The Charlie Cutler Healing & Wellness Program
Your gift will support providing evidence-based healing and comfort therapies to patients and caregivers, allowing them to approach each day with renewed energy, hope and focus.
Charlie Cutler was an inspiration to all and a friend to many. After a three-year battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Charlie passed away at the far too young age of 26. This program was formed in memory of Charlie by his family, friends and the community to honor the positive impact non-traditional treatments had on his cancer journey.
The Charlie Cutler Healing and Wellness Program provides evidence-based complementary therapies that support the mind, body and spirit of patients and caregivers. That means the treatments have been researched and proved to be safe and effective in healing. All complementary therapies work in collaboration with conventional medicine.
This program is provided free of charge and not covered by insurance, so it relies 100% on philanthropy and donors like you.
Thanks to you, The Charlie Cutler Healing & Wellness Program continues to grow. Your gift supports:
Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils from plants and is offered to improve the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of patients.
Guided imagery, a form of deliberate, directed daydreaming, is offered to help reduce stress and soothe uncomfortable symptoms.
Integrative Oncology Consult is a discussion with the physician and nurse team on the Foundations of Wellness along with patient-specific questions regarding supplements and/or complementary therapies. Foundations of Wellness include diet and nutrition, activity and movement, sleep, stress management and social support/community. Call (515) 241-4394 to schedule your consult.
Massage therapy is offered to reduce stress, anxiety, pain and to improve sleep patterns.
Meals that Matter is a program offering nutritionally balanced, ready-made meals for patients and their caregivers at no cost. The recipes were developed in conjunction with our Stoddard Cancer Center dietitian and internal food & nutrition team, and the menu features full entrees as well as soup and fruit options. The meals are available two days per week for all patients. This service helps ensure patients are receiving the nutrition they need to support healing and health, while offering economic support.
Meals that Matter at Home is a program offering a 4-week free weekly delivery of fruit and vegetables to the homes of cancer patients and survivors. The program provides participants with two recipes a week utilizing the produce provided in their delivery.
- A cooking class is posted weekly on a secured Facebook group, showing participants how to prepare the recipes, along with tips for washing, storing and preparing the produce.
- Participants are also able to speak with an oncology dietitian anytime throughout the program.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is an eight-week evidence-based program offering intensive mindfulness training to help with stress, anxiety, depression and pain. Utilized in medical settings over the last 40 years, MBSR uses a combination of mindfulness meditation, body awareness, yoga and exploration of patterns of behavior, thinking, feeling and action to increase positive response to toxic stress, stress hardiness, focus, creativity, regulate emotions, and allow a greater sense of self-care and well-being.
Music Therapy is provided by a board-certified music therapist. Music therapy can have beneficial effects on anxiety, depression, pain, fatigue and quality of life.
Volunteer Comfort Ambassadors take a comfort cart and a comfort menu to patient rooms. The menu includes items such as warm blankets, nail care kit, lip balm, magazines, books, etc.
