Experience new energy as you engage body, mind, and spirit in a Celebration Drum Circle! Interactive Group Drumming is an activity that anyone can enjoy immediately without prior musical training.  

• Instruments provided. 
• No prior experience necessary. 
• Come and go as you wish!

Led by John R. Beck and Ruth M. Moskop PhD, CCM and sponsored by the Cancer Patient Support Program. 

Join us every Thursday from 1:30 pm - 3 pm in the 6th floor Family Serenity Room in the Comprehensive Cancer Center. This time provides caregivers an opportunity to connect with others who are caring for a loved one with cancer. Caregivers can share their stories and provide support to one another, as well as gain skills, tools, and knowledge that may help you to take better care of yourself during this difficult time. Refreshments and snacks will be provided, as well as a weekly drawing for a $25 gas card. Led and sponsored by the Cancer Patient Support Program.

Multiple Myeloma Support Group of Winston-Salem meets every 4th Wednesday of each month in conference room 9A on the 9th floor of the Comprehensive Cancer Center from 12 pm - 1:30 pm.  Led by Ken & Nancy Bishop. For questions call 336-716-8667 or email wsmyelomagroup@gmail.com.  

The Cancer Patient Support Program facilitates and offers support groups at various times throughout the year. For dates and times for those support groups, check the CPSP monthly calendar left at the Information Desks on the 1st and 4th floors of the Comprehensive Cancer Center or call 336-713-6954.

The CPSP is working on hosting a NEW virtual support group. If you are interest in this, please call 336-713-6954 and leave your name, date of birth, and phone number. A staff member will be calling you back soon with details on the virtual class. 

Please also view other support groups in Winston-Salem and the surrounding counties.

View a full listing of the Cancer Support Groups by County.

View list of National Cancer Support Organizations.

Find a haven from the hectic pace of the hospital. Quiet rest has the power to rejuvenate you. In these brief guided sessions, led by David Harold, M.Div., LCSW, you will have the opportunity to relieve stress through breathing, gentile movement, and seated rest. Sponsored by the Cancer Patient Support Program.

• A FREE Inpatient Tai Chi class is offered to Wake Forest Baptist cancer patients each Tuesday from 11 am to 12 pm in the 6th floor Recreation Therapy Room in the Comprehensive Cancer Center. Please come and go as you are able.
  
  
• A FREE individual Tai Chi Session by appointment only to any cancer patient is offered each Tuesday usually from 12 pm to 1 pm in the 2nd floor Meditation Room in the Comprehensive Cancer Center.  Please call 336-713-6954 to make your appointment.

A FREE gentle chair yoga class to survivors, cancer patients, caregivers (family members/friends) and Wake Forest Baptist staff is sponsored by the Cancer Patient Support Program.

The participates move gently, learning to regulate their breathing and paying attention to how that feels, almost instantly cutting through the stress response that many cancer survivors experience. Classes are held in the Meditation Room on the 2nd Floor of the Comprehensive Cancer Center every Tuesday from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm. Classes are led by Sue Evans, MBA/MHA, RYT500. If you have any questions, contact Sue at 336-406-7082 or email suevans002@gmail.com. 

Sue is offering a virtual chair yoga class in place of our usual Tuesday class due to COVID-19. Send Sue an email if you would like an invitation to join the class.  

Engaging in art during times of stress, depression, pain, boredom and isolation can help alleviate these symptoms and create positive feelings which aid in healing. Arts for Health provides opportunities for patients to receive an art kit that may include the following: coloring books, journals, colored pencils, origami, watercolors, zentangles, pattern lessons and brain teasers. For more information, call 336-713-8002.

FaithHealth Chaplaincy and Clinical Ministries are available 24 hours a day to provide spiritual aid and other support to patients, their family members and employees at Wake Forest Baptist. Chaplains can be contacted 8 am - 5 pm, Monday through Friday, at 336-716-4745. After normal business hours you may call the hospital operator or ask your nurse to page the on-call chaplain.

The Davis Memorial Chapel is located on the first floor of Watlington Hall and is open 24 hours a day for prayer and meditation. Services are offered at the following times for patients, families, and staff:

• Worship service: Wednesdays at noon
• Prayer service: Mondays and Fridays at noon

 Conversations of Love (Advance Directive Education)

In an informal setting, one of our chaplains can lead discussions about how our individual values shape our goals for medical care during times of illness and how advance care planning can assist in insuring that these goals are honored during moments of serious illness. Through proactive conversations with our loved ones, we can provide them with a gift of love through knowing our goals of care.

