, and overwhelmed.
Medical research published by the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami confirms that massage therapy offers great benefits to cancer patients at nearly every stage of treatment and recovery. University Park Hematology and Dr. Arenson sponsor a massage therapist to work with patients on Wednesday and Friday.
Social Club for Brain & Spinal Tumor Patients
by Lorre Gibson
Affectionately called "The Hole in the Head Gang" (a name they chose themselves), this group of brain tumor survivors gathers several times a year to eat, drink, and be merry at a time when most would wonder what they have to celebrate. These patients of the Colorado Neurological Institute, Center for Brain & Spinal Tumors find a lot to celebrate despite the diagnosis of a brain or spinal tumor.
They come together to share their stories, to reconnect with others that they met during treatment and to just do something that is part of everyday living. The particular diagnosis is not important, but all of these patients belong to a very exclusive club. One they didn't choose, but one that they take head on. Some are long-term survivors who offer hope and inspiration to those newly diagnosed. Some have been on the journey a long time and some are taking the first steps on a trek that they did not seek, but are facing with courage and dignity. Some even come to forget for an evening that their lives have taken this turn.
Whether it's "game night" at Beth's house or a backyard BBQ at Patrick's apartment they find a place of comfort and peace where there are no doctors and nurses and they can just spend time together.
The "Hole in the Head Gang" meets every other month. This social club is exclusively for patients and families of the CNI Center for Brain & Spinal Tumors. For more information, to be added to the mailing list or to volunteer to host a gathering, please contact Lorre Gibson at (303) 806-7420 or Wade Jensen at (303) 357-5441.
We are also very fortunate to have a long term survivor, Cynthia Kuntz, who was a nurse at Swedish Medical Center when she was diagnosed with a GBM in October of 1997. Cynthia volunteers in our chemotherapy infusion center, she visits patients in the hospital, and she visits with families in the surgical waiting room. Cynthia's strength and hope is an inspiration to all.
All of our support services are designed to assist our patients and families find their inner strength. We believe strongly in the inherent strength of all humans and know that we meet people at a crisis in their lives. We want to help you make decisions that you will be able to live with, to look back on without regret, that will be respectful of your family values, and maintain the cultural and religious beliefs that you and your family had when you came into this situation.
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Colorado Neurological
Institute Center for Brain & Spinal Tumors
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