Seven years ago, the first cancer patients walked through the doors of the Cincinnati chapter of the Wellness Community (WC). Now the national headquarters of the Wellness Community is moving to Cincinnati from Los Angeles.
Cincinnati was one of the first U.S. cities to open a chapter of the Wellness Community, an organization that urges people to tap emotional, spiritual, physical and mental energies as part of a cancer treatment program.
During recent interviews, cancer survivors Lynn Stern, Sherry Weathers and Harry Davidow - all key figures in the founding and current operation of the local WC chapter - provided perspective on the history, present and future of the organization's free support program.
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At a glance
What: The Wellness Community is a nonprofit organization that provides support groups, self-hypnosis, relaxation, visualization, health education, yoga, tai chi, stress management, meditation, healing touch, journal-writing, workshops, educational programs and other supportive services for people with cancer, their family members (including children and teens) and friends.
Where: 8044 Montgomery Road, Suite 385, Kenwood. A Northern Kentucky office marks a grand opening 5:30-8 p.m. today, 1717 Dixie Highway, Suite 145, Fort Wright.
Cost: All services are free.
By the numbers: 4,000 visits in 1991; 8,000 visits in 1993; more than 9,000 visits in 1996. Today, the office averages 800 visits a month.
Budget: About $600,000 a year from donations, grants, fund-raisers and gifts.
Phone: 791-4060 (Kenwood); 331-5200 (Fort Wright).
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Ms. Stern of Blue Ash is a survivor of ovarian (1987) and breast cancer (1995-96). Ms. Weathers of Pleasant Ridge is a breast cancer survivor (1987). Mr. Davidow of Walnut Hills is a bowel cancer survivor (1980-81).
QUESTION: Some non-profit organizations like yours have good intentions but never get off the ground. What made this Wellness Community chapter so successful?
Ms. Stern (executive director of the local chapter): "I think a lot of wonderful people and donors got involved, and I think there was a great need waiting to be met. What has been really important is that we've stayed focused on why we're here and what we're about - helping cancer patients."
Mr. Davidow (chairman of the national WC board): "The timing was perfect. This all came together at a time when people accepted this (non-traditional self-help) as part of treatment. My guess is that if we'd have opened our doors 20 years ago, we'd have starved to death."
QUESTION: Why is the national headquarters of the Wellness Community leaving Los Angeles, where it was founded, and moving to Cincinnati?
Mr. Davidow: "The previous board was primarily a California board, so they were raising most of their money in Los Angeles. In order to make this a truly national organization, they began looking for a more central place that was very accessible. And the coasts are far more expensive to operate and live in." (From temporary offices in Blue Ash, Mr. Davidow is searching for a permanent location near downtown and hopes to have a full-time executive director on staff by Nov. 1).
Ms. Weathers (outreach - marketing director): "A lot of the forward movement, the evolution of Wellness Community programs nationwide, has come out of Cincinnati - things like a support group for women newly diagnosed with breast cancer and opening of the first satellite office by a chapter. We were the first Wellness Community chapter to open a consignment shop (Legacies in Hyde Park) as a source of financial support for the program. And it has been fascinating to me that Cincinnati has a reputation for having the most fun Jokefest (a semiannual night of joke-telling by cancer patients and survivors) and for being focused on having a good time."
QUESTION: With the national headquarters in Cincinnati, will local cancer patients notice any difference?
Ms. Stern: "The services will remain primarily the same. The fund-raising for the local chapter and national program will be handled separately. With the opening of our satellite office in Northern Kentucky (today), we'd like to serve a lot more cancer patients on a local level."
QUESTION: What's given you the greatest satisfaction in your roles as founding members of the Wellness Community in Cincinnati? Mr. Davidow: "Here, you see change happen right in front of your eyes, and it's rather startling."
Ms. Weathers: "It's incredible to see eight to 10 new cancer patients come in the door so scared they can barely speak, and they leave two hours later looking a little better, feeling a little better and finding support and services to help them through one of the most devastating things that can happen to someone."
QUESTION: How do people with cancer find out about the Wellness Community?
Ms. Stern: "About 50 percent are referred by the medical community (doctors, nurses, cancer specialists). A larger percentage than used to now come by word of mouth. Other agencies send people - American Cancer Society and Cancer Family Care, for example. And people hear it through the media. We've been lucky from the start to have strong support from doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers and others who believed in our philosophy."
QUESTION: It was cancer - and perhaps fate - that brought the three of you together, yet each of you survived your cancers without the help of an organization like the Wellness Community. What got you through?
Ms. Weathers: "I just intuitively knew some things to do. I went through the whole emotional roller coaster, but I taught myself relaxation methods and visualization techniques. I wrote in a journal. I relied on my sense of humor. I put my medical team together and made sure everybody understood two things - I was in charge, and they had to communicate with each other.
"To everybody looking at me, including my doctors, I was doing great. I was in control. Their perception was that I didn't need a support group - and nothing could have been further from the truth. What I wanted more than anything was to be in a support group of my peers."
Ms. Stern: "I was very frightened the first time, and I sort of tumbled along with what the doctors said. I also found a psychologist who worked with cancer patients. The second time, I had the Wellness Community, and boy, it made such a difference. I knew so much more about what to do. I didn't rush. I knew where to get a second opinion and from whom. I knew I wanted to be involved in a support group at the Wellness Community."
