Cancer Care

For Patients, Families & Caregivers

Cancer education and support are an important part of the cancer treatment process. Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center at Dallas offers several programs through the Virginia R. Cvetko Patient Education Center to help you and your loved ones understand and manage the physical, emotional and spiritual challenges of cancer.

The Cvetko Center staff includes a medical director, program manager, nurse educator, chaplains, social workers, psychologist, music practitioner and trained cancer survivor volunteers. Click on any link below to learn more about cancer education and support programs offered at Baylor Dallas.

• Cvetko Patient Education Calendar
• Events & Free Screenings
• Cancer Support Groups
• Educational Programs
• Cancer Resource Areas
• Cooking Healthy During Treatment

Cancer Support Groups

The Virginia R. Cvetko Patient Education Center is pleased to offer disease-specific education programs that address the needs of individuals with specific types of cancer. Please call 214.820.2608 to register.

Please note that unless noted otherwise, support groups will be held in the Cvetko center, Suite 200 in the Baylor Sammons Cancer Center located at 3410 Worth Street in Dallas, Texas.

• Amyloid Support North Texas: Quarterly, 2nd Saturday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Room 7, lower level, Truett Hospital (outside cafeteria).
• Bladder/Kidney Cancer Support Group: Quarterly beginning in January 2012, Cvetko Center Group Room, 3410 Worth St., Ste. 200.
• Brain Tumor Support Group: Monthly beginning November 2012, Cvetko Center Group Room, 3410 Worth St., Ste. 200.
• Breast Cancer Support Group: Monthly, 1st & 3rd Tuesday evening, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.; 9101 N. Central Expressway, Second floor conference room.
• Carcinoid Cancer Texas Survivors: Monthly, 2nd Saturday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Room 1, lower level, Truett Hospital (outside of cafeteria).
• Graft vs Host Disease Support Group: Quarterly, 2nd Saturday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Room 2, lower level, Truett Hospital (outside cafeteria).
• Lung Cancer Education Support Group: Monthly, 4th Thursday, 6:00 - 7:30 p.m., 9101 N. Central Expressway, Second floor conference room.
• North Texas Myeloma Support Group: Monthly, second Saturday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Sammons Cancer Center, 3410 Worth St.,10th floor conference center.
• Oral, Head & Neck Cancer Support Group: Monthly, 2nd Tuesday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Cvetko Center Group Room, 3410 Worth St., Ste. 200.
• Ovarian Cancer Support Group: Mondays, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Cvetko Center Group room, 3410 Worth St., Ste. 200.
• Prostate Cancer Education and Support Group: Monthly, first Tuesday, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Cvetko Center group room, 3410 Worth St., Ste. 200.
• Waldenström's Macroglobulinemia Support Group: Five Saturdays annually, 10:30 a.m.-12:30p.m., Room 7, lower level, Truett Hospital (outside of cafeteria).

Educational Programs

Other education programs are not specific to a particular type of cancer but provide education on general topics.

• Living with Breast Cancer: 2nd Thursday of every month, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Cvetko Center group room, 3410 Worth St., Ste. 200.  Important pre- and post-operative information.
• Lymphedema: Everything You Want To Know: 4th Thursday of every month, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Cvetko Center group room, 3410 Worth St., Ste. 200. Learn what lymphedema is, what it looks like, prevention measures, and treatment.
• Clinical Updates is a monthly program designed to give information on a specific topic or disease.
• Healthy Cooking Demonstrations providing tips on topics such as Summer Sweets, Gluten-Free Favorites, Vegetarian 101, and Diabetic Delights
• Look Good . . . Feel Better is a program that helps women cope with the visible side effects of cancer treatment. Co-sponsored by the American Cancer Society.  Held 1st Monday of February, April, June, August, October and December.

Relax, Restore, Renew

Offering programs designed to provide tools that may reduce tension, anxiety, anger or fatigue and promote a healthy overall well-being.

• Healing Through Journaling: Journaling is a safe way to express difficult feelings. The process may help you understand how you think and feel about your disease and have a positive impact on the quality of your life.
• Healing Vibrations: Drum Circle: Drumming and the use of pure rhythm is a fun nad therapeutic way of releasing emotions. It can also accelerate physical helaing, boost the immune system, and produce feeligns of well-being.
• Passing the Hat: Come and learn to knit with a loom. Whether you know how to knit or not, join us and make new friends. these hats are given to patients receiving treatment for their cancer - Survivor to survivor.
• Relaxation Made Easy: A program that provides a series of relaxation techniques, plus guest lecturers on topics such as Shibashi, Healing Touch, and spirituality. 
• Yoga Classes: FREE yoga classes for cancer patients are being offered every 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Friday. Call the Cvetko Patient Education Center at 214.820.2608 for instructions prior to attending class.
• Your Life's Gift: A seminar that helps clarify the unexpected events in our life, such as divorce, job loss, or cancer, and how they fit into the meaning of our lives.

Cancer Resource Area

To help you and your family learn about and cope with cancer, the Cvetko Center also offers a patient library on the Baylor Dallas campus:

The Deborah Leah Kielman-Rodriguez Patient Education Library is located inside the Cvetko Center, Ste. 200. This dedicated library offers books written about others' cancer experiences, books to help children understand cancer, cancer medical guides and cookbooks with healthy recipes to prepare for cancer treatment, as well a selection of books for casual reading. Check-out process is easy and free of charge. There are computers available for research for survivors to use.