Sentara partners with foundation to study art-based cancer interventions

Wendy Goldberg’s son Benjamin was diagnosed at age five with neuroblastoma, a rare cancer that affects children.

Benjamin underwent intense rounds of treatment at Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk, Virginia, and then at the world-renowned Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

Benjamin loved music and dancing. In addition to completing conventional medical treatments like immunotherapy, he began doing dance movement therapy and meditation. Wendy noticed that those days were noticeably better.

“When those elements, whether dance therapy or meditation, were brought into Ben’s treatment, it took the anxiety completely off the table,” Wendy said. “Most times, the day went better, the treatment went better.”

“It really changed the whole dynamic,” Wendy added.

Benjamin passed away at age eight, but Wendy had become convinced of the impact of non-clinical activities on well-being.

“It didn’t change the outcome for us, but it did change our story,” Wendy said.

Benjamin Goldberg being interviewed during his treatment (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center).

In 2018, she launched The Benjamin Goldberg Foundation to help promote arts-based interventions for treatment, from music to movement therapies.

Now the foundation is partnering with Sentara’s cancer services for a pathbreaking study of the healing arts.

Launched last month, the study is among the first in the U.S. to examine the impact of arts and music therapy on cancer patients, said Dr. Jennifer May, principal investigator of the study and research manager at the Sentara Health Research Center.

“In cancer patients, you can see increases in anxiety and depression,” said May. “The expectation is that art and music therapy can help reduce these impacts and improve overall well-being.”

Improving the mental health of cancer patients

Using art- or community-based activities to enhance health is known as social prescribing. This approach to healthcare is more widely accepted outside the U.S., where research has shown positive impacts, according to May.

A recent study in Canada, for example, demonstrated that every dollar invested in social prescribing led to a $4.43 gain from improved well-being and reduced healthcare-related costs.

May hopes the new study will show that non-clinical activities can lower anxiety and depression, as well as reduce how often patients need to see their provider or use hospital services.

The year-long study is recruiting 125 participants from the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. Participants need to be 18 to 89 years of age, have head and neck or breast cancer, and be actively receiving treatment.

After enrolling, patients choose either music therapy with Tidewater Music Therapy or self-guided museum visits and/or museum programming through the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art or the Chrysler Museum of Art. Participants complete six sessions or visits over a three-month period.

Researchers will assess patient anxiety and depression before and after these activities, as well as how often patients use hospital services.

Broadening financial support for the healing arts

Patients at the Carrillo Kern Center for Integrative Therapies, part of the Sentara Brock Cancer Center, can already do non-clinical activities as part of their treatment, said Meredith Strand, senior director of cancer services. In addition to art and music therapy, the center offers meditation, tai chi, garden therapy, and more.

“Anecdotally, we have certainly seen the benefits of these activities,” said Strand.

Right now, these non-clinical activities are largely self-pay or philanthropically funded. Strand hopes this study can expand financial support for these activities.

“My hope is that we’ll begin to normalize these social programs,” said Strand. “What we’d like to show is not only does it impact an individual patient in their quality of life, but that also it makes sense financially for the broader health ecosystem.”

These activities complement, rather than replace, traditional cancer treatments like chemotherapy.

“Too often, these interventions are siloed,” said Strand. "We felt there was a need to bridge that.”

‘Now I have no cancer’

In 2021, Wendy was diagnosed with a stage 4 cancer herself.

“Very quickly, I said I’m going to do it my way,” said Wendy.

In addition to completing traditional cancer treatments, Wendy did yoga and other non-clinical activities aimed at enhancing her health. The combination worked.

“I had less than a 30% chance to survive five years ago, and now I have no cancer,” Wendy said. “So, I do believe that the integration of non-medical interventions truly works.”

She is excited about the new study and the data it will produce.

“It has been a really wonderful partnership for us,” she said. “We’re hoping this data will go far.”

To learn about enrolling in the study, talk to your Sentara provider.