Hope Lodge provides home away from home for cancer patients in New York City and many other cities
CHELSEA, Manhattan (WABC) -- Hope Lodge NYC is celebrating 15 years of operation and the American Cancer Society's 110th birthday.
"Oh my God, it's been such an incredible blessing to me," said Melinda Finn, a cancer patient.
It is the quiet time between treatments that makes what Finn is going through bearable.
Right now she is battling cancer, she has two brain tumors, and she's also a breast cancer survivor.
Finn lives in Rochester and the only way she is able to get the care she needs at Sloan Kettering is by staying at Hope Lodge for free. She considers this her retreat.
"You deal with the cancer at the hospital, come back here and relax, talk to other people about treatment you had what you went through and they get it, not shocked, they get it," she said.
Run by the American Cancer Society, this is a home away from home for cancer patients from all over the world and their families.
Finn's brother Jim has been by her side every step of the way.
Last year, Hope Lodge in Manhattan provided housing for close to 1,000 people, saving roughly $4.6 million which would have been spent on hotel rooms.
WATCH | Lee Goldberg interviews Austin Desavino with more on the Hope Lodge
"Taking that strain off, then all you have to deal with is a little cancer," Finn said.
Cancer rocked Finn's world when she was just 22 and underwent an experimental procedure.
"If they hadn't gone in when they did, I had about two weeks of natural life left," Finn said.
She has been coming to Hope Lodge on and off since 2018.
WATCH | Lee Goldberg interviews David O'Halloran about his cancer journey while at the Hope Lodge
There really is a sense of community that is replicated at more than 30 Hope Lodge communities in places like San Juan, St. Louis, and Boston.
Finn will most likely need care for the rest of her life, yet her tremendous sense of optimism is refreshing. She told Eyewitness News she chooses to look at the bright side of things.
"What cancer gave me was a gift, it heightens your awareness. Little things in life like how beautiful those trees are, how beautiful it is to hear birds singing in the morning. Difficult things happen, painful things happen, they can teach you enormously, positive thing if you let them try to stay open to that," she said.
You can learn more about Hope Lodge at cancer.org/hopelodge.
Cancer Survivor's Day is on June 4, 2023.
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