Dorothy: [00:00:00] Hi, I’m Dorothy Gibbons, CEO and co founder of The Rose. When people talk about cancer survivorship programs, it usually means being a part of a support group. And that’s important, but to survive and thrive involves so much more. Caring for the mind and the body and the spirit makes all the difference.
At Memorial Hermann’s Woodlands Canopy Cancer Survivorship Center, over 40 programs bring a sense of healing and comfort to cancer survivors and their families. Here why Canopy’s program director, Marcella Herrera, thinks that attending to all phases of illness and navigating life after treatment can be the most important medicine of all.
Let’s Talk About Your Breast. A different kind of podcast presented to you by The Rose. The Breast Center of Excellence and a Texas treasure. You’re going to hear frank discussions about tough topics. And you’re going to learn why knowing about your breast could save your life. Join us as we hear another story and [00:01:00] we answer those tough questions that you may have.
Marcella: We opened our doors in 2016, and our mission is to integrate cancer survivorship into the continuum of cancer care. So we open our doors to anyone impacted by cancer, no matter their age, their gender, their cancer type, whether they are first diagnosed or post treatment. We provide the finest exercise, general exercise programs, nutrition programs, social support, support groups, counseling.
As well as wig fitting and prosthesis fitting for our breast cancer patients and all of our services are completely free.
Dorothy: So I want to go back to something you just said, the continuum of care. Survivorship is not always considered part of the care. Is that correct?
Marcella: That’s correct. And we’re [00:02:00] actually very unique in not only the greater Houston area, but pretty unique in the nation.
Dorothy: Did you have a model that you were following or was this the brainchild of someone who had been in the cancer world or had had cancer?
Marcella: Yeah. So we actually had a, um, a cancer patient by the name of Patti Melton. She was a friend of the former CEO in 2014 – 2015, and she made a comment, you know, I really wish that they had a survivorship center as we did back home. She was from Ohio. And so that really got some wheels turning, and, um, they went to our friends at In the Pink of Health. And wanted to research this further to see what we could do to bring a, a survivorship center to the greater Houston area, specifically in the Woodlands. And with that, and the pink funded, uh, the seed money to be able to send our director of business development and marketing, Linda Nelson, as well as our former CEO at the time.
Uh, they went to go scout out some of the survivorship centers that do [00:03:00] exist. Um, for instance, the gathering place in Ohio. And, uh, the Dempsey center, the Patrick Dempsey Center in Maine, uh, they met with the executive directors over a couple of days and, um, brought it back to Texas and said, you know what, this is, this is what we would need to be able to support this kind of work. And, um, we were very fortunate with community support and support from In The Pink to be able to start this journey.
Dorothy: And believe me, from The Rose’s point of view, In The Pink, Memorial Hermann, all of those are partners for us and have been so good for us and, uh, and to us. So, I’m just delighted that we’re able to have you here today.
One of the things you just said, though, that I hadn’t realized, this was a patient’s suggestion, a patient’s comment, a patient wanting something. I guess we forget that sometimes we just need to say what we want, and in our treatment, in our journeys, in our whatever, that, that had a big [00:04:00] impact. I mean, it went out and reached so many.
Marcella: It definitely did, and we were very fortunate to hold focus groups with cancer patients, with caregivers, and medical professionals to come together and say, if you had the dream center that provided survivorship support, what would it encompass? And, um, they came out with a few things and it was that it needed to be near a medical center.
Um, it needed to not look clinical, you know, we have our cancer patients that are in and out of treatment and, um, clinics and, uh, doctor’s offices, hospitals regularly. We wanted to be able to provide somewhat of a home like setting. And, um, that’s exactly what you feel when you walk in the canopy. Um, also all of the services had to be free and it didn’t matter where, um, the patient received treatment.
Uh, so we wanted to be able to touch those patients whether they receive, uh, treatment at other hospitals, um, or physicians, [00:05:00] uh, practice groups.
Dorothy: So anyone can go to this. Any cancer, it is free. And all of the services are available no matter where you were diagnosed.
Marcella: That’s correct.
Dorothy: Great. That is so great.
One of the things that I hear from our breast cancer patients is that once treatment is finished, it’s kind of like they’ve been left without anything. You know, they’ve been under surveillance. They’ve gone to their doctor every three months, every six months. And there’s always one more. Um, you know, milestone, one more thing to get through and then they’re through.
