During her exam, her doctor found a suspicious lump in her breast and immediately sent her to Rush University Medical Center for more testing. It was there that she received her diagnosis of triple-negative stage 2 breast cancer. It’s also where she learned about Wellness House, a place that over the next year would strengthen her with information, fuel her with confidence, and energize her to embrace life with renewed excitement. Although it’s located just seven minutes from Kathryn’s home, she had never heard of Wellness House until her care team at Rush recommended it. What she found there was more than she could have imagined or expected. “I’ve leaned on Wellness House for quite a bit,” said Kathryn, who made her first visit in March 2024. In the year since, she has attended a wide variety of programs.
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Light the Way’ for Wellness House and the year ahead – The Hinsdalean
This year, the Wellness Ball on Saturday, Oct. 24, kicks off the year in high style at the Ritz-Carlton in Chicago. The theme, “Light the Way,” reflects the guiding role that Wellness House plays in helping people navigate the emotional, physical and practical challenges of cancer. This year’s chairs – Dr. Angela Crowley and Dr. R. Webster Crowley; Jennifer Carmody Haunty and Jake Haunty; and Dr. Gale England Smith and Stephen Smith – all of Hinsdale, have deeply personal reasons to step into leadership roles this year. If it’s true that everyone has been affected by cancer in one way or another (including this columnist), it’s doubly so for this year’s chairs, three of whom are doctors and three of whom lost their spouses to cancer.
Finding Hope Again – Light the Way Wellness House Ball
For Jennifer Carmody Haunty and Jake Haunty, Wellness House represents far more than a place. It represents connection, community and the reminder that no one has to face cancer alone.Although their paths would eventually intersect, each first experienced cancer through profound personal loss.
Jennifer’s journey began in June 2012 when her husband, Matt, was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma at age 38. At the time, the couple had three young children, with a fourth on the way. After a year in remission, the family moved to Hinsdale in July 2013. One year later, Matt’s cancer returned, and he passed away while preparing for a stem-cell transplant.
In This Together – Light the Way Wellness House Ball
Every cancer story is as unique as a thumbprint. One part medicine, one part mystery.
Yet, the journeys for those living with cancer and those who love them are often achingly similar. At first, it feels isolating. Unfair. There are good days and bad days, some more hopeful than others. Without warning, Plan A can turn into Plan B, and then C. No dates can be set other than your next treatment. And as this goes on, weeks turning into months and months turning into years, the emotional toll can be just as impactful as the disease itself.