St Vincent's SWIM Offering Many Free Cancer Support Programs Year-Round

By JOHN VOKET

Published: Apr 30, 2010 12:00 am

St Vincentâs SWIM Offering Many Free Cancer Support Programs Year-Round

BRIDGEPORT â The following is a list of free support services offered to cancer patients by St Vincentâs Medical Center and St Vincentâs SWIM Across the Sound. St Vincentâs SWIM Across the Sound is a charitable, grass roots organization run by the St Vincentâs Medical Center Foundation of Bridgeport.

For 22 years, the SWIM has had a unique niche, providing cancer education, screening and prevention programs at low- or no-cost for the elderly and underserved. In addition, the SWIM helps individual cancer patients on a case-by-case basis with specific needs.

Â The following activities are all held at the new Elizabeth Pfriem SWIM Center for Cancer Care St Vincentâs Medical Center, 2800 Main Street:

Breast Cancer Survivor Support Group

5:30 to 7 pm, first and third Tuesdays of every month

Sponsored by St Vincentâs SWIM Across the Sound, the Breast Cancer Survivor Support Group provides information and resources to women dealing with breast cancer at any stage of survivorship. Breast cancer patients are also given the opportunity to share their questions and concerns about the disease. Reservations are not necessary.

Breast Cancer Survivor Wellness Program

4:30 to 5:30 pm, June 15, August 17, October 19, December 21

St Vincentâs Breast Cancer Survivor Wellness Program is intended for women who have recently undergone breast cancer surgery and those further along in their recovery. An occupational therapist certified in lymphedema management and an oncology clinical nurse specialist will provide education and resources to help women manage their recovery and heal. Educational components will include essential skin care, scar management techniques, exercise demonstration, review of lymphedema precautions and risks, shoulder range of motion review of chemotherapy, and radiation side-effects and management. No reservations required.

Look Good Feel Better Program for Female Cancer Patients

1 to 3 pm, June 10, August 12, October 14, December 9

St Vincentâs Look Good Feel Better program, co-sponsored by St Vincentâs SWIM Across the Sound and the American Cancer Society, is a supportive first step toward renewed self-esteem and self-confidence for women undergoing radiation and/or chemotherapy treatment. By promoting emotional recovery, the program helps women look and feel their best Reservations are required. Lunch is provided.

SWIM Prostate Cancer Survivors Educational Lecture Series and Support Group

4:30 to 6 pm, first Tuesday of every month, Level 3 South Conference Room

St Vincentâs Prostate Cancer Survivors Educational Lecture Series and Support Group, sponsored by St Vincentâs SWIM Prostate Cancer Institute, provides information, support and resources to men being treated for prostate cancer, those recovering from treatment and prostate cancer survivors. No reservations required.

SWIM Family Support Group

4 to 5:30 pm, first Tuesday each month: May 4, June 1, July 6, August 3, September 7, October 5, November 2

Co-sponsored by St Vincentâs SWIM Across the Sound and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the Family Support Group is intended for adult patients, family members, and friends who are coping with a diagnosis of leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and Hodgkinâs disease.

No reservations required; free parking available in new garage

Cancer Support group

6 to 7 pm, Tuesday meeting dates: May 11, May 25, June 8, and June 22

If you are currently in treatment for cancer and are receiving radiation treatments and/or chemotherapy or have had treatments in the past 12 months, please join us for a one-hour dialogue. Facilitators Lynn Roberge, CAS, LPC, NCC, psychotherapist, and Teresa McLaughlin, RN, MSN, AOCN, oncology nurse case manager, will lead the group in discussions on family interactions, communication issues, sexual concerns, faith and spirituality, financial concerns, and other life stressors resulting from cancer.

SWIM Cancer Resource Library

Open 9 am to 5 pm, MondayâFriday

St Vincentâs Maureen Lynch Ringel Cancer Resource Library offers free take-away information, including patient brochures, on many cancer-related topics. Open to both cancer patients and their family members, the library also offers computers with complimentary Internet access. A lending library is also available. The library offers free take-away information on many cancer-related topics. An American Cancer Society representative is available to assist visitors with the navigation of web-based searches, cancer clinical trial searches, and direct patient referrals to a variety of free resources.