How do you see that a lot at the canopy?
Marcella: Absolutely. Cancer survivorship is critical no matter what point of an individual’s cancer journey. Day one of diagnosis to post treatment support. We also have visitors that have been in. remission for years. And I think that it’s also important in the giving back [00:06:00] to the community as well.
So we have our patients that are in remission, like while we want to focus on their wellness and health and being able to utilize our nutrition, they’re also there as a key support for those that are newly diagnosed. Uh, so it’s giving back to those that have been touched by cancer while also being there, you know, there’s scan anxiety.
Whenever they are going back for their post treatment follow ups, there’s also, unfortunately, reoccurrence that happens. And so, when recurrence happens, we want to be there every step of the way to be able to provide support as well.
Dorothy: And that is, that is so true. I remember at many of our support groups, we’d have someone who’d been cancer free for 20 years.
And my favorite one was a very well dressed, well put together woman who was single and still dating. And she’d come in and, you know, it would be like everyone in the room would go, “Oh, that’s what 20 years out looks like.” There are so many great stories, [00:07:00] great, great stories that can be shared. And I think that many times someone going through breast cancer, and I’ve heard this, is they have support.
They have their church, they have their family, but it’s not the same support as when someone’s been there or someone who really does understand the different things that are going to happen.
Marcella: You can have the absolute best support system at home. And, um, for instance, with our life in between stage 4, uh, cancer support group, um, I was told by, uh, one of the survivors that attends is, I’m able to, you know, to make light or to make some jokes or to really vent about how I’m feeling without having to worry about who’s on the other end of that because they understand they’re going through the same thing that I am as opposed to worrying about your loved one’s feelings or not wanting to hurt the other person who is in your corner and wanting, you know, to cheer you on.
Dorothy: [00:08:00] Right, right. And that’s something some families just cannot understand. There are many, many frustrating times during cancer treatment, during the recovery. And there’s times we doubt, you know, why are we there? What is this going to work? And I think having someone who understands that those are very natural, very good questions that we, that need to be asked for sure.
So what, what is the most. attended program that you have there?
Marcella: So some of our most popular programs, um, by attendance, of course, are, uh, chair yoga, which is on Friday mornings. Um, that is hugely popular as well as our Pilates class, first thing Monday, uh, it’s Mondays at 11. Um, As far as support groups go, our widow support group and our life in between stage 4 cancer support group as well as our men’s group are very well attended.
Dorothy: Interesting, interesting. Cause men don’t always want to be a part of support [00:09:00] groups.
Marcella: So we do a men’s lunch for them the last Friday of the month. And, uh, we have lunches catered in and I had reached out to our guys and I said, what else can I do for you? You know, can I, um, can we start a class? Can we get a male instructor in here?
What, what else would you like? And they said, this is it. This is what we love to do. We’d love to come in and, and share and talk and eat. And, um, so we will be expanding men’s programs, but, um, We, we are meeting them where they are. As you said, men receive support differently.
Dorothy: Right. Right. So what is your favorite program?
Marcella: That’s a hard one. Uh, we have over 40 programs, but. Over 40 unique programs. Yes. And we offer, oh goodness, about a hundred different classes and activities a month. Um, there’s definitely something in there for everyone, but I will say one of my favorites is, um, to be able to provide [00:10:00] these unique, memorable experiences for our families, for our cancer patients and their loved ones.
So we’ve recently partnered with H E B and, uh, they bring in a chef every month. So we have a rotation of four chefs that come in. And, um, they create these memorable experiences, whether it’s a demonstration, a class, a, um, an event. And so, more recently, we had a pasta making from scratch workshop. And we had about 20 survivors that came in and created handmade pasta.
I mean, with the dough and cutting the pasta, and they were able to taste some and take some home. And it was just so fun and so incredible because it was, we were able to just Get their minds off of cancer for an hour.
Dorothy: To play for a while.
Marcella: You know, right, and so it’s, we’ve had a floral making workshop, candle making workshop.
Just these, um, unique events outside of some of our regular programs that have really been so fun and, uh, so memorable [00:11:00] for our patients.
Dorothy: So is there a place they can go and find out about the different programs or how, how does someone, tell us the process here. How does someone enter?
Marcella: Sure, so we have a website, woodlandscanopy.org. You can also find us on Facebook at Canopy Cancer Survivorship Center. We also have a weekly newsletter that we send out with highlights, updates, some really incredible photos and our calendar. So we have a monthly calendar. Um, that showcases all of our activities and programs for the month, as well as, uh, signups are available.
