Gilda's Club Offers Cancer Support
A Unique Meeting Place for People Living with Cancer
It’s Always Something
Cancer research, treatments, and survival rates have improved dramatically from 1989, when comedienne Gilda Radner (best known for her five years on Saturday Night Live) died at age 42 of ovarian cancer. Even so, those living with cancer today would likely still agree with Radner’s famous pronouncement: “It’s always something.”
That simple statement morphed into the title of the best selling memoir Radner penned during the short time she was in remission and just before she died. The book describes the challenges she faced living with ovarian cancer. The comedienne once quipped that cancer gave her “membership to an elite club I’d rather not belong to.” Thus the name “Gilda’s Club.”
Joanna Bull, Radner’s psychotherapist during her cancer treatment, teamed with Radner’s husband Gene Wilder in 1991 to found Gilda’s Club. They were adamant that no one should have to face cancer alone. They envisioned a meeting place where members could join with others to build personal networks of social and emotional support, have access to education and information about cancer, and develop strategies for living with cancer. This support is meant to complement members' medical treatment.
Look for the Signature Red Door
The first Gilda’s Club opened in 1995 in New York City. Since then 30 clubhouses and satellites have been established in 21 cities across North America, with more to come. The signature red door on the front of each building welcomes anyone whose life is touched by cancer.
While Gilda’s Club is not a residential facility, its organizers take pride in its non-medical, homelike setting. Within the clubhouse, club members learn how to live with cancer regardless of the outcome. Each clubhouse offers support and networking opportunities, lectures, and workshops, as well as social events. Members are encouraged to build their own unique and customized community of support. Everything is free.
The clubhouses vary in design and style from one location to another. But all have several features in common once you enter through the welcoming red door: a Living Room for reading and relaxing; Wellness Group Rooms for weekly sessions facilitated by licensed professionals; and Workshop areas for meditation, nutrition, stress reduction and art projects. Noogieland is a playroom designed to meet the needs of children and teens. A large Community Meeting Room, with a kitchen close by, provides space for potluck suppers, jokefests, lectures and other social events. And then there’s the aptly titled “It’s Always Something Room” – a quiet space for personal refuge.
How to Join Gilda’s Club
Membership in the non-profit Gilda’s Club is free and open to all people living with cancer, regardless of their age or circumstance, as well as their families and friends. Those interested in becoming a member can contact a Gilda’s Club in their area and speak with a staff member to schedule a visit to one of the weekly New Member Meetings and a tour of the clubhouse. A follow-up meeting with a licensed professional will then be scheduled to develop a Customized Membership Plan and to select the programs and activities that best support each member.
To find a Gilda’s Club near you or to learn how to start a Gilda’s Club in your city check out the Gilda’s Club Worldwide website.
Gilda Radner's memoir: It’s Always Something by Gilda Radner, Harper Paperbacks, 2000 (original copyright 1989)
