A cancer diagnosis brings up lots of questions – about treatment, outcomes and dealing with the physical, emotional and spiritual tolls of the disease.
The Simms/Mann UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology hosts educational webinars on a variety of topics to provide answers to those questions.
Now, the center has built a video library so patients and the general public can access the wisdom of these webinars on demand.
“That’s just the digital age we’re moving to,” says Da’Vie Guzman, MA, the Simms/Mann Center’s program coordinator. “Digital outreach is integral to the work we do here at Simms/Mann because it allows us to provide more services and support to a wider group of people.”
The library features recordings of educational webinars that can be accessed on demand. Topics include:
- Navigating nutrition and sleep during cancer treatment;
- Coping with chronic pain;
- Conversations with an oncology care chaplain;
- Guidance for communicating with medical professionals and family members through the cancer journey.
The digital library expands access to Simms/Mann Center experts beyond UCLA Health and illuminates the range of services available to patients, Guzman says.
Psychosocial support – including spiritual care, nutritional support, counseling, art therapy, mindfulness practice and support groups – is provided for free to UCLA Health oncology patients and their families.
Public webinars
The Simms/Mann Center has always offered educational webinars, but has increased their frequency since Guzman joined the staff as its inaugural program coordinator in 2024.
Now held twice a month, one session focuses on oncology themes and a second centers on nutrition questions. The online programs are free and open to the public.
The abundance of information that comes with a cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming, Guzman says.
“Not only is there so much to learn about, but there’s also a whole new vocabulary one needs to understand,” she says. “By providing clinical guidance and evidence-based research on an array of topics in these webinars, participants can feel confident that their information is coming from a reliable source.”
Upcoming webinars will address advance care planning, cultural considerations in nutrition and cancer and a guide to decision-making in cancer care.
“We look forward to developing more diagnosis-specific programs,” says Shannon La Cava, PsyD, director of the Simms/Mann Center.
Making these recordings accessible through a digital library means “patients and their families can access evidence-based, informative content when it works with their schedule,” she says.