You can also call, uh, Canopy at 713-897-5939, uh, to be able to register for any one of our classes.
Dorothy: And so we’ll be putting all of this information, uh, in our podcast notes, and we really, really encourage folks to. Just go and explore a little bit. There may be a class you hadn’t even [00:12:00] thought about, or there may be something you’re dealing with that this is going to be a place that you can really find some support and some help. And Marcella, why did you get involved in this?
Marcella: Well, Memorial Hermann is an absolutely incredible system to work for. They are very compassionate about our community and, um, cancer has actually impacted my family personally.
I was in child welfare for 14 years and so I wanted to be able to give back to something that I was equally as compassionate about and I can see how A cancer diagnosis can completely turn your family upside down, um, and really make you reprioritize and, um, your whole life, you know, so I wanted to be able to, uh, give back to our community that’s been impacted by cancer by really spreading awareness to some of our programs that we offer as well as some of the partnerships that we, um, other organizations that we partner with in the area.[00:13:00]
Dorothy: Is there any similarity between being a child’s advocate or, and what you’re doing now?
Marcella: They’re both incredibly difficult at times. You know, with cancer, we see a lot of great healing, but we also see and experience loss, uh, in child welfare. Um, I, um, sat on the human trafficking task force as well as, um, child fatality reviews and, uh, both were heartbreaking and difficult, but I think over time you build resiliency and, uh, one of the things that I would really focus on is the silver lining in that our community really comes together to not only embrace our community impacted by cancer, but also other areas of needs such as child welfare.
Dorothy: Talk a little bit more about the grief that could be involved.
Marcella: While we do offer and, and really it’s not just secondary, you know, compassion fatigue or secondary trauma for our team of [00:14:00] volunteers or a team of our social worker oncology nurse navigator and some of our support group facilitators. But it’s also, um, For some of our guests grieving the change that comes with cancer.
So it’s not always just a loss of a loved one. It’s a loss of normalcy, a loss of your finances, a loss of, you know, some of, um, the daily things that you take for granted sometimes, you know, um, so we do offer support for that as well. We have a series called “coping with change,” but from a volunteer perspective, we’re primarily run on volunteers.
So, uh, we have 54 volunteers that lead our programs and they are all specifically trained and have, uh, very unique backgrounds. So we have psychologists, neuropsychologists, stay at home moms. We have educators and oncology nurses, just this wonderful group. That comes together to be able to support our community, but we also have support amongst ourselves.
[00:15:00] So we have a treatment team that meets regularly to, you know, it’s our support group facilitator, social worker, nurse navigator, myself, our art therapist. Uh, to come together and 1) vent, debrief, um, share resources and ideas, but also encourage and motivate. I think that this work would be impossible without, uh, the support of our volunteers, without the support of our community.
Um, so that’s, that’s really what carries us forward.
Dorothy: Have you ever had patients who are many years out and then suddenly show up at your door saying I want to participate? For themselves, not particularly to be there as a inspiration to anyone else.
Marcella: Absolutely. Yeah, we definitely do. We had, uh, recently, I had joined in on an interview with one of our mothers of a cancer patient and guest of Canopy, and she’s actually a survivor herself, but what brought her into our doors was her daughter’s diagnosis because her daughter found, [00:16:00] uh, Canopy to be a really safe place for her.
And, um, so she would join her daughter after several weeks in, and now, I mean, she’s one of the family too, and, um, she’s able to, to embrace and help other survivors while receiving support as well in her daughter’s journey.
Dorothy: What is the saddest time you’ve ever been there, that you had to cope with something?
Marcella: Everybody’s journey is unique, and I think that there are, I mean, any time we have, Someone that is experiencing or going through cancer, it can be absolutely heartbreaking for, for them, for their journey. Um, one experience that I have that really stands out was, um, I had a family member come in and thank me and I think they were They were not thanking me, they were thanking Canopy and our partnership with, with Wonders & Worries.
So we partner with an [00:17:00] organization that, um, has child life specialists that provides counseling to children and teens of parents with cancer. So we also offer that at Canopy. And this family member, um, had just lost a loved one and saw his, his brother grieving, um, through this. Um, and, They had three small children, and the children came in and, um, had just lost a parent.
