The Cancer Wellness Center of NEPA proved to be a vital resource for the late Mary Ruskey, who fought ovarian cancer for 21 years and pancreatic cancer for seven years.
The center provided her with unique wellness services for free.
“She came here to this facility during her pancreatic cancer journey and fell in love with this place,” said her son, Tom Ruskey, who became the director of the Cancer Wellness Center four years ago. “It's my goal to make sure that everybody who walks through these doors for the very first time feels the way that this place made my family feel."
The center is now preparing for its biggest fundraiser of the year, an annual walk. The two-mile trek, set for Saturday, May 10, will begin and end at the center’s headquarters, 190 Welles St., Forty Fort.
Focus on mental, emotional wellness
The fundraiser allows the center to continue to provide free services to cancer patients and their caregivers. Services include support groups, nutritional programs, relaxation therapies, music programs, fitness programs and a wig boutique and haberdashery.
“The doctors care for their physical well-being. We're going to focus on the mental and emotional aspects of this journey,” Ruskey said.
The center meets new clients daily and the demand is higher than ever, board Chair Kim Mericle said in a news release.
The center served nearly 350 clients with cancer last year, Ruskey said. That number has almost doubled. Now, they serve about 600 clients across Northeast Pennsylvania. They also help caregivers, pushing the total number of people served to over 1,000.
“There are only a handful of places across the country that are very similar to what we do, providing these services all under one roof,” Ruskey said. “Even if you look at bigger cities, they don't have facilities like this there that provide these services.”
“The registration cost of the walk, and especially the sponsors that participate in this, really go a long way for us keeping all of our programs absolutely free,” Ruskey added.
Walk co-chair Emily Courtois said numerous local businesses will attend the event in teams. Teams can win awards for largest group, best team spirit and most funds raised.
“The walk provides a great opportunity to build employee camaraderie while helping a very important cause,” Courtois said in a news release.
'Walk Week' activities planned ahead of main event
The center will host two events leading up to the main event during “Walk Week.”
First, there will be a designer purse bingo fundraiser on Sunday, May 4, from 1 to 5 p.m. at VFW Post 283 in Kingston. In addition to bingo, there will be 50/50, basket raffles, door prizes, a food truck and a cash bar at the event.
The second event is a free kickoff party the day before the walk on Friday, May 9, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the Cancer Wellness Center. Attendees can expect a DJ, a basket raffle, food and family-friendly activities.
The day of the walk, participants will be invited to tour facilities, listen to the DJ and shop at the vendor fair and Mother’s Day flower sale. There also will be an after party at Old Fort Brewing Company in Forty Fort.
“We do a really good job at creating a community with all the individuals that we support, and this is just another way for us to expand all that while we support the organization financially,” Ruskey said.
Visit https://cancerwellnessnepa.org/walk/ to register, or register on site. The cost is $25 per person. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., and the walk begins at 9:30 a.m.