To set up an appointment, contact FaithHealth Ministries at 336-716-4745.

Limited financial assistance is available for patients through the American Cancer Society, as well as several independent organizations such as the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Cancer Financial Assistance Coalition, and Chronic Disease Fund.

Financial Counseling

Staff in the Financial Counseling Department can evaluate patients/families for the purpose of determining eligibility for financial assistance to help with payment of charges associated with health care services.

Additional services offered by the Financial Counseling department are:

• Establish payment plans
• Pursue financial assistance from Medicaid and State Agency Programs
• Assist with the application process for Community Benefits (Charity Care) and other discounts
• Provide quotes/estimates for prospective services

The Financial Counseling Department is located on the Main Floor, Reynolds Tower in the Discharge Office. They can be reached at 336-716-0681. 

Please call 336-716-3107 or 336-713-9017 for the Financial Counselors in the Comprehensive Cancer Center. 

Genetic Counselors review your personal and family history of cancer to assess the risk of inherited cancer susceptibility. They coordinate genetic testing, discuss implications of results for you and your relatives, and review appropriate cancer screening. Please call 336-713-5300 to schedule an appointment or ask to speak with a genetic counselor.

Physicians within Integrative Medicine - Highland Oaks are well-grounded in conventional medical care and have been trained in Integrative Medicine. They offer individualized diet and lifestyle recommendations as well as suggestions regarding the safe use of select complementary therapies for people with cancer and those who love and support them. Recommendations are based in sound medical evidence making for easy collaboration with your oncology team.

Integrative care can aid in the management of treatment side effects such as pain, fatigue, anxiety, insomnia, and hot flashes, as well as help optimize health and well-being following treatment. Care and Services offered are: integrative medicine consultations, traditional chinese medicine (including acupuncture), nonpharmacologic ADHD therapies, mind/body therapies, pain management, nutrition consultations, healing touch and neurology consultations.

For appointments, call 336-713-6100.

The Office of Cancer Health Equity’s mission is to facilitate clinical care and research focused on improving outcomes for under-served populations in our community. Learn more about the Office of Cancer Health Equity.

Navigators

• African-American Patient Navigator: Alexis Daniels, MS 336-716-4575
• Hispanic Patient Navigator/Orientadora de Pacientes Hispanos (Se habla Español): Maria Alejandra Combs, JD,OPN-CG 336-716-5571  
• Rural Patient Navigator: Emily Copus, MSW 336-716-2940

Oncology navigators assist patients, and their families and caregivers, in understanding cancer, treatment options, and research studies. They also help coordinate patients’ care throughout the Cancer Center. Navigators offer emotional support, and they connect patients and loved ones with services and resources for transportation, financial difficulty, emotional distress, and other barriers to patients’ treatment and well being.

To ensure a timely response to your calls, please call our “Navigator of the Week” number 336-713-3209. This navigator will connect you with the appropriate oncology nurse navigator.  

• Breast Navigator: Interim: Joyce Fenstermaker, RN, BSN, OCN
• Gastrointestinal (GI) Navigator:  Joyce Fenstermaker, RN, BSN, OCN 
• Gynecology Navigator:  Faye Ellen Martin, RN, BSN, CCM 
• Head & Neck Navigator: Brittany Edathil, BSN, RN
• Leukemia & Multiple Myeloma: Sara Maslonka, RN-BC, BSN 
• Lymphoma/Melanoma Navigator: Sunshine Poerio, MSN, RN
• Precision Medicine Navigator: Robin M. Petro, RN, BSN, OCN 
• Thoracic Navigator: Lisa Flowers, RN, BSN, OCN

Our nutritionist, Wendy Watson, RD, CSO, LDN is available to help manage treatment related nutrition side effects such as:

• Weight loss due to treatment
• Nausea
• Sore or dry mouth
• Constipation or diarrhea
• Taste changes
• Difficult/painful swallowing and/or need for feeding tube

Feel free to call for an appointment before symptoms become a problem as dietary changes can help to minimize them. Please call for an appointment or ask your doctor for a referral. Wendy’s office is located on the third floor of the Outpatient Cancer Center. 

You can contact Wendy at 336-713-6919 or email wwatson@wakehealth.edu for general questions or to schedule an appointment.