They just lost their parent and were in the greatest place possible considering this, the circumstances. Of course they were grieving, but they were able to grieve because of the preparedness because of, um, the support that not only the children, but, uh, the parents had received throughout this. So. Um, you know, some of the exercises that we do for families are like, um, handprints with mom, you know, handprints with the parent or being able to, we [00:18:00] have a, a legal, um, a probate and a state planning attorney who comes in and does legal workshops and education.
So we tie in your wills and your trusts and anything that could encompass a situation like that to be able to help. With the transition as much as possible, you know, we have our oncologist. She’s a licensed clinical oncology, social worker, Kate Mahan. She is, you talk to her for five minutes and everything’s okay in the world.
And she partners with our child life specialists that are at Canopy with Wonders & Worries to be able to embrace the family as a whole. And so I think with this family member coming in and thanking me despite the loss that their family was currently grieving, you know, when this family member had left, I had to take a minute and compose myself.
There’s also been, uh, for instance, uh, Mastectomy patient that came in and was going through chemotherapy and she had the most unique hair, [00:19:00] the most unique hair, and I was just thinking, Oh my goodness, there’s no way we’re going to have a wig for her, you know, because we do have a huge variety of wigs and that was just spinning through my head as the volunteer had gone back.
We have trained, um, wig fitters and trained, um, mastectomy, prosthesis fitters. And I kid you not, they came out with a wig that looked Just like her hair.
Dorothy: Oh my goodness.
Marcella: And I thought, because sometimes we’ll have patients that will come in as they’re just starting chemo. So their hair would just start newly falling out.
And I thought, oh my gosh, you know what? I’m, I’m so thankful to be here. I, I just, I felt like this is where I needed to be after that moment.
Dorothy: Gosh, you’ve touched on so many things. For one thing, cancer is a family disease. It impacts every, every part of the family. The other thing I thought was so interesting was the allow to grieve.
We, we [00:20:00] forget grief and death and all of that’s very alien to our society. We don’t want to talk about it or, oh, that’s the way it was meant to be or all those things. But at the end of the day, you still lost someone. And I’m sure that being a mother, the knowing those children were also grieving had to have Touched a, uh, part of your heart that
Marcella: absolutely.
Dorothy: And then the final thing you talked about was the image. You know, it’s very difficult to go through cancer without seeing your own image change so much. And that is a different kind of loss and also a huge adjustment for so many people. I’m sure that the programs you have also address here’s what’s going to happen or here’s how you may feel or gives them that space to talk about it.
Marcella: We do. We offer a cancer orientation for newly diagnosed cancer patients. So our oncology nurse navigator and our [00:21:00] social worker have joined up and developed a curriculum after doing some significant research. so much. and the nation. And so we, um, help newly diagnosed patients really talk about what they can expect, um, understand some of the terminology that, um, you know, you really have never encompassed not being in healthcare, you know, for some of our patients and also, uh, learning about our programs.
So we also have, um, we partner with an organization called look good, feel better. I’m sure you’re familiar.
Dorothy: Yes.
Marcella: And, uh, so we have in person workshops every quarter that specifically focuses on skin care and makeup tips and tutorials for those that have been, um, directly impacted by the side effects of cancer.
So, uh, we have a licensed cosmetologist that comes in. We have these beautiful makeup kits that are provided and she really helps walk them through, you know, how do I draw in my eyebrows? How should I be more aware of? [00:22:00] hygiene practices being immunocompromised Um, how can I make my eyelids and look darker my eyelash?
Line look darker whenever I have no lashes anymore You know and In addition to the quarterly workshops that we do, we also have unlimited virtual sessions. So we could actually have a makeup kit directly mailed to our guest’s house and they participate on, um, online, uh, with a virtual cosmetologist so that they don’t have to wait until our next in person workshop.
Dorothy: I was, I was just thinking, I wonder if you take any of these classes out to the community. So that’s one way you do it.
Marcella: We certainly do, um, so we offer these specifically for our guests, but our guests have come from all over. Um, we have individuals that have traveled from, um, Oklahoma, Louisiana, El Paso, Michigan.
One of my favorite stories is we had a, a woman come in for treatment from India and [00:23:00] she spent five or six days with us attending classes and she signed up for our newsletter. So it’s really incredible to see the impact that we have. All over, um, because we do have some of the best cancer centers in the nation, right in Houston’s backyard.