No reservations required; free parking available in new garage.

Restorative Yoga Classes

10 to 11 am, Thursdays, with certified yoga instructor and cancer survivor Susan Kiley: gentle chair yoga with breathing and meditation for patients in active treatment or postsurgery.

Sponsored by St Vincentâs SWIM Across the Sound, the free yoga program is open to cancer survivors undergoing active treatment, as well as those who have completed treatments. For anyone recently diagnosed with cancer, yoga can help to prepare them mentally, physically, and spiritually for upcoming surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Yoga has been practiced for thousands of years to improve physical and emotional well-being. Research on yoga conducted with cancer patients and survivors yielded improvements in sleep quality, mood, stress, cancer-related distress, cancer-related symptoms and overall quality of life.

Class sizes are limited, registration required.

Free Yoga

Classes for cancer patients and survivors with certified yoga instructor and cancer survivor Susan Kiley. Classes are held at The Club at The Watermark 3030 Park Avenue, Bridgeport. Parking lot entrance is on Westfield Avenue.

Patients in active treatment or postsurgery, Tuesdays at 10 to 11 am

Restorative yoga â gentle yoga with breathing and meditation for cancer survivors â Wednesdays at 4:30 to 5:30 pm; or 6 to 7 pm

Class sizes are limited, registration required.

Cancer Boutique

Open weekdays, 10 am to 4 pm

Fitting hours for wigs, prosthesis, mastectomy bras, lymphedema sleeves etc: Tuesdays 2 to 4 pm, Wednesdays 10 am to noon, or by appointment.

St Vincentâs Medical Center Auxiliary and Saxon-Kent Lingerie of Orange have partnered together to bring comprehensive cancer services to individuals undergoing treatment. The Cancer Boutique offers wonderful gift items made especially for patients undergoing cancer treatments.

Gift items include scarves, hats, skin products, spiritual items, and cute tops that are hospital and IV-friendly. Sensitive and professional fitters will provide individualized attention in a private setting. Women who are interested should bring Medicare and insurance cards. No appointments are necessary. Financial assistance from St Vincentâs SWIM Across the Sound is available to those who qualify.

For more information on any these programs, call the SWIM line at 203-576-6158 or email tmclaugh@stvincents.org. The SWIM raised $2.65 million in the 2009 fiscal year and helps more than 20,000 people annually. For more details, click on www.swimacrossthesound.org.

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It’s important to clarify the tone and context of Derek Pisani’s remarks, particularly the satirical line about suing Newtown for "Gross Stupidity." This was clearly a tongue-in-cheek jab at the exhausting culture of legal threats that’s become a staple on the local Facebook Group forums. It was a reflection of frustration over endless regulatory hurdles and obstructionism, and the desire to avoid common sense solutions not an insult aimed at residents. Satire, is meant to provoke thought and highlight the absurdities. If we are unable to distinguish between satire and literal threats, perhaps the comment hit closer to the truth than we’d like to admit. Rather than focusing on Pisanis style, we should be discussing the substance of what he’s pointing out: that Newtown’s progress is being routinely blocked by a small but vocal contingent who seem intent on saying “no” at every turn. They are saying no to any development, no to common sense solutions to crowd control, etc. Newtown deserves leaders who are willing to call things as they see them, even if their language ruffles feathers. That doesn’t mean they lack respect for constituents—it means they care enough to challenge the Mob and push for solutions. Isn't that what we elect people to do? I applaud Pisani's dedication, he certainly has earned my vote. Regardless, let’s not reduce conversation to tone-policing and outrage. Let’s focus on the issues that matter.

Who is Calling Newtowners Stupid?

