Cancer patients and their families have more opportunities to find a new look now that the Claudia Mayer Cancer Resource and Image Center has extended its hours.
Starting Saturday, the center is open six days a week and will offer a wig specialist, a prosthesis fitter and referrals to Tai Sophia, a Laurel school for alternative health.
“When you look better, you feel better,” said Barbara Michels, who has used the Columbia center?s services for five of the 10 years she has battled breast and cervical cancers.
Michels wished her mother would have had the new post-mastectomy services when she was fighting breast cancer.
“My mother used to go to lingerie shops for special bras,” Michels said.
“It was never a pleasant experience. They push so much; these things are so expensive. To go to a neutral place to get that stuff is wonderful.”
The private, intimate setting at the center was evident to Michels, when she was invited to the center by its manager, Sharon Zamkoss.
The center will refer patients to Tai Sophia in Laurel for movement classes, including yoga and tai chi.
“It will help support them, whatever their treatment is. It supports the immune system and recovery,” said Mary Kay Kenney, director of Community Programs at Tai Sophia.
When cancer treatment causes a patient?s appearance to change, the center works to keep up their confidence.
“A lot of times when patients are diagnosed with cancer, they worry about navigating through the medical system, and a lot of attention isn?t going to the changes their bodies are going through,” said Mary Catherine Cochran, director of the center.
“At Howard County General Hospital, they understand the value of the aesthetic, psychological and social impact of dealing with cancer.”
The Claudia Mayer Cancer Resource and Image Center is part of Howard County General Hospital, which is a member of Johns Hopkins Medicine.
