Hundreds gathered Oct. 1 for the 18th annual Unite & Fight Cancer Walk & 5K Run to raise money for Cancer Resource Centre, a beacon for those coping with the disease.
Thanks to the success of events such as the Unite & Fight Cancer Walk & 5K Run, the Cancer Resource Centre (CRC) has been able to expand its services outside of its Munster headquarters and into other communities around the Region.
“We’ve been able to offer services in both Lake and Porter counties,” said Marie Macke, executive director of Oncology Services for Community Healthcare System and administrator of Community Cancer Research Foundation. “In East Chicago, we just started a patient and family support group at St. Catherine Hospital. We’ve really been focusing on bringing more services to patients and their families. We promote a supportive care model, which means offering an array of social services, financial counseling, nutrition, psychosocial counseling and anything else patients need to support them in their journey.”
The event, organized by Community Healthcare System and the Community Cancer Research Foundation, raises funds to support the Cancer Resource Centre and builds awareness about the different treatment and support options available at the center.
“This year is our Cancer Resource Centre’s 20th anniversary, and we’ve run this event every year, with the exception of two because of COVID-19 cancellations,” said M. Nabil Shabeeb, MD, chairman for the CRC and general surgeon with Community Healthcare System. “We’ve had great support from the community. At one event, we had more than 1,000 people participate. It’s a fun function, and it helps support the mission of the Cancer Resource Centre.”
The walk began with a ceremonial lap around the football field at Munster High School’s John E. Friend Athletic Complex, with survivors and their supporters marching along with an accompaniment of bagpipers.
Tina Campbell, a retired Community Healthcare System employee, has been volunteering at the walk for all 18 events. She loves seeing the supportive crowd take to the track.
“It feels so good to be a small part of this. Everybody has their own story and journey,” she said. “Now that I’m a cancer survivor myself, I can feel that even more. It’s come full circle, and I think it’s meaningful to see how these families and friends come together to support each other.”
Throughout her years with Community Healthcare System, Campbell saw the positive impact Cancer Resource Centre has on patients and their families. It serves as a place where everyone, regardless of whether they are a Community Healthcare System patient or local resident, can access free support and resources to help them face their diagnosis. The center’s services include various support groups, yoga classes, art therapy and a library filled with informative books and other periodicals related to coping with cancer.
“The CRC gives patients choices, it gives them knowledge, and it gives them a hand to hold,” Campbell said. “Sometimes people just want to feel like they’re not alone, and the center provides that in so many ways.”
Community Cancer Research Foundation, in addition to supporting the Cancer Resource Centre’s mission, has expanded its research efforts since the COVID-19 pandemic, Macke said.
“We have almost 300 patients who have benefited from clinical trials since April 2022,” she said. “It’s incredible. We’re proud to bring that close to home for our patients.”
To learn more about Cancer Resource Centre and Community Cancer Research Foundation, visit myccrf.com. For more on Community Healthcare System, see COMHS.org.
