Wigs to hope, support group has it all
A Council Bluffs-based program is providing a wide array of support services to southwest Iowa residents who have been diagnosed with cancer.
Supported entirely by donations, Wings of Hope Cancer Support Center is providing cancer patients with support for physical, emotional and social needs as well as educational resources for caregivers and the southwest Iowa community at large.
In 2012, Wings of Hope had more than 1,300 contacts with cancer patients.
“People come to us for different things, but I would say the whole Hope Chest Renewal Room is one of the most popular reasons,” Wings of Hope program administrator Carolyn Ettinger said. “We have wigs, caps, scarves and a number of items that are comfort care items that we put into a survivor bag and give to people that are newly diagnosed and are just starting chemo.
“Our Hope Program can help with gas cards, bus passes or whatever it takes. We have a lot of people who come from out of town to Council Bluffs for treatment, so of course the gas assistance is very helpful. That’s been a really popular part of this program since gas prices have gone up.”
Ettinger said the “Hope Program” started out as a means of helping cancer patients pay for prescriptions.
“It can help people who don’t have insurance or are underinsured and are in active treatment. Say a person is in radiation and their doctor says they need this type of cream. If they can’t afford the cream, we can help pay for that with the idea being that we want to help people stay in treatment.”
Cancer patients can even spend a day at the spa thanks to Wings of Hope.
“We do spa days once or twice a year where we have special services for patients and survivors to come in and be pampered for the day,” Ettinger said.
Cancer patients can benefit physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually from a relaxing day at the spa, Ettinger said.
Wings Of Hope provides emotional and social support through several avenues, including counseling sessions for patients and families with a Licensed Mental Health Professional and a general support group for caregivers and persons diagnosed with any type of cancer. There’s also a young women’s breast cancer support group.
Ettinger said individual healing touch sessions are popular at Wings of Hope. The sessions provide cancer patients relaxing and nurturing energy therapy. Services are provided by a Certified Healing Touch Practitioner and are designed to support the patient’s natural abilities to heal – physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Ettinger, a breast cancer survivor, said emotional support is important for all cancer patients and survivors.
“What we find is that a lot of people don’t end up dealing with the emotional aspects until they’re done with treatment because initially you’re kind of in a fight for your life,” Ettinger said. “You’re busy with doctors’ appointments and those kind of things. When that ends, it’s like ‘oh my gosh, what’s happened to me?’ That’s when you start to process some of the emotional things.”
Survivorship programs include “A Time To Heal,” a 12-week session designed to help make cancer survivors adjust to their life after beating cancer, and “Healthy Moves,” a program taught by an occupational therapist who helps cancer survivors regain and maintain range of motion.
On the educational side, Wings Of Hope has its own speaker’s bureau, educational programs for caregivers, community awareness programming and a resource library of informative books, tapes, videos and CDs for cancer patients and their families.
Wings Of Hope is located in Council Bluffs at 427 Kanesville Blvd., Suite 202. Additional information about the program is available online at www.wingsofhope.org or by calling 712-325-8970.