About the Center
The Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies and Healthy Living at Dana-Farber is dedicated to the belief that cancer patients can enhance their quality of life through integrative therapies such as acupuncture and massage, and healthy living
programs such as exercise and nutrition counseling.
Our clinical services, education, and group programs led by physicians, therapists, nurses, and other health care professionals empower patients to be active participants in their treatment plans. This integrative approach can help patients feel better
by reducing the pain, stress, and anxiety caused by cancer and its treatment.
Named for cancer patient and activist Leonard P. Zakim, the Center offers individual treatments including acupuncture, massage, and Reiki; group programs such as movement, meditation, and creative arts; and exercise and nutritional consultations. All
Dana-Farber patients are eligible to take advantage of the Zakim Center's one-on-one offerings and free group classes.
We offer lectures and educational seminars on topics related to integrative therapies and cancer treatment, which patients, their families, and their caregivers are invited to attend. We also conduct research on the value of integrative therapies and
healthy living for cancer patients and survivors.
About Leonard Zakim
Lenny Zakim and his son Josh
Leonard P. Zakim, a Dana-Farber patient, found comfort and renewal by combining acupuncture, massage, Reiki, and other integrative therapies with his chemotherapy and radiation. The Zakim Center was his dream. Throughout his five-year treatment for multiple
myeloma, he worked tirelessly to make integrative therapies available and affordable to all Dana-Farber patients.
With the same passion he showed as an attorney, civil rights activist, and New England Region director of the Anti-Defamation League, "Lenny" Zakim worked with doctors, administrators, and other patient care advocates to establish the Zakim Center. He
announced the Center just before his passing in 1999, and it opened at Dana-Farber the following year.
In Lenny Zakim's honor, the Zakim Center hosts the annual Lenny Zakim Lecture, during which patients and loved ones hear inspiring stories from integrative therapies experts.