@article{Lee_Finestone_Rossiter_Reilly_2018, title={When third spaces become therapeutic: The value of complementary therapies and the search for meaning in tertiary care cancer}, volume={5}, url={https://ijwpc.mcgill.ca/article/view/156}, DOI={10.26443/ijwpc.v5i1.156}, abstractNote={<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">There is a side to suffering that is surprisingly resilient during times of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">extreme adversity.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">Within the context of patient-centred care, “third spaces” are public </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">spaces that exist in-between the home and work environments that allow people </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">to gather informally to offer support, empathy and learn from each other.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">With the current movement towards whole person care, patients have become </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">increasingly vocal about the need for and the value of physical ‘third </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">spaces” within tertiary clinical settings that provide opportunity to just </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">be, to share, to give or to receive support. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">Patients who participate in meaning making workshops, yoga, creative arts </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">therapies, or mindfulness sessions have reported the benefits of experiencing </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">a safe place to explore difficult emotions, discover connections, and </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">confront existential questions.</span><span style="font-size: medium;">  </span><span style="font-size: medium;">T</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The MUHC Cedars CanSupport is a vital </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">non-profit program at the McGill University Health Centre under the Cancer </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">Care Mission’s Supportive and Palliative Care Division. A variety of </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">complementary therapies are offered individually or</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">in groups/workshops to </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">cancer patients and their families as adjuvant therapies to conventional </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">cancer treatments. These therapies aim to increase self-awareness and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">self-expression, and to reignite agency during times of suffering.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">This presentation will include testimonials to describe the unique and </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">beneficial</span><span style="font-size: medium;">  </span><span style="font-size: medium;">experiences patients have derived from complementary therapies. </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">The perspectives of healthcare providers, who are simultaneously </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">facilitators, participants, and witnesses to the search for meaning, will </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">also be explored. Taken together, these narratives can lead to further </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">insight and innovative practices to facilitate the transformational potential </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">for growth during deep suffering.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p>}, number={1}, journal={The International Journal of Whole Person Care}, author={Lee, Virginia and Finestone, Jennifer and Rossiter, Helen and Reilly, Rosemary}, year={2018}, month={Jan.} }