Thank you for pointing out the trail access provisions included in the BOS motion—it’s an important clarification that deserves more attention in this conversation. If the development is, in fact, required to provide permanent free public access and commit to ongoing maintenance of this section of the Rochambeau Trail, that is a remarkably beneficial outcome for the town. oIt’s not every day that a private project shoulders the long-term burden of preserving and caring for a public historical corridor at no taxpayer cost—especially one that previously had no formal access, upkeep, or visibility. Let’s be honest: the idea that the only way to protect history is by preventing any development nearby is a rigid and unworkable standard. What’s being proposed here appears to strike a rare balance—historic preservation, public access, and smart development all rolled into one. That’s not a loss its a win. So rather than allowing a handful of voices to derail progress under the banner of “historic purity,” maybe it’s time to acknowledge the reality: this trail is better off with structured stewardship and visibility than remaining an overgrown ghost on old maps. Let’s move forward. Bring in the easement, bring in the public access—and yes, bring in the bulldozers!!! Progress and preservation can coexist. Let’s not let the NIMBY use fear or nostalgia keep us stuck in the past.

Discusses Rochambeau Trail And 6 Commerce Road

I've heard that several people are under the impression that the public might be banned from the Rochambeau Trail. Points 2 and 3 from the BOS motion (included in full below) make it clear that public access to the trail is part of the requirements for the developer. From what I understand, it requires free public access to the trail in perpetuity. Technically, this could be argued to be a "payment-in-kind," that attempts to balance public good with overall town growth. We can argue about weather that balance is acceptable and how the trail may be affected, but with the understanding that the trail is expected to be maintained as a publicly accessible trail regardless. July 15, 2024 Board of Selectmen approved motion: Discontinuance of Reservoir Road: Selectman Cruson moved the resolution: Resolved, that the Newtown Board of Selectmen, in accordance with Section 2-115(d)(8) of the Town Charter and Conn. Gen. Stat. §13a-49, and subject to the conditions set forth below, hereby discontinues an unimproved portion of Reservoir Road described as “Portion of Reservoir Road to be Discontinued “on that certain survey map which will be recorded on the Newtown Land Records titled “Map Showing Portion of Reservoir Road to be Discontinued” dated August, 2023 and revised September 15, 2023, and certified substantially correct by Gregory Szyszowski of SLR (the “Survey Map”), said discontinuance contingent and effective only upon the completion of the following: 1. The approval of an application for the development of land in the manner described in a letter from Attorney Thomas W. Beecher to First Selectman A. Jeffrey Capeci and Members of the Board of Selectmen dated May 30, 2024, pursuant to the “Residential Open Space Development” regulations of the Borough of Newtown by the Borough of Newtown Zoning Commission, and construction of that approval project within the timeframes required for special exception approval; 2. The inclusion of the discontinued portion of the road as part of the final Declaration of Conservation Restriction; 3. The conveyance of a mutually agreeable public easement to the Town of Newtown for pedestrian, bicycling, equestrian, and all other passive recreational uses (to exclude the use of motorized vehicles except as may be necessary by the Town or its designee to effectuate the purpose of the easement), and for municipal utility purposes; Be it further resolved, that Castle Hill Real Estate Holdings, LLC., its successors and assigns, shall not use any portion of the discontinued road as a vehicular road or access way to and from any developed portions of the property. Be it further finally resolved, that should any of the foregoing contingencies not occur, then the discontinuance contemplated herein shall not become effective and this resolution will become null and void. From: https://www.newtown-ct.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif12216/f/minutes/bos_7-15-24_min-_att_final.pdf

Is this paper road (roads that only exist on paper map but not in reality) even owned by the Town? Many roads that predate the Town's road standards are privately owned and were never accepted by the Town, such as many of the nonconforming roads around the lake communities where the property owners own right to the center line. That is something we had to deal with when working on the Roads Ordinance a few years back. We also had to deal with a private road to run the utilities to the new SHS.

For anyone who wants to know, I cant post a link here, but Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority has an entire website. Look up "HRRA whats in whats out"

I Get It!

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St Vincent's SWIM Offering Many Free Cancer Support Programs Year-Round

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