health & wellness Healing Melodies WE pleK Karmanos Cancer Center's music therapy program comforts patients and their families. UP AT r 1 . Save Time Lot close to the terminals with easy access from 1-94 & 1-275. - Save Money Low daily rates, continuous free shuttle service and luggage handling. - Save Worry Open 24/7 with lighted, fenced and continuous patrolled lot. Battery booster is available. - Daily Rate: $9.00* Hourly Rate: $2.50* *Taxes Included Expires 12-31-2015. One coupon per visit. Not Good with any other discounts. Rates Subject to Change. I MI DDLEB ELT MERRIMAN ECORSE j. METRO AIRPORT Exit 198 from 1-94 Exit 20 from 1-275 Masters .888.844. PW5 7782 MaiftEm12:20 Romulus, .QwikPark.com 1980980 I 56 March 26 • 2015 Marvin Miller and music therapist Sayako Head Elizabeth A. Katz Special to the Jewish News W hen Marvin Miller of Farmington lost his wife, Carole, he described it like the loss of a limb. "It's devastating" he said, "You can't find words. It feels like being lost, aban- doned — a hole left in me" Carole Miller, 72, lost her battle with lung cancer on Dec. 11, 2014. The Millers were married for 50 years. Marvin says that Carole was tough, sur- viving breast cancer 17 years ago and renal cancer seven years ago. Then she had to face lung cancer. Miller has drawn solace from his sons: his eldest, David, a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and his younger son, Joseph. He also has been blessed with twin grand- sons. Another major source of his comfort has come from Sayako Head, a music therapist at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Center. Marvin has taken part in Karmanos' music therapy program for the past four months. Karmanos competed for and won funding from the Livestrong Community Impact Project for the Jeffrey Frank Wacks Music Therapy Program. The program was put in place at Karmanos' Weisberg Cancer Treatment Center in Farmington Hills and at the midtown Detroit location last summer. So far, the program has assisted approximately 150 patients and their loved ones at the two sites. Sayako is trained as a classical pianist, has a bachelor's degree in music therapy from Michigan State University and is a certified music therapist. She facilitates the music therapy program for cancer patients and their families at Karmanos' Weisberg Cancer Treatment Center and for bone marrow transplant patients in Detroit. Sessions usually include counseling, and she then accompanies people in song. She sometimes helps them analyze song lyrics as a way to open a discus- sion about their emotions. Sayako also teaches patients how to relax through guided imagery. "I love listening to people's stories" Sayako said. "Everyone has a different story. I enjoy being the ears for them. Music therapy is not just about music. If someone just wants to talk, I won't bring out music. I'm here to listen:' Sayako describes her interactions with a cancer patient at Karmanos who used music therapy to explore her emotions about having cancer. "By using a song, she was able to talk about the song" Sayako said. "She was then able to open up and talk about herself" Miller said that Sayako is well-suited to administer the music therapy pro- gram, noting her gentle style. He has a particular affinity for Broadway tunes, and by the time he is through with a session, his spirits are lifted. "Sayako is like a medication" he said. "You take it when needed. Music is a language by itself. It touches another part of your brain" Sayako confirmed this, stating that music triggers a person's limbic system, which is a complex system of nerves and networks in the brain involving sev- eral areas concerned with instinct and mood. It also controls basic emotions like fear, pleasure and anger and various biological drives like hunger. "Music therapy hasn't just started" she said. "People have used music as a form of expression or prayer for thousands of years. It's so important to provide com- fort through music" The Jeffrey Frank Wacks Music Therapy Program will last until June at Karmanos, at which time the grant expires. Kathleen Hardy, oncology social worker at Karmanos, hopes to extend the program beyond June, given its suc- cess. "Our hope is that we will receive funding from other people" she said. "We did program evaluations and they were excellent. Most people who went through the program Kathleen Hardy felt they were more relaxed, had less pain and less anxiety. "We know stress and anxiety can exacerbate pain," she added. "Music can be helpful in reducing stress. It's difficult to worry about something when you're engaged with music:' Miller, whose wife was treated at Karmanos, said he also takes part in Karmanos' art therapy program and grief and loss support group. He appre- ciates all the services that the center has provided to him as he's dealt with the grief of losing Carole. "I think it's wonderful that Karmanos offers this" he said. "This institution really cares about people with cancer and their families. They're saints:' For information about participating in Karmanos' music therapy program or to make a donation, call Kathleen Hardy at (248) 538-4712. ❑ Elizabeth A. Katz is the external market- ing and communications manager at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute.