Gilda's Club Middle Tennessee

Gilda's Club aims to address the social and emotional needs of children, teens, and adults impacted by cancer. Today, many studies have been done confirming the need for emotional and social support when someone is touched by cancer. The Lance Armstrong Foundation - a partner with Gilda's Club - completed a survey with the results as follows:
• More than half (53%) of respondents agreed that the practical and emotional consequences of dealing with cancer are often harder than the medical issues.
• One-third (33%) said some or very few resources were available to meet their emotional needs, followed by 28 percent for practical issues, like finances and work.
• Seventy percent of respondents have dealt with depression.
• Forty-three percent, potentially 4.3 million people, said they've had to deal with decreased income as a result of the disease.
• Fifty-four percent of respondents have had to deal with chronic pain.
• Fifty-seven percent agree that cancer may leave their body, but it will always be a part of their life.
• Fifty-eight percent of respondents said they've had to deal with a loss or decrease in both sexual desire and sexual function.
• Almost a third (32%) of respondents said they've had to deal with lack of advancement, demotion or job loss as a result of their cancer. Thirty-four percent said they felt trapped in their job by the need to preserve insurance coverage.

Gilda’s Club Middle Tennessee’s evidence-based psychosocial program provides emotional support for anyone affected by cancer from two locations – Midtown and Williamson County. Always free of charge, we offer support groups, lectures, workshops, healthy lifestyles classes, creative arts activities and social activities in a non-residential and homelike setting. In recent years, we have added individual counseling, nutrition counseling, and parent coaching to our offerings. We exist for all people impacted by cancer; any age or gender, whether they are diagnosed or are a friend or family member. Whether it’s a young adult attending our Been There, Done That cancer support group, a parent picking up their young one from guitar lessons or an expressive arts class, a couple attending a nutritional cooking class together, or an individual attending one of a hundred plus activities on our ever-changing calendar, Gilda’s Club is the only place in Middle Tennessee where the entire family can come together to access a community of support.

There is a deep need for a place where people can be together, experience their illness, build community, and be helped in understanding the deepest existential issues of life with cancer. Most importantly, people relish having a place, a ‘club,’ where they can focus on ‘living,’ not fighting an invisible enemy or being a victim. Dealing with and living with cancer maybe the most difficult challenge a person and family faces. Gilda’s Club is helping the community view cancer as a disease that can be lived with while savoring hope and laughter in-between hospital visits and doctors’ appointments.

Three out of every four families will help care for a family member with cancer in their lifetime. The impact of cancer on a family’s life is immeasurable. For over twenty years, Gilda’s Club has existed as a home, a family, and an unparalleled source of comfort and support for thousands of Middle Tennesseans who now believe it is possible to live a good life with cancer, whatever the outcome. As one participant recently shared, “My doctors saved by life. Gilda’s Club saved my sanity and family.” As long as cancer is with us, Gilda’s Club exists to ensure we can face cancer together.

The greatest tools in achieving long term sustainability lie in Gilda's Clubs highly trained, experienced full-time staff of seven with an average tenure of 15 years (Gilda's Club has been open 21 years), a fiscally conservative and fully engaged Board of Directors with 100% giving each year, an effective group of active volunteers, and the strong relationships built within the community especially among donors, foundations, and local cancer related organizations.

Overall, 12,817 individuals and families visited Gilda's Club in 2017. Excluding duplicated visits, we served 3,206 unique individuals facing cancer. Over 221 new participants joined Gilda's Club, coming to us for support for the first time. Participants' cancer types include: 38% breast, 14% blood, 9% gynecologic, 8% lung, 8% brain, 6% colo-rectal, 6% head/neck, 2% pancreatic, 2% prostate, 1% liver, and 6% other cancers. Approximately 920 individuals volunteered with Gilda's Club in 2017.

The numbers speak volumes about our accomplishments, however, numbers are only part of the story. One bigger way to look at our accomplishments is the longevity of participants' involvement at Gilda's Club. Participants become donors and volunteers, connecting to Gilda's Club across generations. Donations and relationships continue long after a family member has passed away because of the impact and difference Gilda's Club makes in their lives. Our biggest accomplishment and means of measuring impact is seeing that people come to Gilda's Club and stay because of the community that is created.