Hospital opens cancer survivorship center
Nestled on the second floor of a medical office building, between two family practice suites, sits Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital’s new Canopy Cancer Survivorship Center.
Intentionally designed to look like the antithesis of a sterile clinic, the center looks like something from the pages of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Big, cushy couches, a state-of-the-art kitchen with a massive island, towering bookcases dotted with decorative bird figurines and a glass wall depicting a forest scene — complete with trees, birds and deer — were carefully selected to make the space aesthetic and inviting.
The survivorship center — the first of its kind in the Houston area — is intended to be a haven and resource center for cancer patients and their caregivers.
“There are other needs involved with cancer treatment,” said Carolyn Allsen, an oncology nurse
navigator who will manage the Canopy programs. “There’s so much else that makes the whole person.”
Canopy is intended to cater to the needs that are peripheral to the medical treatment cancer patients undergo. It will host healthy cooking demonstrations, yoga and pilates classes, art and dance therapy, a knitting club, support groups, massage therapy and a number of activities. It will also include a resource library with access to medical databases where patients and their loved ones can research the latest in medical discoveries and treatments.
While the survivorship center has been a dream of Memorial Hermann’s for three years, it took generosity from the community to make it a reality, said Josh Urban, The Woodlands hospital’s chief executive officer.
The hospital’s In the Pink of Health committee, which hosts an annual fundraising luncheon, as well as donors from the community, provided the funds to get the center off the ground. The furniture was donated by Laurie’s Home Furnishings in Tomball and the design services were volunteered by Woodlands-based Mary Ross Custom Homes.
Furthermore, all of the programs are given by local instructors, chefs, masseuses and other professionals who volunteer their time to work with those touched by cancer. All of Canopy’s services are free to any community member who has been touched by cancer.
“This couldn’t exist without philanthropy,” Urban said.
The 3,000-square-foot facility, in addition to the homey kitchen and common spaces, includes a small support group room, a consultation room for one-on-one counseling, a children’s playroom with a full-wall chalkboard on one side and whiteboard on the other, a private massage therapy room and a salon-style dressing room.
As a part of improving the overall quality of life for cancer patients, Canopy not only offers programs for the physical and emotional well-being of the person, but also provides services to help them hold onto their self-confidence.
The center gives Look Better Feel Better makeover demonstrations, complete with beauty product gift bags, and gives breast prosthesis and donated wigs to patients who want them. The wig salon, which resembles a dressing room at a highend department store, will even host “shave parties,” where patients undergoing chemotherapy can bring their friends and family to support them as the try on wigs.
“You empower the patient to be in control, to be normal, to be able to fit in and not have any extra stresses,” Allsen said. “When you’re in control, you cope better.”
While Memorial Hermann has offered several programs for cancer patients, this will be the first time they will have a space of their own. Currently, programs have an average attendance of 15-20 people, Allsen said, but she anticipates that this center will allow them to grow.
“Once we move in here we can do more,” Allsen said. “Canopy will give all these programs a home,” said Amanda Poole, the facility coordinator. “The sky’s the limit.”
The Canopy Survivorship Center opened July 5.