FORT SMITH — Martha Pendleton admires everyone with the courage to walk through the front door of the Donald W. Reynolds Cancer Support House.
It signifies a willingness to fight, that these men, women and children stricken with cancer are not giving up on life. To Pendleton, who has been the executive director of the support house since October, that’s awfully impressive.
“We say survivorship begins the day you’re diagnosed,” Pendleton says.
“We want them to look at that [diagnosis] positively.”
Well before a visitor gets to the survivor wall, where pictures of people who have beaten cancer are displayed, it’s clear that everythingin the 22,000-square-foot Reynolds support house is about fighting.
It starts the moment patients enter for the first time. They’re taken to a comfortable living room,where they’re registered and educated about the house’s services. They’re also asked about their needs.
Often that f irst encounter is with one of the house’s 46 regular volunteers, many of whom are cancer survivors. The support house has just four full-time employees.
“Our volunteers do so much. The whole purpose of this is to create a warm, relaxing setting,” Pendleton says. “The setting puts them at ease. Research shows the better emotional support you get, the more likely you are to survive.”
The first floor also has a library with many popular titles. Patients are allowed to take books for “as longas they want.”
Also downstairs is the “beauty suite,” which has a large number of wigs and hats for patients with chemotherapy-related hair loss. Wigs are available in many styles and colors, and there are also mastectomy bras for breast-cancer patients.
Most who go through chemotherapy experience hair loss, and that, Pendleton says, is often one of the most traumatic parts of treatment. Beauticians help with ordering wigs, as well as styling.
“This is one of my favorite parts of the house,” Pendleton says of the suite. “Chemotherapy affects your physical appearance so much. Even people who have the money to go out and buy a wig, to have to go out and do that in a very public place, is hard. Here they can come in and [have it] be private.”
Upstairs there is an arts and crafts room with a kiln, as well as an exercise room where yoga and tai chi classes are held. All services arefree, and gas cards are provided for people who must travel more than 30 miles to get to the house.
Throughout the house, there are rooms where support groups meet. There are 21 support groups in all, 11 traditional discussion groupsand 10 creative groups, with activities including pottery, art and yoga.
The house was constructed in 2000 with a $2.7 million grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. Since its opening, the facility has helped more than 2,600 patients through what can be the most difficult stretch of their lives.
The house annually plays host to one major fundraising event, Wine and Roses, set next year for April 10. More financial support comes from corporations and individuals.
Even in tough economic times, some people continue to send a few dollars every month. Cancer, after all, touches everyone.
So does a supporting hand.
More information about the Donald W. Reynolds Cancer Support House is available at (479) 782-6302 or 800-262-9917, or at reynoldscancer supporthouse.org.
Northwest Profile, Pages 37 on 12/27/2009