Free Workshop Focuses on Caring for a Loved One with a Primary Brain Tumor
UR Medicine’s Neuro-Oncology Program will host a free, day-long workshop on Saturday, April 1, for individuals who are caring for an adult loved one with a primary brain tumor.
The workshop will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, 1100 S. Goodman St. Breakfast and lunch are included.
Primary brain tumors, unlike metastatic brain tumors, originate in brain cells, and they can be either slow-growing or more aggressive. They can have significant effects on the brain and the functions it controls. Those effects can include changes in personality, mood or behavior; problems with hearing, vision or speech; and loss of balance and trouble walking.
“Caring for a loved one with a primary brain tumor presents a unique set of challenges, and it can be very isolating,” said Jennifer Serventi, RPA-C, of UR Medicine’s Neuro-Oncology Program and one of the workshop’s organizers. “Our workshop will focus on strategies for families living with this diagnosis and how they can make sure they take care of themselves as well.”
Featured speakers include Robert K. Horowitz, M.D., a palliative care specialist who will provide tips on how families can cope, and Kara Juszczak, LMSW, who will offer insights on how to care for yourself as a caregiver.
“Caregivers spend most of their days worrying about and caring for their loved one,” said event co-organizer Barbara Guttman, LMSW, who works with brain tumor patients and families at Wilmot Cancer Institute. “This is one day for caregivers to focus on themselves.”
Registration for the workshop is required. To register or to learn more about the program, please contact Jennifer Serventi, RPA-C, at (585) 276-3971 or at Jennifer_Serventi@urmc.rochester.edu.
This caregiver workshop is supported by UR Medicine’s Wilmot Cancer Institute and the Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Radiation Oncology, with additional support from Bruegger’s Bagels and Wegmans Food Markets Inc.
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UR Medicine’s Wilmot Cancer Institute is the Finger Lakes region’s leader for cancer care and research. As a component of Strong Memorial Hospital, Wilmot Cancer Institute provides specialty cancer care services at the University of Rochester Medical Center and a network of locations throughout the region. The Institute also includes a team of 100 scientists who investigate many aspects of cancer, with an emphasis on how best to provide precision cancer care. To learn more, visit wilmot.urmc.edu.