By David Harry

Staff Writer

South Portland Police Officer Linda Barker said she never visited the Cancer Community Center until after her non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma went into remission.

“There is so much out there I could have benefited from,” said Barker, a 30-year veteran of the police force.

Barker, 53, said she wants people to discover the center before they might need it and has organized the Cancer Resource Open House 5:30 to 8 p.m. June 6 at the center. 

The open house, designed for visitors to stay a few minutes or a few hours, will feature workshops on staying fit during cancer treatments, acupuncture for pain relief, diets to boost the immune system and door prizes that include gift certificates to local restaurants. The center is located at 778 Main St. in South Portland.

“The natural thing is to put up walls because cancer is a scary word,” Barker said.

Barker was diagnosed four years ago with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which attacks the immune system and lymph nodes.

The diagnosis came when Barker was especially busy at work, at home and working toward a master’s degree, she recalled. She said doctors could not find a problem until a colonoscopy detected tumors in her small intestine. The cancer also was found in her bone marrow. Barker had six months of intensive chemotherapy and 18 months of maintenance treatments before the cancer was declared in remission.

“One day I am fine. The next day I have stage four cancer. The next week I am getting chemotherapy. We were really just blown away,” Barker said.

Barker was used to helping people in crisis and found it hard to be the person in need of support. She said the open house will be a way for non-cancer patients to understand what a patient endures.

Fellowship and faith played big roles in coping, Barker said. Barker now leads a cancer support group at her church in Gorham. She said the congregation brought food after her chemotherapy treatments and pastors reinforced her spiritual perspective.

“It’s my faith in God. I think there is a plan here because of the relationships I have in the community,” Barker said.

Fellowship is the goal at Community Cancer Center, which opened in 1998, said center Outreach Coordinator Amy Anderson.

It was founded by Jane Staley, who was in treatment for ovarian cancer and died in 2001. Anderson said the center has since served more than 4,000 people with free classes, activities and lectures. Providing free services and support is critical, Anderson said, as is allowing those receiving the services to stay as anonymous as they wish.

“We hope there is an understanding the center is not just for people in treatment,” Anderson said.

Cancer is frightening, but not necessarily fatal, she said – the center focuses on wellness, networking and support for patients and caregivers.

Scarborough resident Dr. Jill McCollum attended a Pilates session Monday at the center and joined more than a dozen women in the stretching and light weight lifting class led by Carol St. Hilaire of Biddeford.

McCollum, a psychotherapist whose husband had prostate cancer, said the Pilates classes are an opportunity to take a break, something essential for caregivers.

“They have to take care of themselves and realize there is a change in the balance,” McCollum said.

South Portland resident Bev Sowerby has been treated for squamous cell skin cancer and said she considers herself luckier than some she has met at the center because her cancer is treatable and less serious than the heart transplant she had 20 years ago.

Laughter comes easily to Sowerby, who said she visits the center four or five days a week for the companionship.

The center operates on an annual budget of about $500,000 and offers free art and exercise classes, workshops, support groups and evening lectures and a “buddy” program that matches cancer patients throughout Maine.

Support for the center comes through individual and corporate donations and fundraising events, Anderson said.

Anderson said the center emphasizes laughter and a positive outlook, even when end-of-life care is the topic. It also provides services without physician referrals. 

Barker said the sudden diagnosis and need for immediate treatment was one of the most frightening aspects of fighting cancer. The center, Anderson said, can assist patients and caregivers cope with the initial shock and fear.

She invites anyone who faces a sudden diagnosis to call or visit for advice and learn how to set boundaries to avoid becoming overwhelmed.

“The first response should be empathy – what can I do,” Anderson said.

Barker said her husband, South Portland Police Detective Reed Barker, attended each of her four- to five-hour chemotherapy sessions and department supervisors found ways for her to remain on duty because staying at home was more frustrating.

One reason Barker sought donations of door prizes for the open house was because she recalled how going to lunch after chemotherapy treatments was a reward for the couple.

Registration for the open house is encouraged, but not necessary. Anderson said visitors will see workshop and service providers throughout the office and activity rooms at the center and are encouraged to stay as long as they like. 

The open house also is sponsored by the city of South Portland and the People’s Regional Opportunity Program. For more information or to register for the Cancer Resource Open House, visit CancerCommunityCenter.org or call 774-2200.