Find Yourself a Cancer Support Center, STAT
Cancer is always a challenge, but the difficulties it presents, and there are many, can be more manageable with qualified support. For those who take advantage of them, cancer support services can be the difference between enduring your cancer treatment or finding opportunities during and after treatment to enrich your life.
Cancer support is multi-faceted and aims to provide both emotional and practical resources for those going through cancer treatment and the family members or caregivers who help them. Some of the resources that are made available for those experiencing cancer are:
Psychological support
Nutritional support
Pain management
Exercise and physical resources
Side effects management
Stress management
Family and relationship support
The goal of any cancer support service center is to decrease isolation and increase hope, for both the person going through cancer treatment and their family or caregivers. While your oncologist has a primary goal of successfully treating the cancer cells within your body, there is a lot more to cancer than errant cells. Srilata Gundala, MD, hematologist/oncologist and founder of Hope & Healing Care Centers in Lombard and Hinsdale, Illinois knows this, “My patients have cancer, yes, but they also have full and rich and sometimes complicated lives impacted by that cancer. I refer my patients to Wellness House for all the things they need to help them cope with their cancer beyond their treatment.”
Wellness House, located in Hinsdale, provides one stop shopping for everything cancer patients and the people who love and care for them need. The support center takes a ‘psychosocial’ approach in its programming that seeks to meet the social, emotional, physical, spiritual, and psychological needs of its clients. Services are available for the patient, their family members, and caregivers, both during active treatment and after. Best, there is no charge for any of the services provided, a welcome thing given the financial strain caused by cancer.
The programming and services at Wellness House fall into one of six categories of support:
Information and Education – lectures, classes, workshops, webinars, and videos on demand available
Nutrition – cooking classes, side effects management, kitchen skills classes, individual nutrition consulting
Exercise – yoga, mind/body movement classes, individual consultations
Stress Management – meditation, mindfulness, artistic opportunities, Reiki, Healing Touch
Child and Family – kid and teen groups, counseling for children, couples, families, fun family events
Counseling and Support – caregiver and support groups, diagnosis specific networking, individual counseling, bereavement
Open since 1990, Wellness House puts their focus on not just a person’s cancer but seeks to provide support for all the parts of that person’s life impacted by their cancer. Ellen Neiman, LCSW is the Education, Engagement and Evaluation Manager at Wellness House and thinks of this as supporting the “whole person” being treated for cancer, “It is important to start where the patient is at. Cancer can be overwhelming, but there is support available. We care for the whole person and their overall wellness, helping to make their cancer experience more manageable. That might mean taking an exercise class, going to a support group, or getting tips about stress management. Partnerships like the one we have with Dr. Gundala help ensure that cancer patients have all the support they need.”
You can learn more about the services available at Wellness House HERE.
Written By: Sheila Quirke, MSW
Reviewed By: Srilata Gundala, MD
