Girlsā Day Out Event Helps Uniteāand NurtureāTeens Battling Cancer
From the Ā鶹¹ū¶³“«Ć½ SCOPE medical blog. Highlights recent event organized by Recreation Therapy and Child Life.
By: Holly MacCormick, August 7, 2015
There are many treatments, therapies and drugs for cancer, but sometimes a day of pampering with friends is just what the doctor ordered.
Thatās why nine teenage girls being treated for cancer at Lucile Packard Childrenās Hospital Stanford were lavished with a bit of tender loving care ā and some quality bonding time ā at the seventh annual Girlsā Day Out.
The festivities began at 8:30 on Wednesday night with a limo ride from the hospital to TOVA Day Spa in the Fairmont Hotel in downtown San Jose. At TOVA, teens that had attended Girlsā Day Out events from years before had the opportunity to reconnect, chat and welcome newcomers as they received massages, pedicures, manicures, hairstyling and a gourmet lunch. This in the San Jose Mercury News explains:
āItās really fun and a great getaway; itās really nice to be with people who wonāt keep asking āwhat happened to your arm,ā ā said incoming Saratoga High School freshman Simran Mallik, 14. She was left with a scar on her arm after undergoing treatment for Ewing Sarcoma, a type of bone cancer. āI feel like I connect with them more; itās just easier to communicate.ā
Tova Yaron, the owner of TOVA Day Spa, has sponsored this event for the past seven years with support from the Children Having Exceptional Educational and Recreational Support (CHEERS) program thatās a part of the . At the event, Yaron and her staff donate their time and expertise to create a day of fun, and free spa treatments, for the girls.
TOVAās spa treatments are a refreshing break from the kind of treatments and therapies the teens are used to receiving as cancer patients, but perhaps the most important gift the girls receive is the opportunity to relax and be themselves among friends who understand what itās like to be a teenager battling cancer.
āItās interesting to see how other people are after theyāve gone through (cancer treatment),ā said Vivian Lou 15, a student at James Logan High School in Union City who was diagnosed with Wilms tumor, a type of kidney cancer, five years ago. āItās nice because I donāt have to feel weird about it because theyāve also been through it.ā
Authors
Samantha Dorman
(650) 384-5826
sdorman@stanfordchildrens.org
About Ā鶹¹ū¶³“«Ć½ Children's Health
Ā鶹¹ū¶³“«Ć½ Childrenās Health, withĀ Lucile Packard Childrenās Hospital StanfordĀ at its center, is the Bay Areaās largest health care system exclusively dedicated to children and expectant mothers. Our network of care includes more than 65Ā locationsĀ across Northern California and more than 85 locations in the U.S. Western region.Ā Along with Stanford Health Care and the Stanford School of Medicine, we are part ofĀ , an ecosystem harnessing the potential of biomedicine through collaborative research, education, and clinical care to improve health outcomes around the world. We are a nonprofit organization committed to supporting the community through meaningful outreach programs and services and providing necessary medical care to families, regardless of their ability to pay. Discover more atĀ stanfordchildrens.org.
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