Summer, Summer, Summer Time

A few weeks ago we visited Nathan Hale HS for our last Teens, Cancer and Community presentation of the semester! With a break from the program this fall to revamp everything, we reached out to almost 2,000 teenagers all over the Greater Seattle area since February.  Adding to our already 25,000 teens we’ve talked to in the past five years.

The feedback from the schools, teachers and most importantly the students, was overwhelmingly positive. Most of the teens are so appreciative for the honest information we share with them but also thankful to just hear someone talk about cancer. So many of them have already been touched by cancer- whether through a parent, friend or classmate- and it’s important for them to know that they aren’t alone when dealing with it.

With some new goals in mind, the updated presentation includes new pictures and videos that teens can really relate to, such as a video about tanning and the Jersey Shore.

We really highlight skin cancer and reducing risk for the future. We provide details on the best ways to protect their skin as well as the truth about sunscreen and the dangers of tanning. Feeling like summer was just around the corner all spring long, the teens are really interested when we talk about this. They want to be out in the sun- but learning about the realities of skin cancer and how it can affect them at a young age really makes them think about choices they make. Many say that after the presentation they will change their skin protection habits and start wearing sunscreen and a more regular basis.

I won’t lie- getting a few months off from visiting high schools once a week is a nice break, but I’m already looking forward to updating the presentation for the fall and continuing with the program. Teens have so many great things to say and when it comes to a topic like cancer they have a lot of questions that deserve to be answered.

Remember to reapply that SPF 30!

HAGS,

Zoey

Teens, Tears and Terry Tazioli

For the past 6 years teens from all over Washington State have sent in their personal stories with cancer for our “It’s Always Something” Teen Writing Contest.

On a Saturday afternoon in May we held our award ceremony in honor of our winners. Every year we get an abundance of amazing essays and this year was no different. Terry Tazioli and Anna Gottlieb host the ceremony by talking about how the contest came to be and how much it’s grown in just six fast years. There are two categories in which teens can enter. The Kai Leamer category, in honor of Terry’s sister, is for teens whose parents, siblings, family members or friends have had cancer. The Guy Robichaud category, named after our first ever winner, is for teens who have had a personal cancer diagnosis. Guy has been an everlasting presence here at Gilda’s Club Seattle. His mom Elizabeth has remained a part of our community and been a great help with our writing contest.

As Terry introduces each winner they stand in front of their fellow teens, families, friends, teachers and mentors and bravely read their essays. One girl lost mother when she was younger and is trying to hold on to the few precious memories she has. Another tells her story through poem and how she feels branded as “the cancerous child.” A young man tells us of his mother’s battle with cancer and how it was like a rollercoaster of ups and downs, twists and turns; but how in the end it brought them together. Needless to say, by the end of the ceremony there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Cancer is hard enough to deal with as an adult; what these teens endure and how they persevere is remarkable. They are truly an inspiration. You can read the winning essays on our website, http://gildasclubseattle.org/noogieland/WritingContest.php?year=2011…just grab your tissues first.

Thank you to all of our winners, contestants, families and friends. Also a huge shout out to Terry Tazioli and the rest of the family for their endless support and love!

Zoey Wainberg

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French Bistro Cooking at Gilda’s Club Seattle

On Monday, May 16th, Chef Jim Drohman of Cafe Presse and Le Pichet came to Gilda’s Club to demonstrate how to cook cancer treatment friendly dishes using classic French techniques.  As a cancer survivor, Jim is well-acquainted with the special needs of those in treatment.  He prepared a delicious meal of veloute de poulet (the best chicken soup we’ve ever tasted), poached chicken with vegetables and coconut rice pudding.  Jim was a great sport in working with our not exactly professional stove.  Our students packed the house and ate up Jim’s every word.

The event reminded us that we hadn’t been to Cafe Presse in far too long so we returned for lunch on Thursday.  We could have been happy with the a lunch of just their delicious bread, but our baked eggs and salad put us over the top.  It seems great minds think alike, as we ran into a fellow Cooking Out Loud student at the restaurant!

Thank you to Jim and Cafe Presse/Le Pichet for such a special evening!

