Each cancer journey is unique and plagued with numerous challenges. Chemotherapy, radiation and other medications used to treat the disease can take a toll on the physical and emotional sides of people and their loved ones. Providers at Simmons Cancer Institute at SIU (SCI) began the Side-by-Side program to advance beyond treating the patient through medication and surgery alone and embrace the belief in treating the whole person.

Side-by-Side programs range from yoga and Pilates to drumming and tai chi. (See a schedule of the classes here.) “Other types of therapies, such as yoga and music, are all proven entities that provide patients with a better outcome,” says Dr. Meghna Desai, SIU assistant professor of internal medicine.

Side-by-Side programs are free to all cancer patients, cancer survivors and their caregivers, regardless of where they are receiving treatment. Side-by-Side provides patients with the physical and emotional support they need to fight cancer, heal and strengthen their minds and bodies. The classes help patients have more energy and strength; they learn to relax and learn important coping skills for facing cancer.

The instructors of the Side-by-Side programs , and customize the programs for each participant, modifying the exercises to meet any physical limitations a patient might have. “The adapted yoga class is specifically designed for those with limitations,” says yoga therapist Carol Dunaway. Participants may sit in chairs or wheelchairs. The class uses modified positions, breathing techniques, guided relaxation and meditation to safely and effectively increase strength and mobility while teaching participants how to focus, relax and even improve their moods. “These are tools that cancer survivors and their caregivers can use on a daily basis, whether going to a doctor’s appointment or having a procedure such as an MRI,” Dunaway says.

Read more about the programs offered at SCI.-rb