Dorothy: Oh, right, right. And if there was one program you wanted to see be developed, what would that be?
Marcella: You know, what had weighed on my heart, um, for quite some time, and we’ve actually just started it. is, um, life stories. So it’s called From the Heart. Um, I’ve partnered with a college student from Texas A& M who is in public health and she’s developed a interview process and a protocol to be able to write care letters or a cancer patient’s life story so that, you know, we would hand, uh, type it up, bind it, and be [00:24:00] able to create a memoir of such or a care letter, uh, that they can provide to a loved one.
Dorothy: So, what is that? What is a care letter?
Marcella: Let’s say you’ve been diagnosed with cancer and you’d like to write a letter to your spouse or, um, your child. It doesn’t have to be in memoriam or anything like that.
It, it could be. But for instance, let’s say you have a child who’s graduating high school, you know, and you really want to form into words some of the things that maybe are hard for you to, to say, um, one on one, you want to put it in a letter that this child can treasure forever, then we can help you do that.
We can help you put that into words.
Dorothy: That, that is a great, great gift, really, because so many people think they want to do that and it’s hard to do. It’s hard to write your feelings down and And to even know if it’s okay to say certain things. So that is a great, and this is something that is just starting?
Marcella: We’ve just started it, um, and we’re also, uh, launching journaling. [00:25:00] So we’ll be combining the two in a sense to be able to, to offer that service.
Dorothy: So what is it you wish every cancer patient knew?
Marcella: You’re not alone through this journey. Um, the hardest part is walking through our doors. Um, once you walk through our doors, you are absolutely a part of our family, a part of our cancer community.
Cancer doesn’t discriminate, so we welcome anyone who’s been touched by cancer. Um, as I, I think I can put it into words as one of our guests stated, uh, stage four cancer survivor. She said, “when I walk into Canopy, I can finally breathe.”
Dorothy: We’ve certainly seen a lot.
Marcella: It’s it’s been incredible. I’m so thankful to be a part of Canopy, to be a part of Memorial Hermann, to be a part of our incredible community, um, that has really embraced us and allowed us to be able to give back.
We are fully run on philanthropic support. So we [00:26:00] couldn’t do this without our community and without our volunteers.
Dorothy: And so anyone can donate, anyone can, uh, come to volunteer. You have a huge volunteer group.
Marcella: We have a huge volunteer group. We’re currently, um, at capacity, but I am always looking for additional ways to partner or, um, additional ways that we can work together.
Because we do have like our front desk volunteers. We also have our instructors and group leaders. But we’re, we’re always open to additional ideas and support.
Dorothy: One last question, and it has to do with you personally and your son. And, you know, what, what do you hope for your son in this future, in this world?
Marcella: My son, I have a two year old and my husband and I were trying our best to instill these values. And, um, what I’d really hope for him and for the world around him is to continue to work together.
To be [00:27:00] a part of your community, to embrace your community. I want him to, to take the values that we’re instilling in him and no matter what he decides to do in the world, still give back to the community. You know, I, I, um, still very involved in my volunteer work, um, with, in child welfare and also, um, Junior League of the Woodlands and I, I choose to do that because I think it’s important that we all continue to work together and utilize our skill sets.
Um, so that’s absolutely what I want for him.
Dorothy: So thank you so much for giving us a really understanding and an overview of Canopy and it is, sounds so amazing. I really hope that people will take advantage of those programs, even if it’s just one or two, you don’t have to go every single day. And, uh, all they have to do is to contact you and all that information’s on the website.
Marcella: It is on the website.
Dorothy: And also [00:28:00] appreciate what you said about the community. We forget that we are so much bigger than our little world and that when we do stretch out and reach out, then that world becomes important to us, just like all the other things that we do in life. It’s really important. Thank you so much for being with us.
Thank you so much for bringing us this information. And I know your guests feel like family because just watching and listening to you, I know that when they come in contact with you, they, they feel good and they feel at home.
Marcella: Thank you so much for having me. And thank you for everything that the Rose does for our community.
I’m so thankful for our partnership and, um, even our connection with In The Pink. I think that’s so wonderful.
Dorothy: Oh, it is.
Marcella: Thank you.
Dorothy: All right, again, if you’re dealing with any part of cancer, having any kind of experience that you need to share or get help with or have need support, this is the place to go.
The Canopy Cancer Survivorship Center in the Woodlands.[00:29:00]
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