Cancer Connection Offering Invaluable Support for 25 Years
By Melissa Karen Sances
SPONSORED BY GREENFIELD SAVINGS BANK
Photos Courtesy of Cancer Connection
Published in Northampton Living May 2025
Twenty-five years ago, Deb Orgera received a pamphlet called “When Your Loved One is Dying.” It was meant to help her come to terms with the loss of her sister to cancer. Instead, it called her to action.
While collecting signatures for a Mass Breast Cancer Coalition campaign to get then-President Bill Clinton to declare breast cancer an epidemic, Orgera was interviewed for an article by the “Daily Hampshire Gazette.” A nursing supervisor named Jackie Walker read the piece, and it wasn’t long before the two women teamed up to found Cancer Connection.
Today, under the leadership of Executive Director Chelsea Kline, the Northampton-based nonprofit is dedicated to helping those diagnosed with cancer and their loved ones through free befriending services, integrative therapies and support groups. Through its hybrid programming, the organization serves participants in 64 towns across the nation.
Cancer Connection's support groups are a place for those diagnosed with cancer and their loved ones to connect.
“It is sometimes staggering how great the need is,” says Kline, whose mother was helped by Walker in the nonprofit’s early days. (Today her mother is a faithful volunteer.) Kline refers to Cancer Connection as a “warm haven” that “makes space and time for people to be real with each other,” noting that when people are faced with a life-threatening diagnosis, they can’t always speak freely – and many of their loved ones don't know what to say at all.
Help Us Help You
When people reach out to the nonprofit, they are greeted by befrienders, who provide confidential one-on-one support. The two befrienders on staff field an average of 173 calls per day, introducing about 28 new participants each month to the organization’s many services, which include plant-based cooking classes with Paul Sustick, the owner of Paul & Elizabeth’s restaurant, as well as equine therapy, men’s and young people’s support groups, and free acupuncture and massage. For those who want to help the nonprofit, opportunities abound. The popular Cancer Connection Thrift Shop is open Wednesday through Saturday, and volunteers and supporters are welcome at the organization’s many 25th anniversary events.
On June 14 the Bikes Fight Cancer Charity Ride, started by Meghan and Johnny Morin, will take place in Deerfield. Participants can take a 25- or 50-mile ride, and afterwards can enjoy beer and food trucks at Treehouse Brewery.
Come Share Our Birthday Cake!
Perhaps Cancer Connection’s most notable upcoming event is its Grateful Bed Tour on June 6. Live from a bed in the bed of a truck, the nonprofit will visit locations around the Pioneer Valley. The quirky idea was inspired by local radio personality Monte Belmonte, who camped out in the cold to raise money for Cancer Connection year after year, transitioning to a “bed-in” when the pandemic hit. At this year’s event, there will be food, music, and, in honor of their 25th anniversary, cake at every stop.
Honoring Our Anniversary
On May 11, the nonprofit will host its 15th annual Western Mass Mother’s Day Half-Marathon in Whately. Started by cancer survivor Sue Monahan, the event hosts nearly 500 runners and walkers, cheered on by what Kline calls “an army” of volunteers who cheerfully ring cow bells along the course. A total of 165 people volunteered for Cancer Connection last year.
Other Articles from this Issue…
