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(R) Renee Avalos, a workshop instructor, shares recipes featuring healthy, cancer-fighting ingredients during the Women\u2019s Cancer Resource Center\u2019s (WCRC) \u2018Cuentos, comida y amistad en la cocina\u2019 (Stories, food, and friendship in the kitchen) workshop for Spanish-speaking cancer patients and survivors in Berkeley, Calif. (WCRC via Bay City News)<\/p>\n
When Deborah Yager was first diagnosed with cancer about four years ago, she was, like millions before her, understandably gripped by uncertainty and fear.<\/p>\n
The now-71-year-old Castro Valley resident was tired but otherwise asymptomatic and had no idea that a CT scan for an unrelated medical concern would reveal a growing endometrial cancer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was discovered on a fluke,\u201d Yager said. \u201cWhen you become a cancer patient, for most of us, it is just such a shock and throws everything up in the air about what you\u2019re going to do with your life and it\u2019s very scary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Early on, she ended up undergoing surgery and doing \u201cheavy duty chemotherapy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI call that whole stage \u2018free fall,’\u201d she said. \u201cYou feel like everything\u2019s out of your control and you\u2019re trying to get a foothold or a handhold to stop and think and try to figure everything out.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when Yager wishes she would have first learned about the Berkeley-based Women\u2019s Cancer Resource Center, a nearly 40-year-old organization dedicated to helping patients in Contra Costa and Alameda counites that on Wednesday announced a major expansion.<\/p>\n
Instead, she traversed her first year as a cancer patient like many people do, building up a support system of friends and family and navigating the maddening complexities of the American health care system while trying to maintain a positive outlook.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t until about a year after my initial diagnosis that I learned about the Women\u2019s Cancer Resource Center,\u201d Yager said.<\/p>\n
WCRC put her in contact with a metastatic cancer support group that meets weekly and it fundamentally changed her life.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat support was the one that made the difference for me, being able to go through this journey with other women walking the same path,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Yager said she has benefited from WCRC\u2019s food programs, where people learn how to cook nutrient-rich meals, and has been impressed with its other offerings, including yoga, drawing and other kinds of classes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the most wonderful, loving, kind environment and they make themselves available to the people who need it most, reaching out in the best ways to women, women of color, women of low income,\u201d Yager said. \u201cThey are truly committed to helping the people who need it most.\u201d<\/p>\n
Similar experiences and a wide array of programs and services will soon be expanded throughout the East Bay thanks in part to a recent $2.5 million grant from the Action for Women\u2019s Health fund, which aims to improve women\u2019s mental and physical health globally.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will be focusing on the expansion of our services where people have a harder time accessing services and increasing our capacity to serve more people,\u201d WCRC executive director Amy Alanes said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The money will help WCRC \u201cdeepen navigation services for Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and broaden wellness offerings\u201d across the region, according to the organization\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n
It will also help WCRC intensify its focus on communities with higher rates of cancer and a paucity of services, like Antioch, Pittsburg and Bay Point, and key areas in East and West Oakland, including the Fruitvale neighborhood.<\/p>\n
The grant will support WCRC\u2019s ability to provide free counseling, patient navigation, support groups, wellness classes, and other types of assistance for women and caregivers impacted by cancer, including emotional support, reliable information and help in navigating health systems.<\/p>\n
The organization currently provides such services to roughly 1,500 clients every year and in the coming months plans \u201cto embed services within hospitals and community sites\u201d so it can reach more women throughout its service area, according to the announcement.<\/p>\n
The need, it seems, is urgent as more than 34,000 women are living with cancer in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, according to WCRC. While the two counties make up only 36 percent of the Bay Area\u2019s population, they account for 41 percent of the region\u2019s women living with cancer, and Contra Costa County has the highest women\u2019s cancer mortality rate in the Bay Area.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a transformational grant that will allow us to scale up our operation to serve more women,\u201d Alanes said. \u201cWe really are a sacred space for people to get support and we prioritize underrepresented women who have less access to care and support.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the fresh infusion of funds is a key element in the organization\u2019s expansion plans, the need for additional support is ongoing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s still a need for our operating budget, a need for us to raise money to pay for our day-to-day, all of the staff that provide direct program support,\u201d Alanes said. \u201cSometimes the misconception is that the money isn\u2019t needed anymore and that\u2019s very far from the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more information about WCRC, people can visit www.wcrc.org.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Story by Kiley Russell, Bay City News <\/p>\n
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