Quarter century of 'Hope. Renewal. Support.': Candy's Place cancer wellness center celebrates milestone anniversary

May 7—For Cathy Gourley, the value of a visit to Candy's Place goes beyond its free services for people with cancer and their caregivers.

It gives the breast cancer survivor a place to talk about her experiences with people who truly understand.

The 72-year-old Kingston resident came to the cancer wellness center in Forty Fort earlier this year. Gourley had finished her own chemotherapy and radiation treatment, but then her husband's prostate cancer returned for a third time.

Knowing they had to face cancer again felt like a kick in the gut, she said, and she didn't want to do it alone. So, she called Candy's Place.

"It's a real emotional boost. It was for me," Gourley said. "It makes you feel like I'm in control of this, and I'm among people who have done this and survived it."

This year, Candy's Place celebrates 25 years of enhancing patients' treatment with programs that care for the mind, body and soul, continuing the hope its namesake, the late Candice "Candy" Vincent-Mamary, had for something good to come out of her fight against cancer.

The nonprofit will mark this milestone Saturday, May 13, with its Annual Walk at 9:30 a.m. Registration for the 2-mile walk through Forty Fort starts at 8:30 a.m., with an opening ceremony at 9. Walkers can register online at cancerwellnessnepa.org for $25.

As part of the celebration, Candy's Place plans to unveil its new logo and other rebranding efforts. Before the walk, the center will hold its free Party in the Park on Friday, May 12, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at Betty Mascelli Park in Forty Fort.

For Candy

Penny Cunningham founded Candy's Place in memory of her sister in 1998. Despite leading a healthy lifestyle and not being a smoker, Vincent-Mamary died of lung cancer.

Loved ones remember the late Vincent-Mamary as a beloved mother, wife, daughter and sister, compassionate and committed social worker and friend to all. She upheld the mantra "No negativity in my aura" throughout her illness.

Afterward, family and friends gathered around Cunningham's kitchen table with plans to fulfill Vincent-Mamary's final wish with a resource center for people with cancer and their loved ones.

Over time, Candy's Place grew into its current location at 190 Welles St., Suite 166, Forty Fort, with programs focused on movement and healing arts, and a boutique/haberdashery for patients to get wigs, hats and more.

Cunningham, who now lives outside of Pittsburgh, found it important to offer these services free of charge and include caregivers since she saw firsthand the stress a diagnosis takes on the whole family. Luckily, the community welcomed them with open arms.

"It just grew and grew, and if you would have told me at that time we would still be in existence 25 years later, I would have told you you're crazy," Cunningham said. "We're not the (American) Cancer Society, we're not the (Susan G.) Komen foundation ... I just was lucky enough to have some good people that worked with us and a decent board of directors, and it was all just done on passion."

Finding support

Many clients, like Gourley, come to Candy's Place with a support network in their family and friends and supplement that with the center's staff and volunteers. For others who don't have that personal support, everyone at Candy's Place plays a bigger role, Director Tom Ruskey said.

They typically meet people at two of the most traumatic times: immediately after receiving their diagnosis when there's 100 questions swirling in their mind, or when they start losing their hair during chemotherapy, he said.

Clients take comfort in speaking with cancer survivors at Candy's Place like Reflexologist Dave Jenkins and Support Services Specialist Melissa Ostroskie, who also is a client. Jenkins went through colon and liver cancer, while Ostroskie had breast cancer.

For Ruskey, Candy's Place is special because it helped his mother, Mary Ruskey, through pancreatic cancer. His mother previously beat ovarian cancer and won against pancreatic cancer, too, earning a reputation as the "Cookie Lady" at Candy's Place along the way.

She died on his third day working at the center, and some of their final conversations were about his new job.

"Everybody here, from the staff, the volunteers, providers, we've all been touched by cancer in some way, shape or form," he said.

At any given time, the center has between 300 and 400 active clients, plus their caregivers. About 92% are women, and 45% of those are breast cancer patients, but Ruskey emphasized that Candy's Place serves people 18 and over with any type of cancer. Parents or caregivers of children with cancer can also use the services at Candy's Place.

Inside and out

Candy's Place also offers what Ruskey calls a spa for people with cancer. Patients and their caregivers can get a massage and facial. They also can come for reflexology sessions, Reiki therapy and vibrational sound therapy.

"You obviously are going through an awful lot, and the concept behind it is that if you relieve stress and tension, your body can adapt to what you're going through, either the surgeries, the chemotherapy, the radiation, and heal better and adapt better to it," Ruskey said.

A boutique/haberdashery at Candy's Place lets patients choose two free wigs, which they can swap out whenever they like. Most people take one wig that's similar to their regular hairstyle, and another for fun, like a hot pink bob.

"This is where we really get to know people," Ruskey said. "They come here and they're traumatized. You can imagine what it's like losing your hair. By the time they're done trying on wigs, they're laughing, they're hugging us. It's an unbelievably magical place."

They also give out hats, turbans and anything else someone might need, like seat belt covers for those who get a port implanted in their chest for chemotherapy.

Additionally, Candy's Place offers a fitness center with one-on-one personal training. Patients can sign up for gentle yoga and tai chi/qigong as well, either one-on-one or in small groups.

Clients can attend cancer support groups with Candy's Place, though a few remain on hold. Since people with cancer are a vulnerable population, the center keeps COVID-19 restrictions in place, including masking and no large groups. For this reason, its art therapy programs also have been on hold, Ruskey said.

Jenkins said it's amazing to see the impact of these services on patients. A woman once told him, "I have to go to the doctor, I have to go for treatment, but I get to go to Candy's Place."

"That makes a big difference," Jenkins said.

As for the future of Candy's Place, Ruskey said they're working on a program specifically for veterans with cancer. Thinking long term, they hope to more conveniently serve clients from outside of Luzerne County with satellite operations, he added.

What he knows for sure is that Candy's Place will continue touching the lives of countless people with cancer in the region.

"There's amazing medical advances being made. There are great doctors and medical facilities here in the region and elsewhere, but almost as important to that is the support you receive when you're going through this journey," Ruskey said.

Contact the writer: bwilliams@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5107; @BWilliamsTT on Twitter.

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