Penny Tree Place helps children, families deal with cancer

Tammie Smith
Published: March 21, 2009

Easing the cancer ordeal New support center helps kids, families cope with the disease

Volunteers with the Association for the Support of Kids with cancer have redone rooms at VCU Medical Center to make them more welcoming for the young patients and their families.

And with the creation of a family support center in the Willow Lawn area, the organization is extending its reach into the community.

The Penny Tree Place Family Support Center For Children with Cancer and Serious Blood Disorders held an opening celebration yesterday at the facility at 5211 W. Broad St.

"At times [families] may not want to be in a hospital environment but want to just be able to have fun and support each other through the journey in a special place," said Jim Eck, a vice president for Dominion Resources and president of the association, which goes by the acronym ASK.

ASK, a nonprofit, was started in the mid-1970s by parents whose children had been diagnosed with cancer.

The center was four years in planning. Bernstein Cos. owns the building and paid most of the $35,000 renovation cost, said Anne Cuomo, ASK executive director. The Dominion Foundation and other private donors covered the remaining costs and furnishings, totaling about $25,000, Cuomo said.

The 2,400-square-foot center is warm and inviting. Cuomo said it's set up for largeand small-group interaction, with two offices that become counseling rooms when staff members are not there.

Volunteers and staff members are collecting materials for a resource room, and the center is used for specialized tutoring for students having problems related to treatment. Future plans include holding small workshops/conferences for families, medical and educational professionals, as well as possible leisure-time activities to relieve stress. The space also is being opened to others. For example, a bereavement group has held meetings there.

Already, families have found a place that supports healing.

"We go to the discussion groups every month," said Marion Diesel, whose daughter Ally, 13, has acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Ally was diagnosed with leukemia when she was 20 months old. After 2½ years of treatment, she went into remission, only to have the cancer return in August 2007.

During the decade in between, Diesel said, medical care has changed dramatically and so has support services for families. Ally has a sister and two brothers, all older.

"The first go-around it was trial and error. There weren't any programs available for Ally," Diesel said. "She was so young, and her siblings, they were so young. There wasn't anything for parents. There was a lot of loneliness. You felt lost."

Penny Tree Place, named from a series of stories written by ASK volunteer E. Payson Jones, provides opportunities for talking about those experiences. The center has support groups for parents, siblings and patients.

There also are times at Penny Tree Place where the focus is on fun, such as a casino night teen party and a sleepover.

"The girls were able to take a friend and get their hair done," Diesel said. "My daughter took her sister. It was such a bonding moment for them. . . . They are two years apart. Her sister is 15, and she has her social life. Ally sits home a lot."

Diesel still gets emotional when describing seeing her teenage daughters sitting and holding hands as they got their hair and nails done.

Eck, president of ASK since 2003, got involved with the organization when his son Jake was diagnosed with cancer in 2000. His son is doing well, about to graduate from high school and go to college.

"ASK supported me and my family through the pediatric-cancer journey," Eck said. "They supported us through various activities. . . . Our mission is to make life better for children with cancer. This creates a wonderful home to be able to meet, learn and enjoy each other."

Cuomo said the association's services are needed more than ever. ASK supports -- to the tune of approximately $250,000 -- the salary of a psychologist, chaplain and child-life therapist at VCU's pediatric-cancer program.

When the group started in the mid-1970s, the focus was on helping families through bereavement, Cuomo said. Today many more children are surviving cancer. Often, though, there are effects of treatment that don't show up until years later.

"Our focus is on survivorship," Cuomo said.

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