SPECTRUM NEWS: MONDAYS CANCER CARE IS OFFERING CANCER PATIENTS A FREE SPA DAY
Each year, more than 2 million Americans are diagnosed with cancer. Not only will each need a team of medical specialists to fight the disease, but there is growing recognition that supportive care during a cancer journey can be impactful for a patient's quality of life and mental health.
One nonprofit group, Mondays Cancer Care, enlists beauty and fitness businesses to offer supportive care to cancer patients.
“Chemo and radiation treated my cancer, and this is treating my soul,” said Leidy Hidalgo, who has been on a nearly two-year treatment journey for early-onset breast cancer.
“I work through treatment, and I'm the kind of person that I don't really take time to myself," Hidalgo said. “And having this diagnosis really taught me, for better or for worse, I have to take time for myself, take care of myself.”
It is easier for Hidalgo to make time for facials, massages and yoga sessions now because they’re free through services offered by Mondays Cancer Care to patients currently in cancer treatment.
“Salon and beauty services, they could feel like it's a luxury, but it's not a luxury when you're going through cancer,” said Karla Waldron, executive director of Mondays Cancer Care.
The organization started serving cancer patients in 2003 in honor of Waldron’s mother, Mildred DiMolfetto, who died after a battle with breast cancer in the 1980s.
“When she went back to that salon that would normally help her, they didn't know what to do,” Waldron said. “Her hair was falling out in the sink in big clumps. And they didn't treat her well. And she took that to heart.”
Waldron’s sisters offered cancer patients free services at their spa on Long Island on Mondays — the day many salons are closed. Now, with the help of 24 charter businesses, they’ve done over 30,000 care sessions, offering a range of free services.
“(It) really isn't just about the services; it's about community,” Waldron said. “It helps their mental health because now they're with people who are going through the same battle as they are.”
