The Wellness Community is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to providing support, ed

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• The Wellness Community is an international
  non-profit organization dedicated to providing
  support, education and hope to people with cancer
  and their loved ones.

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TWC Program Philosophy

• Since 1982, TWCs Program was built upon the
  unique Patient Active Concept
• Patients who participate in their fight for
  recovery along with their health care team,
  rather than acting as hopeless, helpless, passive
  victims of the illness, will improve the quality
  of their lives and may enhance the possibility of
  recovery.
• Combining the will of the patient with the skill
  of the physician - a powerful combination.
• Harold Benjamin, Ph.D., Founder

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Our Vision

• To establish The Wellness Community model as the
  gold standard of psychosocial support for people
  affected by cancer.

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The Wellness CommunityAround the World and
Growing
TWC reached more than 150,000 people affected by
cancer in the past year.
NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
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Extending Our Reach

• Tel Aviv November 2000
• Delmarva January 2001
• Tokyo May 2001
• The Virtual Wellness Community February 2002
• Greater Miami March 2002
• Orange County September 2002
• Greater Lehigh Valley April 2004
• Central New Jersey November 2004
• Centers in development
• Manila, Philippines
• Washington, DC
• Ann Arbor, MI
• Dayton, OH
• Winchester, VA

• West Los Angeles June 1982
• South Bay Cities April 1987
• East Tennessee January 1990
• Foothills August 1990
• San Francisco East Bay September 1990
• Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky November
  1990
• Valley/Ventura June 1991
• Philadelphia June 1993
• Greater St. Louis June 1993
• Boston September 1993
• Central Indiana June 1995
• Delaware April 1996
• Southwest Florida April 1996
• Southeast Florida August 1997
• Atlanta November 1997
• Columbus July 1998
• Central Arizona March 1999

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Programs and Services

• All programs at The Wellness Community are
  provided free of charge and facilitated by
  licensed health care professionals including
  social workers, psychotherapists, nurses and
  psychologists
• All TWC core programs and training are consistent
  throughout the country allowing for streamlined,
  system-wide adoption of national programs and
  initiatives

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Our Programs Include

• Weekly Cancer Support Groups
• Diagnosis Specific Support Groups
• Family/Caregivers Support Groups
• Bereavement Groups
• Online Support Groups

• Nutritional/Exercise Programs
• Physician Lectures
• Survivorship Education
• Mind/Body Programs
• Stress Reduction Workshops

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Support Services

• In 2003, The Wellness Community provided
• the following direct services to people with
• cancer across the United States and around
• the world
• 13,253 support groups
• 2,147 educational workshops
• 5,675 exercise and stress management programs

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Our Participants
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Patient Education Programs

• Frankly Speaking About
• Cancer Treatment Take Control of Side Effects
  with Medicine, Mind and Body
• Colorectal Cancer
• Lymphoma
• Lung Cancer Stepping Back to Take a Closer Look
• New Discoveries in Cancer
• Patient Active Guide to
• Living with Ovarian Cancer
• Living with Advanced Breast Cancer (2006)
• Return to Wellness
• A New Beginning After Breast Cancer Treatment
• Open to Options
• Cancer Clinical Trials
• Cancer Vaccines Exploring New Approaches to
  Treatment

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The Virtual Wellness Community

• Offers services similar to those at TWC
  facilities
• Hosts
• Ten professionally-facilitated, real-time online
  support groups for patients and caregivers
• Cancer-specific, oncologist-approved educational
  programs
• Mind/body room
• Kitchen nutrition center
• Clinical Trials education room
• Offers Talking Wellness Cards for Cancer
• Links to The Virtual Wellness Community in
  Spanish
• Links to Group Loop Teens. Talk. Cancer. Online,
  www.grouploop.com

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The Virtual Wellness Community Español

• Online Support Groups for patients and
  caregivers
• Educational Programs/ Cancer Information
• Nutrition Information
• Resources for more information

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Group Loop Site for Teens with Cancer

• Online Support Groups for teens parents
• Info Zone
• Cancer, School You
• In the Loop
• Family Room

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Research Goals and Projects

• Goals
• Develop and modify programs, services, and
  training based upon evidence and data
• Utilize community-initiated research
  collaborations to improve program delivery
• Establish TWCs Patient Active Model as the Gold
  Standard
• Projects
• Do Cancer Support Groups Reduce Physiological
  Stress for Women With Breast Cancer (Stanford)
• Effectiveness of Online Support Groups vs. Face
  to Face Support Groups (Stanford UCSF)
• Effectiveness of Online Support Groups for Teens
  with Cancer (Children's Hospital of Los Angeles)
• The Center for Immigrant Health (CIH), NYU
  Medical School - Virtual Community for
  Immigrants with Cancer (VCIC)
• Open to Options Cancer Clinical Trials (ASCO/
  NCI/ NCCS)

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Collaborations
TWC values partnerships.

• professional groups
• American Society of Clinical Oncology
• Association of Community Cancer Centers
• Association of Oncology Social Workers
• Coalition of National Cancer Cooperative Groups
• National Comprehensive Cancer Network
• Oncology Nursing Society

• other patient groups
• American Cancer Society
• CancerCare
• Colon Cancer Alliance
• International Myeloma Foundation
• Lymphoma Research Foundation
• Ovarian Cancer National Alliance
• National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship
• Lance Armstrong Foundation
• academic institutions
• Stanford University
• University of Alabama
• UCLA
• UCSF
• University of Louisville

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Collaborations

• hospitals and cancer centers
• MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
• Dana Farber Cancer Institute
• Emory University School of Medicine
• Fox Chase Cancer Center Johns Hopkins
• Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center
• UCLA School of Medicine
• University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center
• Washington University School of Medicine

• industry
• Amgen
• AstraZeneca
• Bristol-Myers Squibb
• Eli Lilly
• Genentech
• GlaxoSmithKline
• Merck
• government
• Department of Health and Human Services
• Food and Drug Administration
• National Cancer Institute
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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New Partnership Opportunities

• Access/referral to TWC facilities and Online
  Support Groups for free psychosocial support
  services
• Opportunity to reprint patient education
  materials, utilize professional slides, offer
  TWC-model workshops for widespread distribution
• Opportunity to contract with TWC for Online
  Support Groups (both synchronous and
  asynchronous)
• Opportunity to license educational content

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Case Study Canadian Government

• Province of British Columbia
• Independently licensed Online Support Groups
  powered by TWC
• Trained in TWC model and research methods
• TWC offers Clinical Supervision

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Case Study Hospital Partnership

• Northside General Hospital, Atlanta
• Independently printed Frankly Speaking About
  Cancer Treatment booklets and journals for all
  cancer center patients

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• Participation in The Wellness Communitys
  program has made me feel like I can proceed with
  confidence in my treatment and in my life.
• -TWC participant with lymphoma

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Thank You!

• Please contact us for more information
• Zena Itani, MPH, CHES
• Zena_at_thewellnesscommunity.org
• [phone]
• Erica H. Weiss, MPH, MSUP
• Erica_at_thewellnesscommunity.org
• [phone]
• www.thewellnesscommunity.org