Palliative Care helps patients gain the strength to carry on with daily life, and improves their ability to tolerate medical treatments. It can also help them better understand their choices for care. Overall, palliative care offers patients the best possible quality of life during their illness. Care also encompasses recognition that comfort and psycho-social/emotional support of the patient and their family are essential.

Typhany Morrison-Brown, with Cancer Services, Inc., assists patients and families in addressing the financial and social challenges that people with cancer often encounter. Their office at the Winston-Salem campus is located on the 2nd floor of the Comprehensive Cancer Center in the Resource Room. Please call 336-713-6984 or email tymorris@wakehealth.edu for an appointment.

To reach the Cancer Services, Inc team, call 336-760-9983 or toll free 1-800-228-7421. 

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Wake Forest Baptist combines most of the medical center’s rehabilitation services. Pain management and rehabilitation is a nonsurgical, highly collaborative medical specialty that focuses on restoring patient functionality, in adults and children, following injury or illness. To request an appointment, call 336-716-8400.

Physical Therapy rehabilitates gross motor skills and Occupational Therapy improves specific movements and tasks. A physical or occupational therapist can also assist with lymphedema management, which helps reduce enlargement, fullness and achiness following breast cancer surgery. For an outpatient appointment, please call 336-716-8400. 

Recreation Therapy 

Recreation Therapy can offer a variety of services & recreational opportunities to assist with an individual’s daily structure and coping ability during their hospitalization.  Treatment services restore, remediate or rehabilitate in order to improve functioning and independence, as well as reduce or eliminate the effects of illness or disability. Recreation services provide opportunities for self-expression, independence, stimulation, control, security and creativity. Together these services provide individuals with other positive outcomes such as adjustment to medical procedures, fitness, relaxation, changes in lifestyle, release from stress and satisfying social interaction.

• Animal Assisted Therapy
• Assistive Technology
  
• Club Independence
• Vocational Rehabilitation

Aquatic Programs

Aquatic Programs, such as warm water pool classes for adults (arthritis, low impact, moderate and cardio) are offered in the Sticht Center. Ai Chi, a form of aquatic exercise, is also open to everyone at Salemtowne Retirement Community on Mondays and Wednesdays at 1 pm. Pre-registration is required for all classes. To register or to receive more information, contact Debbie Drayton at 336-713-8082 or email ddrayton@wakehealth.edu.

Massage Therapy 

Massage Therapy offers many different kinds of massages, including chair massages which are available in the Comprehensive Cancer Center. Their other locations include the Sticht Center, Medical Plaza - Miller, and Integrative Medicine - Highland Oaks. For more details, contact Suzanne Melcher-Thompson at 336-713-3088 or 336-716-8304, you can also email her at sthompso@wakehealth.edu. Massage gift certificates are available in the main hospital gift shop.

Cancer Patient Support Program sponsors FREE chair massages outside the Hospitality Room on the 3rd floor of the Comprehensive Cancer Center. For dates and times, check the CPSP monthly calendar left at the Information Desks on the 1st and 4th floors of the Comprehensive Cancer Center or call 336-713-6954.

 

Sally Benfield is located on the 3rd floor of the Comprehensive Cancer Center. Sally can assist with finding financial resources, coping with illness, caregiver stress, working with the medical team to set up and coordinate home care, ordering medical equipment, as well as general information and referral. For an appointment, call 336-713-5419 or email sbenfiel@wakehealth.edu.

Speech-Language Pathologists provide comprehensive evaluations and treatment in swallowing, speech, communication, and cognitive-linguistics for cancer patients in the inpatient and outpatient settings. In addition, speech-language pathology provides a laryngeal speech therapy and stoma care education for total laryngectomy patients, and speaking valve evaluations for tracheostomy patients. These pathologists can also help with swallowing preservation for head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. Inpatient consultations can be ordered by the physician. For an outpatient appointment, please call 336-716-3103. 

Jennifer Gabbard, MD and Carl R. Grey, MD located on the 3rd floor of the Comprehensive Cancer Center can help manage symptoms you may have related to side effects such as: fatigue, nausea, shortness of breath, loss of appetite, nerve pain, anxiety, depression, etc. The goal of the clinic is to provide a safe haven for patients and to improve overall quality of life and function. The supportive care team is available by request to inpatients. Please call 336-713-5440 if you have questions or would like an appointment.