Music Helps Cancer Patients Heal on a Positive Note

Ukulele-II-2013If you listen closely, you may hear the sounds of pickin', strummin' and hummin' coming from the Cancer Resource Centre in Munster. The Centre is offering beginner and intermediate Ukulele Classes to cancer patients and their caregivers.

Instructor Rima Krutulis says, "I truly feel the ukulele is a happy instrument. Once you get the hang of it; it will make you smile."

Krutulis says she wanted to do something positive to give back to the community. "I heard about the Centre through friends and thought maybe I could start up a beginner's ukulele class," she says.

The Cancer Resource Centre, 926 Ridge Road, helps patients and their families affected by cancer get the support, education and encouragement they need to cope and heal emotionally and spiritually. All programming at the Centre is free and includes a wide variety of support groups, mind-body classes and lectures. The tranquil setting also includes a resource room filled with books, videos and Internet access.

Krutulis first tried a group ukulele class at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago with Pacific-Island instructor Carole Lanialoha Lee-Sumberg. Krutulis loved the classes and as she advanced, she continued by taking private lessons from Lee-Sumberg.

Krutulis says, "It's one if the best things I've done in my life and I wanted to share it with others."

Krutulis has passed on what she has learned to ukulele students at the Cancer Resource Centre.

"It's fun, exhilarating," she says. "You are trying something new, learning. Between songs we chat, tell funny stories and laugh. As they say, 'laughter is good medicine'. I think everyone leaves class in a better mood."

Music has increasingly been associated with healing qualities. The soothing power of music has been well-established. Studies show that sheer musical power can offer physical and spiritual healing through relaxation, stress and anxiety reduction, lowering blood pressure and helping to manage chronic pain.

"Ukulele classes offer patients a distraction from everyday worries," says Krutulis. "When you're in class you focus on your strum, chord changes, singing. That's a lot to focus on; you forget about everything else."

"We have at the Centre six basic ukuleles available for beginners to try," explains Krutulis. "I've also had a few students purchase their own ukuleles so they can practice at home."

The class meets every Thursday, 3:15 until about 4:30 pm at the Centre, 926 Ridge Road in Munster. For more information, please call 219-836-3349.

The Cancer Resource Centre is a program of the Community Cancer Research Foundation. The Foundation works to reduce cancer morbidity and mortality in the region by supporting and advancing cancer detection, diagnosis, treatment, education and prevention efforts of the hospitals of Community Healthcare System: Community Hospital in Munster, St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago and St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart.