Go Gray in May: Brain Tumor Awareness Month 2023
Practicing Resilience Through Gratitude & Self Care
May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month. This year, we celebrate practicing resilience, gratitude, and self-care. Join Pacific Neuroscience Institute for a series of in-person and virtual special events. Jump to individual events using the links below.
Head to the Hill | Wellness Wednesdays | Tapping Tuesdays | Brain Tumor Support Group | Care Partner Social | Walk for Brain Tumor Awareness | Social Media | Brain Tumor Webinars | Podcasts
Raising Awareness for Brain Tumors
Our brain tumor patients and their loved ones often report that they feel unseen, overshadowed, and isolated. A “rare” or “uncommon” diagnosis of a brain tumor can be challenging, in part because the signs and symptoms of the disease or the impact of the treatment may not be externally visible, despite the havoc wreaked on the mind and body.
We want to recognize and honor our resilient and incredible patients and their loved ones and use the opportunity to #GoGrayinMay together to do so.
During Brain Tumor Awareness Month in May, we host a series of educational, informative, and fun events for the brain tumor patient and care partner community to come together and interact, socialize, express themselves, ask questions, learn about specific topics, and share their own experiences.
Share Your Story
Tell us about your journey with brain tumor
Go Gray In May: Calendar of Events
Head to the Hill
Date & Time: May 8th to May 9th
Location: Washington, D.C.
Join Akanksha Sharma, MD, and members of the brain tumor community on the Hill to raise your voice and make positive change. No prior experience is needed, and the National Brain Tumor Society will help prepare you for the congressional meetings. During the in-person event, you’ll receive training and in-depth knowledge of our policy requests and learn how to effectively communicate these positions to members of Congress and their staff. Registration is required by Friday, April 14th.
- Registration is open to all patients, caregivers, family, friends, researchers, and clinicians.
- Anyone participating in congressional meetings must register separately and complete all the required trainings. Participants under the age of five do not need to register.
- Each registrant must have their own unique email address and registration.
- Registration closes on Friday, April 14, 2023.
Tapping Tuesdays
Join us for a series of in-person touch-tapping classes with Rebecca Crane-Okada, PhD, RN. No registration is required.
Touch Tapping
Dates: Tuesday, May 2nd & May 16th
Time: 12:30-1:30 PM PST
Location: Flora Thornton Conference Room (3rd floor), Providence Saint John’s Health Center
Learn about touch tapping and guided meditation through fingerholds to improve your overall health, boost your energy levels, reduce anxiety and stress, minimize insomnia, and increase a sense of calm.
These classes are open to all patients, caregivers, family, friends, researchers, and clinicians.
Wellness Wednesdays
Join us for a series of virtual mindfulness classes with life-coach Sujata Dube, MA. Discover mind-body skills to manage stress, practice self-care, and strengthen resilience. Registration required.
Mindfulness Through Breathing
Date & Time: Wednesday, May 10th, 4:30-5:30 PST
Location: One-time Zoom will be emailed to you with registration.
Mindfulness is the state of being where both mind and body engage to stay present and fully experience acceptance of sensations, emotions, and thoughts of events happening in and out of you. A powerful way to be mindful is to do breathing meditations. Come enjoy learning how to use your breath to enter into a state of awareness that reduces anxiety, relieves pain, strengthens resilience, and increases a sense of peace and relaxation.
Reflective Writing for Gratitude
Date & Time: Wednesday, May 24th, 4:30-5:30 PST
Location: One-time Zoom will be emailed to you with registration.
Reflective writing is a form of expressive meditation that combines mind and body to think through, observe, imagine, and reframe problems, issues, or challenges we go through. By deliberately writing reflectively, we can rewire the body’s neurology for positive outcomes and expectations, especially when we search for moments of gratitude. Come learn a technique that combines guided imagery and reflecting writing that enhances a sense of safety, creates a positive mood, makes a mindset of satisfaction and gives a sense of rest and relaxation.
These classes are open to all patients, caregivers, family, friends, researchers, and clinicians. Registration is required.
Brain Tumor Support Group
Date & Time: Thursday, May 11th, 4:30-5:30 PST
Participants: Patients under 50, and care partners
Date & Time: Thursday, May 25th, 4:30-5:30 PST
Participants: Patients 50 and over, and care partners
Virtual: Zoom details will be emailed to you with registration.
Topic: The Science of Gratitude and Developing a Practice | Akanksha Sharma, MD
Join brain tumor patients and their loved ones for a special support group. You will have the opportunity to share your brain tumor journey and socialize with brain tumor patients at Pacific Neuroscience Institute.
Virtual Care Partner Social
Date & Time: Thursday, May 25th | 5:30-7:30pm
Topic: Self-Care Through Community
Virtual: Zoom details will be emailed to you with registration.
Join Akanksha Sharma, MD, at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute; award-winning journalist Elaine Lipworth; and Maria Quiban, KTTV news anchor and author of You Can’t Do It Alone, for a special care partner social facilitated by Kathy Riley, MPH, CHES, Associate Director of Programs at Cancer Support Community Los Angeles.
We invite past and present care partners to gather, debrief, share, and learn from each other in a safe space, and engage in a narrative medicine exercise that will help us connect more deeply with ourselves and one another. We will also learn about some techniques that can help the care partner in their own journey. Registration required.
FINALE!
Brain Tumor Awareness – Events &
Brain Tumor Awareness – Walk
Date: Wednesday, May 31st
Events Time: 10am – 2pm
Walk Time: 1pm
Location: Providence Saint John’s Health Center, 2121 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90404
Join us in an in-person celebration with informational booths, followed by our awareness walk!
Our grand finale event is a special walk around the hospital for patients, caregivers, loved ones, advocates, and staff at 1pm. Join our morning events starting at 10am at Flaherty Commons with booths from Novocure, American Brain Tumor Association, and Cancer Support Community Los Angeles. The event features a catered lunch.
This event is open to all patients, caregivers, family, friends, researchers, and clinicians. Registration is not required.
And There’s More!
Social Media
Raise awareness for brain tumor treatment and research in May by wearing GRAY ribbons, clothes, and masks. Help spread the word to friends, family, and colleagues by tagging @pacificneuro and #gograyinmay on social media.
Gratitude Tree
Come visit our Gratitude Tree in the Cancer Center Waiting Room (Level G, Saint John’s) and start your practice of gratitude – what are you grateful for in your day, despite the challenges of this journey?
Webinars, Videos, & Blogs
Watch our website for current and new releases of our webinars, videos, and blog posts that are all dedicated to raising awareness of and celebrating our brain tumor patient and caregiver community.
Care Partners: Look for the rollout of our “How-To” instructional videos directed especially at family and loved ones.
Podcasts
Listen to two very special podcast episodes of Think Neuro – one with our brilliant and resilient patients “What NOT to Say to a Cancer Patient” and one with two incredible caregivers “What I Learned as a Caregiver.” Releasing on the second and third Wednesdays in May wherever you get your podcasts!
Bingo!
Play our Brain Tumor Awareness (BTA) Month Bingo!
As you attend in-person sessions or virtual support group meetings, watch our webinars, or listen to our podcasts, you can mark it off on your BTA BINGO SHEET and bring it on BTA-Day, May 31st, to receive a special gift!
Do you have questions about any of these events?
Find out more at 310 829 8265
Events organized by Pacific Neuroscience Institute (PNI) and affiliated hospital Providence Saint John’s Health Center.
Even More Resources!
Podcasts
Brain Tumor Webinars
Brain Tumor Webinar: Living with Optune (Tumor Treating Fields) for Glioblastoma
Guest Speaker Janice discusses what is it like to live with Optune (Tumor Treating Fields) for glioblastoma. The webinar was hosted by Akanksha Sharma, MD, Neuro-oncologist at the Pacific Brain…
Brain Tumor Webinar: Optimizing Wellness for Brain Tumors
Guest speaker L.J. Amaral MS, RD, CSO, Clinical Nutrition Coordinator at Cedars Sinai, discusses how to optimize wellness for brain tumors using nutrition and exercise. May is Brain Tumor Awareness…
Brain Tumor Webinar: Frequently Used Resources in Cancer
Joseph Greenberg, MSW, LCSW, OSW-c, and Caroline Sarafin, licensed clinical social workers at Providence Saint John’s Health Center, explain frequently used resources in cancer. May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month.…
Brain Tumor Webinar: Cognitive Changes in Patients With Brain Tumors
Romina Huerta, MS, CCC-SLP, Speech-Language Pathologist at Pacific Neuroscience Institute, discusses cognitive changes in patients with brain tumors. May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month. We “Go Gray in May” and…
Care Partner Series: Preventing Falls | Corwin Patis, PT, DPT
This is part of a series of “How To” videos for our families, specifically focused on care partners. Preventing falls becomes a significant issue with our patients as they go…
Care Partner Series: Managing Seizures | Emmaline Mauritson, MPAP, PA-C
This is part of a series of “How To” videos for our families, specifically focused on care partners. If you are caring for a loved one who has brain tumor,…
Care Partner Series: Incontinence Management | Mariah Mahotz, BSN, RN, OCN
This is part of a series of “How To” videos for our families, specifically focused on care partners. Incontinence Management is one of the most requested pieces of information for…
Care Partner Series: What is Meditation? | Sujata Dube, MA
This is part of a series of “How To” videos for our families, specifically focused on care partners. The information presented in “What is Meditation?” however is universal and can…
Care Partner Series: Meditation FAQs | Sujata Dube, MA
This is part of a series of “How To” videos for our families, specifically focused on care partners. The information presented here however is universal and can benefit anyone. There…
Brain Tumor Webinar: Community Lecture Q&A
Pacific Neuroscience Institute’s Brain Tumor Center experts Walavan Sivakumar, MD, Director of Neurosurgery at (PNI)-South Bay, and Naveed Wagle, MD, Neuro-Oncologist, answer questions about brain tumor treatment in a community…
Brain Tumor Webinar: Anxiety, Depression, and Neurological Disease
Shanti Gowrinathan, MD, Director of Psycho-Oncology and Cancer Support Services at Pacific Neuroscience Institute, discusses the relationship between brain tumor treatment, anxiety, depression, and neurological disease. The webinar was hosted…
Brain Tumor Webinar: What To Expect From Palliative and Supportive Care
Pacific Neuroscience Institute hosted guest speakers Brian D. Madden, MD, and Andre J. Yu, MD, at Providence Saint John’s Health Center to discuss what to expect if you have been…
Brain Tumor Webinar: Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine – Support System for Brain Tumor Treatment
Pacific Neuroscience Institute hosted guest speaker Lucy Postolov, Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, DACM, L.Ac., to discuss acupuncture and integrative medicine as a support system for brain tumor treatment.…
Brain Tumor Webinar: How Energy Touch Can Be Therapeutic
Laurie Fitzgerald, RN, BA, Energy Healing Certified, Touch Therapy, explains how energy touch can be therapeutic in brain tumor care. The webinar was hosted by Theresa Martello, RN, Nurse Navigator,…
Brain Tumor Webinar: Updates in Brain Tumor Neurosurgery
Pacific Neuroscience Institute’s Brain Tumor Center expert Walavan Sivakumar, MD, discusses updates in brain tumor neurosurgery and answers questions about how to prepare for brain tumor surgery. The webinar was…
Brain Tumor Webinar: Ask Anything – Neurosurgery, Radiation Oncology and Medical Oncology
Pacific Neuroscience Institute’s Brain Tumor Center experts Garni Barkhoudarian, MD, Neurosurgeon, and Robert Wollman, MD, Radiation Oncologist, answer questions about neurosurgery, radiation oncology, and medical oncology, and their role in…
The Question We Dread (ft. Dr. Akanksha Sharma) | Cancer Support Community Los Angeles
In this installment of the Educational Workshop Series by Cancer Support Community Los Angeles, Dr. Akanksha Sharma, MD, presents “The Question We Dread: The Answer We Need.” Dr. Sharma is…
Brain Tumor Webinar: Living with Optune (Tumor Treating Fields) for Glioblastoma
Brain Tumor Webinar: Optimizing Wellness for Brain Tumors
Brain Tumor Webinar: Frequently Used Resources in Cancer
Brain Tumor Webinar: Cognitive Changes in Patients With Brain Tumors
Care Partner Series: Preventing Falls | Corwin Patis, PT, DPT
Care Partner Series: Managing Seizures | Emmaline Mauritson, MPAP, PA-C
Care Partner Series: Incontinence Management | Mariah Mahotz, BSN, RN, OCN
Care Partner Series: What is Meditation? | Sujata Dube, MA
Care Partner Series: Meditation FAQs | Sujata Dube, MA
Brain Tumor Webinar: Community Lecture Q&A
Brain Tumor Webinar: Anxiety, Depression, and Neurological Disease
Brain Tumor Webinar: What To Expect From Palliative and Supportive Care
Brain Tumor Webinar: Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine – Support System for Brain Tumor Treatment
Brain Tumor Webinar: How Energy Touch Can Be Therapeutic
Brain Tumor Webinar: Updates in Brain Tumor Neurosurgery
Brain Tumor Webinar: Ask Anything – Neurosurgery, Radiation Oncology and Medical Oncology
The Question We Dread with Dr. Akanksha Sharma
About the Author
Last updated: September 23rd, 2023