Prevention and Support

The Prevention and Support Service at the Montefiore-Einstein Cancer Center offers dynamic resources to help prevent cancer and provide superior support to those suffering from the disease. 

Help to stop smoking

We understand that quitting smoking is essential to good health, crucial to cancer prevention — and extremely difficult. To help provide the guidance and support most people need, Montefiore has developed a six-session Smoking Cessation Program, open to the community and offered in both English and Spanish. 

We believe that to overcome addiction, a person must be committed to a program. Our "Be Smart – Quit Smoking" program offers a full complement of quitting aids, tools and techniques so our patients may choose those that work best for them. These tools include:

• Self-hypnosis to help reinforce and strengthen a positive and committed mindset
• Cognitive strategies for dealing with urges, such as using self-talk productively
• Guest speakers, including cancer survivors sharing their experiences
• Education, including weekly homework assignments
• Group support and discussion to provide necessary encouragement

In addition, we select convenient meeting times for members and offer reimbursement incentives for successful completion of the program. 

Counseling and education

Research consistently shows that having strong support is a meaningful tool for coping with cancer. Montefiore's Psychosocial Oncology program offers both individual counseling and group support for cancer patients and their families, including bereavement counseling for those who have lost a loved one to cancer.  

Our individual counseling is available at low or no cost, to meet the needs of all our patients. We also have free support groups for patients dealing with an array of different cancers.  

In addition, our HOPE (Helping Oncology Patients through Education) program is a free, six-session educational initiative featuring guest speakers who share their knowledge of and experience with cancer. We touch on a wide range of discussion topics — from holistic medicine, diagnosis and treatment, nutrition and coping with cancer to using the Internet as an informational tool in recovery. 

Yoga-based therapy

Montefiore's Yoga-Based Cancer Rehabilitation program is the continuation of a National Cancer Institute–funded study examining the effects of yoga on quality of life of breast cancer patients. We have received additional funding to continue this research and have opened our study to patients with lung and colorectal cancers. Our goal is to discover if yoga can help patients cope with the physical, emotional and social aspects of cancer. 

Patients from Montefiore, its affiliated health centers and academic partners must meet physical eligibility requirements. Accepted patients enjoy 12 weeks of free yoga, taught in English and Spanish by a certified instructor.

Mind/body connections

The Mind-Body Cancer program at Montefiore is an American Cancer Society–funded study comparing the effectiveness of two types of mind/body groups, each exploring mental connections to physical disease in a different way. The free, eight-week sessions are available to patients from Montefiore and its affiliated partners with advanced stages of cancer. It is offered in English and Spanish.

© 2008 Montefiore Medical Center