“Cancer,” Jack Khashou said into the microphone, “is a team sport.”
As the administrator of St. Tammany Cancer Center – A Campus of Ochsner Medical Center, Khashou was at the time addressing the crowd during a Survivor’s Day celebration at the Covington facility in September.
But his words apply just as well to the overarching philosophy at the cancer center, which is built around integrative oncology – that is, treating the whole patient rather than just the tumor.
That includes such things as music therapy, group therapy, medical acupuncture, and tai chi and yoga classes. It also notably includes the center’s therapeutic food pantry, a community partnership between the cancer center, St. Tammany Hospital Foundation and the Northshore Food Bank that exemplifies the “team sport” approach.
“It’s really difficult to imagine someone might not be able to receive the treatment they need just because they didn’t have enough food or the proper food,” Northshore Food Bank CEO Yvonne Roussel said. “Working with St. Tammany Cancer Center, as one of the leading cancer centers in the country, is really rewarding and humbling to us, to be able to be in that partnership.”
In place nearly four years, the therapeutic food pantry is stocked through twice-weekly deliveries from the Food Bank, as well as through additional support from donors to St. Tammany Hospital Foundation.
That enables the cancer center to provide qualifying patients boxes of food that includes staples specially chosen by its clinical dietitians, as well as a few special, custom choices – canned peaches are a perennial favorite – from what has been dubbed the “client choice” pantry.
Given the fatigue and other possible side effects that come with cancer treatment, it’s no small thing for patients to be able to stock up on food after getting their treatments rather than dragging themselves to the grocery.
“It’s been really helpful,” said local musician Amedee Frederick, who is also a pancreatic cancer patient. “I can get my fruits and vegetables, canned goods, even boxed goods. It’s been overwhelming.”
It can be just as overwhelming for cancer center dietitians Sarah Brignac and Jessica Greer, who have seen patients dissolve into tears upon having their car loaded up with food for their family.
“I think its that they realize, ‘There are people here for me who want to help. I’m not in this by myself. I have people rooting for me and caring for me,’” Brignac said.
Learn more about how you can support the work of the Therapeutic Food Pantry at St. Tammany Cancer Center by visiting STHfoundation.org.