When I was in New York, I was invited to tour the Hope Lodge facility, as a member of the American Cancer Society (ACS) Blogger Advisory Council I serve on.
The ACS has more than 30 Hope Lodge locations in the United States and Puerto Rico. Their purpose is to provide cancer patients and their caregivers a temporary free place to stay when having to travel to another city for cancer treatments.
As I toured the Jerome L. Greene Hope Center in the heart of New York, I was deeply touched. I had no idea the scope of services they provide for cancer patients. There are lovely and homey rooms, which don’t feel like hotel or hospital rooms. Each floor includes a kitchen, dining area, a quiet lounge, and laundry. In addition, Hope Lodge helps cancer patients with the healing process. There are support programs which include meditation, touch therapy, support groups, yoga, and nutritional seminars. Patients also have access to ACS services such as Look Good…Feel Better, the Wig Program, and Man to Man.
If a patient is staying at Hope Lodge- all of it is free. They have 60 rooms at Hope Lodge and they are booked every night, months in advance. To stay at Hope Lodge, a patient has to be referred by a hospital social worker, as they try to serve the patients with the greatest needs. I was very impressed as the director told us even if a cancer patient isn’t staying at Hope Lodge, if they are in the city for cancer treatment, they can still come and use all the services free of charge.
I took a lot of pictures of the facility, but there is a virtual tour you can take as well. I think that captures the lodge much better than the pictures I took. However, as we walked by the common area, there was a party going on. There was a woman playing the piano, patients and their caregivers listening, talking, and visiting. There was so much food, much of it baked by volunteers. There were beautiful cookies which volunteers baked. These pictures aren’t on the on-line tour:
This really touched me because of the amount of time, care, and sense of community that exists here. We toured the facility for an hour, but you could tell there was a lot of love, and dedication, not just by the staff, but by the volunteers, caregivers, and patients themselves.
While I was listening to all the information, and seeing this facility, I couldn’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed in the facility. It is a wonderful place for any cancer patient. I wish there was a Hope Lodge in Denver, because I would definitely benefited from their services, even if I had not needed lodging.
The moment that touched me the most, was as the tour was finishing and I was having a few words with Karen Radwin, the Senior Managing Executive. She had taken us on the tour and had answered all of our questions. We were standing somewhat away from the group and I told her I had thyroid cancer last year. I am sure she can’t count how many times she hears cancer stories, but she listened to mine as if it was the only one she had ever heard. She asked me questions, no one else had ever thought to ask about my cancer and recovery process. Even though our conversation was just a few minutes, it still is with me.
I’ve thought a lot about how to write this post. There are so many wonderful things Hope Lodge provides, it is hard to pinpoint just a few. But as a cancer survivor myself, the element I felt the most, from the moment I walked in, and what was confirmed by the tour was care. The staff really cares and does whatever it can to help cancer patients. Our medical professionals are so busy, it isn’t always possible to get the feeling of care and love in a hospital.
The fact these lodges exist to provide caring and healing services to cancer patients is priceless. It is a major step in the recovery process from cancer, and I am so glad Hope Lodges are there for cancer patients and their families in the direst time of need.
No asks to have cancer. No one really plans to have cancer. Not everyone knows what to say or do when a loved one has cancer. If you live near a Hope Lodge, seek them out. They can help, even if the patient isn’t staying there.
In a world where a disease like cancer is ruled by medical diagnosis’s, invading procedures, surgeries, and drugs, to be able to have services on the flip side, care, love, understanding, and support, is invaluable. It is the difference between surviving cancer, and healing from cancer.