New DVD helps cancer patients prepare of treatment

Imagine sitting in your doctor’s office waiting to hear your test results. When the doctor arrives and says those three words you were hoping never to hear—you have cancer—your mind starts racing, and you aren’t able to focus on anything else the doctor tells you.

That scenario happens to more than 1,000 people in our community each year, who then receive treatment from Salem Hospital’s Regional Cancer Center. That’s why hospital staff came up with the idea of creating an informative video for these people to take home and watch as many times as they need to before and during their treatment. And thanks to former patients, staff, and community members who donated to the Salem Hospital Foundation’s cancer fund, a DVD was created.

“When you’re told you have cancer, it can be a very scary time,” says Bill Beck, director of Cancer Services at Salem Hospital. “The goal of the DVD is to give new cancer patients an orientation to radiation and chemotherapy treatments and an understanding of what to expect when they come to the hospital. We believe this video will help to alleviate some of the anxiety that patients naturally feel.”

The 30-minute DVD, filmed at the hospital’s Regional Cancer Center, features staff members and physicians, including Nancy Boutin, M.D., and Edward Orlowski, M.D. The cost to produce the video was $34,000, with the entire amount funded by the Salem Hospital Foundation, thanks to gifts from our generous supporters.

If you are interested in seeing the video, please call the Foundation at (503) 561-5576.