After two years of receiving treatment for stage 4 lung cancer, Diane Miller said she was still struggling with anxiety and lack of sleep.
So when she was referred to meditation therapy earlier this year, the Costa Mesa resident said she didn’t know what to expect. But it’s been an “absolute game-changer,” Miller said.
“It has given me the ability to enjoy life, to appreciate every day, to have a little control in this uncontrollable situation,” Miller, 57, said. “It allows me to calm my anxiety, to rest and just have a more positive outlook overall.”
Meditation, yoga, tai chi and acupuncture will be some of the integrative therapies offered to City of Hope patients as part of a national integrative oncology program fueled by a $100 million gift from Andrew and Peggy Cherng, co-founders of the restaurant chain Panda Express. The gift is the single largest philanthropic contribution for cancer care in City of Hope history and the largest donation the Panda Charitable Family Foundation has made to any organization, City of Hope officials said.
Integrative oncology is a holistic approach to cancer care that draws from diverse cultures, particularly traditional Chinese medicine and other Eastern healing traditions.
Some cancer patients, including Miller, have already been receiving integrative care at the City of Hope Orange County Lennar Foundation Cancer Center in Irvine, next door to where the new cancer hospital is being built. The new program, called the Cherng Family Center for Integrative Oncology at City of Hope, will expand services already offered, add new ones (such as oncology massage), conduct research and clinical trials and develop therapies to eventually make them the standard of care at City of Hope.
For now, Miller receives meditation therapy once a week but will start acupuncture and tai chi as soon as she’s cleared, she said.
“I tried conventional medicines to treat the anxiety and trouble sleeping,” Miller said. “They…
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