-Liz

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Here’s a Model, There’s a Model

Yves Saint Laurent once said, “A good model can advance fashion by ten years.” But for us here at Gilda’s Club Seattle, we’re hoping that a good model can advance our service to the community for another ten years. As we celebrate our 10^th year in the greater Puget Sound area, we are looking forward to our 14^th annual “Surviving with Style” fashion show fundraiser on June 3rd.

Every year the models in our show are cancer survivors with inspiring tales, and this year is no different. We have a 4^th grade teacher, a fire fighter, a mother and daughter surviving duo and even Jesse Jones from King 5 News.

Last Monday night we had our first model meeting in which the models came to our Clubhouse, many for the first time ever, and we all get to meet each other and go over the logistics of the fashion show. Everyone introduced not only themselves but their support person who range from mothers, daughters and grand-daughters, husbands to sisters and even an oncology nurse turned best friend. All of our models seemed both excited to be a part of our show and eager to make this our most successful one yet.

Everyone on the fashion show committee and all of us at Gilda’s Club Seattle feel truly lucky to have such a great group this year! We can’t wait for June 3rd!

Peace, love & shoes,

Zoey Wainberg

If you’re interested in purchasing tickets to the fundraiser, please click on the link below.

http://gildasclubseattle.org/fundraisers/Event.php?id=156

Send in the Clowns!

On April 2nd, Gilda’s Club held its annual Spring Carnival for kids touched by cancer.  We had a blast and we’re already looking forward to next year!  Check out some photos of the event below:

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Fava beans, rhubarb and gnocchi…oh my!

On Monday night we kicked off our brand new cooking demonstration series, Cooking Out Loud, by learning new techniques, tasting new flavors and enjoying fresh spring greens. Executive Chef, Dylan Giordan of Serafina Osteria & Enoteca definitely set the bar high for the rest of the classes. Not only is he an amazing chef with a wealth of knowledge, but his passion and love for what he does made everyone want to jump right in and start pealing fava beans.

With a menu made up of duck covered in rhubarb and vermouth sauce, fava bean crostini with pecorino cheese, and ricotta gnocchi with peas, leeks and mint, our mouths were watering before he pre-heated the oven.

Throughout the class, Chef Dylan taught us that peeling ginger is easier with a spoon, that if you add too much salt just add some citrus to equalize the flavor, how to easily and equally chop basil leaves and mint leaves by piling them on top of each other and rolling them like a cigar, and that the leaves on rhubarb are poisonous.

But, I think the tip that blew us all away was when he taught us how to determine how thoroughly meat is cooked, by simply touching it. Now this may be hard to describe via blog but I’ll give it a go. If you begin to semi-lightly tap your palm at the base (or pad) of your thumb, that is what rare meat feels like. Now press your pointer finger and thumb together as if saying, “okay.” Once again, touch the pad of your thumb. If you notice, it’s a little harder. This is what medium-rare meat should feel like. Now touch both your pointer and middle finger to your thumb. The base of your thumb will now feel like medium. With the pointer, the middle and the ring finger all touching your thumb, the pad of your thumb will feel like medium-well. And finally, once you have all four fingers touching your thumb, that is what well-done meat will feel like. It’s brilliant!

With lots of class participation and Chef Dylan’s knowledge and kindness, it made for a great class. We now all know how to make gnocchi from scratch, how to cook the perfect duck and that we need to truly appreciate how labor intensive peeling fava beans is. The food was just as delicious as it sounds. My personal favorite creation of Chef Dylan’s was the fava bean crostini. I could have eaten 12 of them.

We’d like to thank Chef Dylan for coming in, answering our questions, giving us excellent advice and most importantly, feeding us fantastic food. We truly can’t thank him enough!

We also want to thank Susan Kaufman, not only the owner of Serafina and Cicchetti Kitchen & Bar, but a good friend of Gilda’s Club. Susan stopped by last night to show her support for Dylan and see what it was we are doing here. It was great having you both!

