Buffalo, NY - Beyond hospital visits and varied medical treatments lies a new groundbreaking report confirming the benefit of addressing cancer patients' emotional and psychological needs. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has just released a study, Cancer Care for the Whole Patient: Meeting Psychosocial Health Needs, which reinforces the program philosophy of Gilda's Club Western New York (WNY) that social and emotional support are integral to medical treatment when cancer is in the family.

Through report findings, the IOM issues a call to action among medical professionals to increase the standard of psychosocial care for all cancer patients. The study stated, "It has been shown that both cancer patients and their families are at increased risk for anxiety and depression related to the strain of the disease. These mental states can cause harmful health effects of their own, compounding the challenges of treatment."

Since opening its red doors in 2004 - well ahead of the IOM findings - Gilda's Club WNY has developed program elements that researchers have now found help to improve the quality of survival. Previously, such programs were viewed as a luxury, not a mandate.

Today, Gilda's Club WNY is a leader in this area, offering a unique environment to share information and coping strategies through a variety of activities from yoga, tai chi, nutrition and cooking classes to networking and educational workshops and lectures, each reflecting the interests and needs of its members.

Gilda's Club WNY is part of Gilda's Club Worldwide, which was founded by Joanna Bull, comedian Gilda Radner's psychotherapist during her illness. Gilda's Club is the remarkable culmination of philosophy and inspiration built on Gilda's heartfelt wish that no one should face cancer alone.

"The uniqueness of Gilda's Club is more than the proven effectiveness of its program elements," says Bull. "No one is untouched emotionally when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer."

Adds Gilda's Club WNY's Executive Director, Mary Beth Karr, "We know that when there is cancer in the family, everyone is affected, not just the person diagnosed, but the entire family and its social network. We have incorporated this understanding of emotional and social well-being into all that Gilda's Club WNY offers."

Additional findings of the IOM study confirm that "all components of the health care
system that are involved in cancer care should explicitly incorporate attention to psychosocial needs into their policies, practices, and standards addressing clinical health care."

About Gilda's Club

Gilda's Club Worldwide is the headquarters organization for a network of affiliate

• Gilda's Clubs located throughout North America, including Gilda's Club WNY. For more information, visit http://www.gildasclub.org.

Gilda's Club WNY provides a meeting place where men, women and children living with cancer and their friends and families can join together for emotional and social support as a supplement to medical care. Free of charge and nonprofit, the Gilda's Club program includes support and networking groups, lectures, workshops, seminars and social activities in a nonresidential, homelike environment. Gilda's Club WNY serves the eight counties of Western New York. Approximately 700 men, women and children have completed new member orientation since the club opened in November 2004. For more information, visit http://www.gildasclubwny.org.

About the Institute of Medicine (IOM)

The IOM serves as adviser to the nation to improve health. Established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, the IOM provides independent, objective, evidence-based advice to policymakers, health professionals, the private sector and the public. For the complete IOM study, visit http://www.nap.edu.