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Home » Hinsdale’s Wellness House marks 35 years of ‘life-changing programs’ for cancer patients

Hinsdale’s Wellness House marks 35 years of ‘life-changing programs’ for cancer patients

    Adults and children play lawn games in a backyard with a gray house in the background on a sunny day.

    Wellness House set anchor in Hinsdale 35 years ago and has served more than 50,000 people in that time. Its stated mission is to be “a community where all people affected by cancer thrive. Offered at no cost and as a complement to medical treatment, our programs educate, support, and empower participants so they will improve their physical and emotional well-being.” The fact that Wellness House began in a small Hinsdale House and has maintained its presence in a house setting, rather than a different type of structure, for the past several years at 131 N. County Line Road is not a coincidence.

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    Tall floral centerpiece with green foliage and hanging glass ornaments on a table in an elegantly decorated venue with blurred lights in the background.

    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.

      A woman and a man are smiling and posing closely together outdoors, with other people blurred in the background.

      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.

        A large ballroom event with elegantly set tables full of guests, floral centerpieces, and three women posing together on stage beside a blue “WELLNESS” sign.

        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.