GREENFIELD — Twelve-year-old Stella is the kind of person who likes to take action. “I’m doing this for one of my friends, Chloe. She has cancer,” Stella said at this year’s Wheeling for Healing Ride, Walk, Run benefit. “When my Dad told me, I just wanted to sign up right away so we could start raising money.”
And raise money she did. Stella’s Team Chloe reached its $500 goal of raising funds to benefit oncology patients at Baystate Franklin Medical Center. About $51,000 was raised this year, and the funds will remain local to support oncology patients at the hospital. Past donations have been used to purchase state-of-the-art equipment such as new infusion chairs and exam tables to ensure patient comfort, support improvements for a better healing environment, and fund programs such as art therapy and yoga to encourage wholesome healing for patients and survivors.
Bruce Mainville, a nuclear medicine technologist at Baystate Franklin, together with Dr. Howard Natenshon, radiologist at Baystate Franklin, founded Wheeling for Healing in 2008. Both are longtime employees of the hospital and wanted to find a way to provide additional support for patients undergoing cancer treatment.
“Everyone needs team support when coping with a diagnosis of cancer,” Mainville said. “Our oncology department is that team, and we can be a part of it as well. We all know family members, friends, and colleagues who have battled this disease, and this is a chance to raise funds to honor or remember someone special. It’s rewarding to know that every pledge collected goes to support our local oncology department, serving people right here in our community. These aren’t strangers; these are our friends, families and neighbors.”
The benefit, held at Greenfield Community College Sunday, offered three different distances and routes for cyclists, ranging from 10 to 50 miles, as well as a 5K for runners and walkers. In addition to these active opportunities, supporters were invited to attend a celebration including lunch, prizes and music. The lawn, tents and tables featured signs with quotes from Baystate Franklin oncology patients. Patient Brenda Chickering’s read, “I’ve never seen a more dedicated and uplifting group than those nurses, doctors, and staff at Baystate Franklin. I can’t really explain how supported and safe I felt throughout the whole treatment. This was real care, not ‘surface’ care. I feel very blessed to have had my treatment at Baystate Franklin and Baystate Medical Center.”
Donations for Wheeling for Healing are still being accepted at baystatehealth.org/wheelingforh.