Cedars CanSupport/Faire Face is the result of the foresight and dedication of businesswoman and philantrophist Gwendolyn Andrews Nacos. In the fall of 1984, Gwen was diagnosed with advanced bladder cancer. What followed were radical operations, chemotherapy and radiation until, in 1987, she was pronounced cancer free.“People asked me then, as they still do now,” Gwen explains, ‘What led you to start CanSupport, and why do you stay so involved today, so many years later?’ I reply that since I was so fortunate to win my own personal fight with cancer, perhaps I can help others also facing this dreadful disease.” Gwen continues, “When faced with cancer, I was fortunate to have had the constant and close support of my husband, family and friends, as well as the means to engage help at home. While sitting in waiting rooms and lying in hospital beds, I became aware that many cancer patients lacked the resources and support that I was privileged to have.”
In the fall of 1987, at her first meeting as a newly appointed member of the Cedars Cancer Institute Board of Directors, Gwen proposed that the Cedars support her initiative of starting a supportive care service for cancer patients and their families. This new endeavor would function within the framework of the Oncology Department and would offer free-of-charge assistance in those areas that were increasingly being neglected. “With the demands on their time, doctors and nurses just could not do it all,” Gwen reported. “There needed to be something else made available that could help patients with the endless challenges they face.” In January 1988, Cedars launched the CanSupport/Faire Face Program, and today it is a vital and key element of the compassionate cancer care at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC).
With the support of the Cedars Board and staff, Gwen took on the task of overseer, spokesperson and top fundraiser for the Program. She immediately engaged a trained expert and professional who could fulfill the post of Program Coordinator. That initial position has grown over the past twenty-two years to a staff of six, which come from diverse experience and backgrounds that include social work, psychology, creative arts therapy and patient education. These professionals work hand-in-hand with the dedicated and trained volunteers who have grown from the original ‘Group of Seven’ to a team of hundreds providing the numerous services and programs that Cedars CanSupport offers today.
Cedars CanSupport
Helping cancer patients and their families…one person at a time
