This summer, a new support group for cancer will start in Coronado, providing a free monthly meeting for those affected by cancer, including survivors and their loved ones.
The Coronado Cancer Support & Healing Circle will hold its first meeting Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in the Library Community Room. The group will meet once a month on Tuesday evenings from 5:45 to 7:00 p.m.
The group was created by Wanda L. Brothers, an educator, licensed psychotherapist, and owner of a private therapy practice in Coronado.
“This is a cancer support group, created as a space for community, connection, safety, support, and healing for anyone navigating a cancer diagnosis, their own or a loved one’s, and for survivors to be a beacon of hope for those undergoing treatment,” Brothers said.
Brothers first lived in Coronado from 1998 to 2000 and said she fell in love with the town right away. She moved back in 2004 and has been a resident ever since.
“I’ve called Coronado home for many years, drawn by the outdoors, the ocean, and the rare ability to walk or bike almost anywhere in town,” Brothers said. “That connection to the community is really what led me into this work.”
Brothers has maintained a private therapy practice in Coronado since 2006. Over the years, she said she has been involved with several local organizations, including teaching parenting classes and leading free workshops for residents through SAFE, supporting Laura Plumb’s Sofia Camps for girls, and being part of a local surfer group.
The new group will open each session with a brief teaching on simple, practical tools to help support the body and nervous system, followed by time for attendees to share. Brothers said she will also help connect participants with one another so they can support each other between meetings.
“There’s no commitment required,” she said. “Attendees are welcome to join whichever monthly sessions work for their schedule, and the group is entirely free.”
Brothers said the idea for the group grew from both her professional work and her personal experience with cancer.
“Hope is critical for people who are struggling or suffering, and it’s hard to hold onto hope alone,” she explained.
In her private practice, Brothers specializes in reducing anxiety, healing trauma and attachment wounds, and working with somatization, “where emotional pain expresses itself physically.” She said that work has made her aware of how essential support is for people going through hard things.
Brothers has also faced cancer twice herself. At just 19 years old, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. “At that point in my life I was hyper-independent and closed off; I didn’t want help and tried to handle everything on my own,” she recalled. “It was awful, painful, and lonely.”
In 2019, Brothers was diagnosed with stage three melanoma. She underwent a four-hour surgery, followed by nearly a year of chemotherapy, which led to a serious lung infection that she fought for another six months.
“What was different this time was the support around me,” she said. “People drove me to doctor’s appointments, brought meals, sent letters and notes of encouragement, sat with me and held my hand.”
Although her 2019 diagnosis and treatment were “far longer, more intense, and more dangerous” than her first cancer diagnosis, Brothers said it was in many ways easier to move through because she wasn’t carrying it alone.
The idea for the Coronado Cancer Support & Healing Circle came together when Brothers realized she personally knew five or six people in Coronado struggling with cancer whom she had been trying to support one-on-one.
“It became clear that individual support wasn’t enough,” she said. “One person, even a therapist, can only carry so much. A group means those going through it have many sources of support, not just me.”
Brothers said cancer affects many people in Coronado, whether through a personal diagnosis or through a spouse, parent, sibling, or friend in treatment.
“Despite how connected this town is, people facing cancer often end up isolated in their experience, unsure where to turn or hesitant to burden the people around them,” she explained.
She hopes the group will give residents a dedicated, local space where they can be met by others who understand exactly what they’re carrying, without having to explain or justify it.
“My hope is that this group becomes one more way our community takes care of its own,” Brothers said, adding that her goal is to provide support while giving people a chance to practice both receiving and offering it.
“There’s something genuinely empowering about doing something meaningful for someone else even while you’re suffering yourself.”
The group is open to anyone currently fighting cancer, as well as survivors. Those in active treatment may bring a trusted support person.
Brothers said what she brings to the group is her perspective “as both a licensed, experienced therapist and a cancer survivor myself.” She plans to introduce attendees to somatic skills and tools developed through her years of practice. “These tools are aimed at reducing anxiety and building resilience through the body, not just talking through it,” she said.
She also plans to periodically bring in guest practitioners, including Qi Gong and yoga instructors, Ayurvedic teachers, and Feldenkrais practitioners.
The group is open to all, but Brothers said safety will be a priority. “To make sure everyone feels safe, there will be no cross-talk, and politics and religion are off the table as discussion topics,” she said.
For the first meeting, Brothers asks attendees to RSVP by text because the Library Community Room holds only 12 people.
“I do not want to turn anyone away,” she said. She is currently working to arrange a larger space at the Spreckels Center, but it is not available in July.
Because many cancer fighters have compromised immune systems, Brothers also asks that people not attend if they are experiencing symptoms of illness. “We’d love to have you join us once you’re feeling well,” she said.
Anyone interested in learning more can reach Brothers by phone or text at 858-215-1396 or by email at wleebrothers@me.com.
VOL. 116, NO. 28 – July 15, 2026