Seymour Pink sponsors survivorship program at cancer center

Members of Seymour Pink, from right, Christine Vartko, Mary Deming, and Natalie Moir recently presented a donation of $10,000 to the Center for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital for its Cancer Survivorship Program.  Accepting the donation were, from left, Oncology Social Worker Donna Hayes, Patient Care Navigator Carrie O'Malley, and Dr. Denise Barajas, medical director, Hewitt Center for Breast Wellness at Griffin Hospital. / Contributed photo

DERBY - Seymour Pink recently donated $10,000 to support the Cancer Survivorship Program at the Center for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital.

The donation makes Seymour Pink the inaugural sponsor of the survivorship program, which was started last year as a pilot project with funding provided by grants from The Valley Community Foundation and The Workplace. 

The Cancer Survivorship Program prepares patients to meet their unique medical, psychological, and lifestyle needs as they complete active cancer treatment and transition into a new phase of their lives – survivorship. 

Seymour Pink’s donation will specifically support complementary services offered through the survivorship program, including an exercise program designed specifically for breast cancer survivors, one-on-one consultation time with a cancer-certified exercise trainer, nutritional counseling with a registered dietician, and guest speakers to address topics of interest to patients and their families, Center for Cancer Care staff, and area primary care physicians and specialists.

“We are extremely thankful for this generous gift from Seymour Pink, which will help us grow our survivorship program that patients have thoroughly enjoyed,” said Donna Hayes, LCSW, oncology social worker for the Center for Cancer Care. 

“This donation will strengthen our exercise offerings and help improve the quality of life for our cancer survivors. The benefits of exercise in improving physical functioning and lessening fatigue in cancer patients are well documented and with an estimated 12 million cancer survivors in the United States, the importance of improving their quality of life has grown exponentially.”

Seymour Pink is a non-profit community organization located in Seymour that hosts fundraising events throughout the year to raise breast cancer awareness, fund breast cancer research, provide education and to empower and assist breast cancer patients and their families. 

For more information about Seymour Pink, visit www.seymourpink.com.

For information about the Center for Cancer Care and its Cancer Survivorship program, visit griffincancercenter.org.

This is taken from a press release from Griffin Hospital.

As a participant in Griffin's survivorship program I'd like to add a big thank you to Seymour resident Mary Deming, founder of Seymour Pink, and her nonprofit organization's board for sponsoring this wonderful program for breast cancer survivors. 

The sponsorship means a lot to me as I'm sure it does to all the women I've met through the exercise class and at various programs I've attended. 
Having the support of others with the same diagnosis of breast cancer is priceless.