{"id":44474,"date":"2011-08-17T12:04:54","date_gmt":"2011-08-17T16:04:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=44474"},"modified":"2011-12-15T10:28:15","modified_gmt":"2011-12-15T15:28:15","slug":"new-cancer-support-group-at-health-center-features-quilting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2011\/08\/new-cancer-support-group-at-health-center-features-quilting\/","title":{"rendered":"New Cancer Support Group at Health Center Features Quilting"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Renowned<\/a>
Renowned quilt artist and cancer survivor Ed Johnetta Miller is the patient facilitator for a new quilting support group at the UConn Health Center for those affected by cancer. (Photo provided by Ed Johnetta Miller)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NOTE: This support group is not currently active (updated December 2011).<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

A new cancer support group for women seeks to harness the therapeutic power of quilting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI find quilting to be relaxing and very peaceful,\u201d says Ed Johnetta Miller<\/a>, a cancer survivor, quilt artist and one of the group\u2019s patient facilitators. \u201cI go off into my own world. I am creating, and that is very exciting for me. It gets my mind going in a completely different direction and I\u2019m not dwelling on my illness.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group plans to meet monthly, starting Saturday, Aug. 27<\/strong>, from 2 to 3 p.m. in the UConn Health Center\u2019s Onyiuke Dining Room. Additionally, Miller and Health Center volunteer Kim Hackett plan to organize regular visits to the infusion area and work with patients in the Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur vision for this group is to include this beautiful art form into our healing process,\u201d Hackett says. \u201cThe quilts will become a part of the cancer center\u2019s artwork. Each quilt will have a scrap book to share the fabric\u2019s story, for example, a fabric that was part of a child\u2019s receiving blanket.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a wonderful opportunity for our patients to receive support and encouragement from one another while learning a new hobby or sharing their love of the trade with others,\u201d says Pam Nixon, the William Raveis-American Cancer Society patient navigator<\/a> at the Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center. \u201cIt is our hope that members will find comfort from one another and inspiration in creating a quilt that is not only a beautiful piece of artwork, but tells a story\u2014their story.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller, whose work is in museums around the world, is a patient of Dr. Susan Tannenbaum<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Tannenbaum found out I was a quilt artist, and I told her, I understand it\u2019s a cancer center, but we could make it a more aesthetically pleasing environment,\u201d Miller says. \u201cWhy not have quilts on the wall? She was excited by this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other hope is to find local quilt artists and enlist their help working with patients in between the monthly meetings.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll have kits for the patients, and while they\u2019re doing their chemo they can put their little squares together,\u201d Miller says.<\/p>\n

No quilting experience is necessary, only a willingness to learn.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea is, they\u2019re not thinking so much about what they\u2019re going through,\u201d Miller says. \u201cThey\u2019ll work with their hands and get creative.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information about the new Quilting Support Group, call 860-679-7820 or email psnixon@uchc.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\""One<\/a>
"One in Every Bunch" quilt by Ed Johnetta Miller. (Photo provided by Ed Johnetta Miller)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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