SWCC Visits Community Cancer Center

Medstar, Sephardic Bikur Holim’s medical referral service has been dedicated to serving the health and medical needs of the Sephardic community for the last 18 year, Recently, Medstar expanded their services by opening a cancer community center; an independently funded project of Medstar.

It was a stormy day, Erev Hanukah, when the Sephardic Women’s Charity Club committee met with Nancy Sutton from the Community Cancer Center. We were there to present the center with a check. We thought this was a great time of year to give them a gift, to take the charity collected from women of our community and donate it to other women. As we toured the center we realized that the cancer center itself is actually the gift to every mother, wife, sister, aunt and friend in our community.

The  Sephardic Women’s Charity Club’s motto has been “together we women can make a difference.” We saw this firsthand with the Cancer Center’s incredibly knowledgeable and dedicated staff—one that offers the latest information and expertise in cancer research.

We started our tour at the hair salon and boutique. The salon offers patients with this life altering illness beautifully styled wigs and a large selection of attractive hats and scarves to choose from. Makeup application and techniques for maintaining healthy skin are also provided. All these services are offered to allow each individual a chance to look and feel their best while undergoing strong medical treatments.

The library and resource room contains the most up-to-date information from diagnosis and treatment to nutrition and well care; from both a medical and holistic point of view. Bookcases are lined with books and magazines on health, medical reference, brochures and DVD’s.

The integrative therapy room, with its therapeutic colors, calming music, and relaxation candles is where patients receive much needed reiki massage therapy, yoga and so much more. Appointments are made and therapists are brought in on a daily basis.

We then sat with Nancy Sutton and Sabrina Mizrahi, therapist and social worker. They explained how they match up patients with individuals who have gone through similar experiences; providing much needed moral support for the patients. The center practically holds their hands and walks them through the entire process, while providing counseling for their families when needed.

Every month, there are new programs and events at the center. A typical month’s calendar includes lectures by top physicians, free cancer screenings, exercise, nutritional cooking classes, laughter therapy sessions and so much more. When we left, we didn’t feel the gloomy rainy day. Instead, our hearts were filled with hope.

Medstar, a medical referral agency, has always been dedicated to educating community members on health care and is now dedicating itself to helping on a more personal level. They are there to assist and guide with the best medical care possible, as well as take care of personal and emotional needs.

Sephardic Women’s Charity Club is dedicated to empowering women to give tzedeka in unity so more organizations like Medstar and  the Community Cancer Center can be helped.

Please call or e-mail us to receive your pouch or to join our committee, so we may continue to do this monthly hesed together.

We can be reached at swcc18@gmail.com or (347) 559-7922 or by contacting any of the committee members directly, they are: Jane Choueka, Barbara Haber, Rebecca Kraiem and Loraine Mishan along with Rabbi Eli Mansour.