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Watch Jamie Shifley, MS, RDN, LDN, Nutrition Manager at Wellness House demonstrate a nutrient dense seasonal dish on WGN Lunchbreak!

For much of the world, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For Wellness House and participants like Justine Kennedy, it’s every month.

Kennedy, a resident of Countryside, was 35 when she received a diagnosis of Stage 2B breast cancer. It wasn’t until after surgery and radiation that Kennedy turned to Wellness House to help her through what is, for many women, the hardest part of recovery.

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.

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.

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.