Gilda’s Club: Supportive communities for people living with cancer and their families
A diagnosis of mesothelioma or any other type of cancer can affect the patient and his or her family emotionally as well as physically. Gilda’s Club exists to address these needs, by creating welcoming communities of free support to people living with cancer—men, women, adults, teens and children—together with their family and friends. Gilda’s Club’s philosophy is that an emotional and social support community is an essential complement to a cancer patient’s medical treatment. All of the non-profit organization’s services are free of charge.
Gilda’s Club was named for the comedian Gilda Radner, who died of ovarian cancer in 1989 at the age of 42. It was co-founded by Gilda’s husband, comedian Gene Wilder, entertainment critic Joel Siegel and cancer psychotherapist Joanna Bull. Gilda’s Club offers its services in 21 cities with 30 clubhouses and satellites in North America, and the organization has nine new locations in the works.
The organization’s services include:
- weekly Wellness Groups for people living with cancer;
- weekly Family Groups for the patient’s family members and friends;
- monthly Networking Groups, which focus on topics of interest such as a particular type of cancer;
- lectures based on members’ interests, on topics such as nutrition, pain management, and talking to children about cancer;
- workshops on meditation, yoga, art, exercise, and cooking; and
- social activities such as pot luck dinners, karaoke, comedy nights, and holiday celebrations.
In addition, Gilda’s Club offers special support services, such as two-hour sessions for the patients and their families at the time of diagnosis or during another challenging event, to help develop a support network to assist with such needs as food preparation, transportation, etc. Another service they provide is meeting with family members to enlist the entire family as a resource and to help the family learn as a group how to live with cancer. There are also programs to assist cancer survivors post-treatment, as well as support for those who have lost a loved one to cancer.
Funding for Gilda’s Club comes from private donations, corporate sponsors, and foundations.
For more information about Gilda’s Club, and to find a Gilda’s Club in your area, visit the organization’s website at www.gildasclub.org.
