November 20, 2000
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute announces opening of The Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony To Be Held on November 27
Leonard P. Zakim, former director of the Anti-Defamation League, lost his battle with cancer, but his dream lives on for an integrated approach to cancer treatment.
On Monday, November 27 Dana-Farber Cancer Institute officially opens the Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies. The center, named in memory of Zakim, will combine traditional cancer experts and with practitioners to provide quality clinical, educational and research programs to enhance the lives of Dana-Farber's adult and pediatric patients and their families.
Integrated (complementary) Therapies are individual treatments that are used in additional (or as a complement) to traditional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation. Complementary care supports and encourages the body's natural mechanisms to recover from illness by addressing the needs of the mind, body and spirit.
The Zakim Center will offer only those services that are thought to be safe and effective in enhancing the physical, emotional, and psychological health of people living with cancer. These services include acupuncture, massage therapy, mind/body interventions (guided imagery, meditation, relaxation response), music therapy, nutrition counseling, Reiki, therapeutic touch and yoga.
Dr. David S. Rosenthal, M.D., past president of the American Cancer Society (ACS) and director and CEO of Harvard University Health Services (HUHS), is the medical director of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies.
"The Zakim Center seeks to provide patients with complementary therapies to improve their quality of life while receiving conventional treatments," said Rosenthal. "Simultaneously, the Center will provide clinical researchers the opportunity to study the safety and efficacy of these programs. We hope the center will both improve the care of cancer patients and advance the scientific understanding of complementary medicine."
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (www.dana-farber.net) is a principal teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and is among the leading cancer research and care centers in the United States.
