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posted November 28, 2000
ANN ARBOR, MI
- In the era of renewed interest in natural therapies, cancer
chemotherapies are considered by many to be harsh products
of modern medicine. But, in fact, a large number of these
drugs derive from both common and exotic plants found throughout
the world.
Now the University of Michigan Comprehensive
Cancer Center's Healing
Arts Program is offering patients and the public the opportunity
to explore the "Healing Garden" - an exhibit of 25 quilts
capturing the connection between nature and medicine and commemorating
the life of a Northern Virginian woman who loved to quilt.
Lenore Ann Parham lost her 4-year battle with
ovarian cancer in 1997. Her husband, Dr. Walter Parham, proposed
the novel idea of merging her art form with his own work in
botanical research into a unique quilt exhibit.
"I just kept thinking if people saw these plants
and related to the beauty, they might feel chemotherapy is
a natural thing and less intrusive," says Parham. "That would
be so much better than thinking that the drugs come from a
great big drum at a chemical plant."
A geologist by professional, Parham did his
own botanical research with help from the National Cancer
Institute and identified more than 20 plants that are in use
or being studied for use in fighting cancer. He then went
to his wife's quilting group, the Northern Virginia Quilters,
and asked them to create interpretive quilts featuring these
plants.
"The Healing Gardens quilt show serves a dual
purpose," says Suzanne Mahler, director of the Healing Arts
Program at the Cancer Center. "It demonstrates the relationship
between nature and chemotherapy in the fight against cancer.
In addition, it helps us provide a more patient-friendly healthcare
environment in the Cancer Center."
The Healing Arts quilt exhibit, made possible
by the Smithsonian Museums, is touring the United States under
the auspices of the Society for the Arts in Healthcare. The
quilts are on display 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
in the new Survivors Art Gallery on Level B1 of the Center,
located at 1500 East Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor. The
public is welcome.
For information about this and other U-M Healing
Arts Program activities, call (734) 615-4012 or visit the
Cancer Center website.
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