The Oncology Support Program of Health Alliance Hospitals is, in at least three significant ways, a community program. While its support groups are led by social workers, members of the community teach a wide variety of classes for physical and mental wellness. The program is open to anyone in the Hudson Valley region and beyond whose life is touched by cancer, including those who are not patients at a HealthAlliance Hospital. And the facilitators and participants have created a vibrant community of support and mutual help.
Contrary to a previous report, said Ellen Marshall, director of the program for over ten years, “Our groups and classes are not religiously based.” Although the program was started at the former Benedictine Hospital in Kingston, the organization is now under the umbrella of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network. “We are thoroughly secular,” Marshall emphasized. “There are no religious readings in any of our groups.” When an inaccurate report was published alleging religious influence, she noted, “Community members reacted and wanted the record set straight.”
Oncology social worker Barbara Sarah launched the program in 1994, when she started a breast cancer support group, building on her own experience as a breast cancer survivor. Over the years, other offerings evolved, including different support groups tailored to people recently diagnosed with cancer, people nearing the end of life, and survivors, who are transitioning into a whole new life post-cancer. “After a person completes active treatment, their needs do not end,” Marshall pointed out. “It’s often a time when people are looking at how cancer has impacted their lives, how to look forward in meaningful ways.” There are groups for women, men, and younger women, who have specific needs related to fertility, parenting, sexuality, and body image. Specific groups are oriented toward caregivers and the bereaved. A peer support program links patients and family members with people who have had a similar diagnosis or have navigated the difficulties of the cancer experience.
“An ovarian cancer group was started by friends and family of a nurse who died of ovarian cancer,” said Marshall. “They recognized she didn’t have resources for support when she was going through it.” Their response was to start the Linda Young Ovarian Cancer Support Program which includes a monthly group along with programs related to gynecologic cancer. They also created the Linda Young Healing Garden, located behind the program’s headquarters, the Herbert H. and Sofia P. Reuner Cancer Support House in Kingston, a small renovated house with a sunroom and living room. Groups formerly met at the house, but since COVID, most events have shifted online. One in-person gathering was a support group for teens whose parents have a cancer diagnosis. The teen participants were masked and met outdoors in the healing garden during the summer. A hybrid meeting model, combining face-to-face and online attendance, is in the works.
In addition to support groups facilitated by oncology or palliative care social workers, the program furnishes an array of educational offerings relevant to the cancer community. Professional writers teach two ongoing memoir writing classes and have held community readings. Local artists lead art workshops, sometimes resulting in art exhibits of the work of program members. Classes on coping skills provide strategies such as mindfulness and somatic-based approaches to helping people manage high levels of stress.
Loss of income and the expense of medical treatment leave many cancer patients strapped for cash. Oncology Support Program social workers guide cancer patients through the process of obtaining financial assistance. Wellness offerings include yoga, qi gong, and tai chi classes led by community members who accept cancer patients at a reduced fee or free of charge. The program even offers healthy, plant-based cooking classes through the longstanding “Miso Happy Cooking Program”
Marshall becomes aware of needs in the community through the comments of people in support groups, from patients she or other social workers meet in the hospital setting, and from what she reads in the oncology support literature. When someone from the community steps up with expertise, she puts needs and resources together to design a program. “People will call me and say, ‘I’ve had cancer, and I have a certain skill I’d like to offer,’” explained Marshall.” For example, this month, a photographer who’s worked with women post-mastectomy has collaborated with a member of the Young Women’s Support Group and designed a program focused on body image issues for women with cancer. “It’s really about listening and responding to the needs of our community,” said Marshall.
Sarah, the program founder, still facilitates a support group on finding meaning and purpose in life with a breast cancer diagnosis. Marshall said, “The foundation of the program is how to help people live fully with a cancer diagnosis, to the extent they’re able to. We give people a lot of resources so they can connect with other people and be part of a community — which the program is.”
For more information on the Oncology Support Program of Health Alliance Hospitals, call 845-339-2071, or visit https://www.hahv.org/oncology-support-program.
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