Bon Appetite,

Zoey Wainberg

Small Talk: Not Just Playing With Crayons

I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with specialized training in Art Therapy and Program Manager for the Family Cancer Support Program at Gilda’s Club Seattle. I lead art therapy groups at Gilda’s Club for children who have cancer, children who have a family member with cancer, and a separate grief and loss group. Many people don’t know what Art Therapy is so when they bring their children to therapy, they might say…”oh how cute, Michelle colors with the kids”. I love to take this opportunity to educate people about what art therapy is as a mental health profession. Art Therapy allows individuals to express emotions through the process of creating art and addresses emotional needs with specific art projects. Art therapy is a mental health profession that uses the creative process of art making to improve and enhance the physical, mental and emotional well-being of individuals of all ages. It is based on the belief that the creative process involved in artistic self-expression helps people to resolve conflicts and problems, develop interpersonal and coping skills, manage behavior, reduce stress, increase self-esteem and self-awareness, and achieve insight. It’s the process and the projects. It’s this process of art making and exploring feelings that is unique to the healing process.

Art Therapy is practiced by mental health professionals with a Masters Degree and many are WA state licensed mental health professionals. This can be a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, or Art Therapist-Registered. Registration (ATR) is granted upon completion of graduate education and post-graduate supervised experience. Board Certification (ATR-BC) is granted to Registered Art Therapists who pass a written examination, and is maintained through continuing education. Art Therapy training is available for Masters level mental health professionals.

Art therapy emerged as a profession in the 1940s. According to the American Art Therapy Association, in the early 20th century, psychiatrists became interested in the artwork created by their patients with mental illness. By mid-century, hospitals, clinics, and rehabilitation centers increasingly began to include art therapy programs along with traditional “talk therapies,” underscoring the recognition that the creative process of art making enhanced recovery, health, and wellness. As a result, the profession of art therapy grew into an effective and important method of communication, assessment, and treatment with children and adults in a variety of settings.

Art therapy uses the fields of human development, visual art (drawing, painting, sculpture, and other art forms), and the creative process with counseling and psychotherapy. Artwork commonly reflects developmental, emotional, and cognitive growth. Art therapy is used with children, adolescents, adults, older adults, groups, and families to assess and treat mental health disorders, substance abuse and other addictions; family and relationship issues; abuse and domestic violence; social and emotional difficulties related to disability and illness; trauma, grief and loss; physical, cognitive, and neurological problems; and psychosocial difficulties related to medical illness. Art Therapy is found at a variety of settings including community agencies, schools, hospitals, hospice and home health agencies, clinics, non-profits, and private therapy practices.

I work with many parents and children who I’ve watched grow and come together throughout the years. Parents will ask me…”How do I help my child….he’s so angry”? At times, children don’t want to tell their parents what they’re feeling. Maybe they’re angry because their parent has cancer, or sad because a family member has died, or feel guilty because they need their parent who is sick to still meet their needs. Fear is at the root of anger and processing this fear with a licensed mental health professional with art therapy training is life changing. They might not even know what they’re feeling until they start doing artwork. Some children enjoy working with clay…they create what they think anger or cancer looks like out of clay and either throw it on the floor to “destroy” it or after some processing time, they can change their clay piece into what happiness or kindness or any positive feeling looks like to them. This gives children a sense of control and self expression. What happens to the child affects the entire family. Individual family members may process a situation differently but the family unit as a system will process together.

The art therapy groups at Gilda’s Club are confidential groups and the kids build trust with me and each other. They are allowed to express themselves in a safe confidential space and work through emotions. Our groups aren’t scary, children feel relieved to have a place to work through their emotions. Many children feel as if they’re burdening their parents who have cancer with their own worries.
So, as cute as it may seem….No, I don’t “just color with the kids”.

Small Talk-art therapy group for ages 5-11. 1st and 3rd Sat./Mo. 10:30am-12pm
Kids Grieve Too-grief and loss group for ages 5-11. 1st and 3rd Sat./Mo. 12:30pm-1:30pm.
What Now-Grief and loss group for ages 12 and up. 1st and 3rd Sat./Mo 12:30pm-1:30pm.

Michelle E. Massey, MSW, LICSW

References:

http://www.arttherapy.org