The Sandra J. Wing Healing Therapies Foundation provides healing therapies, personalized navigation, and education at no cost to cancer patients who reside in Tri-Valley cities of Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin, San Ramon, and Danville. Though there are many hundreds of healing therapies and wonderful treatment options, the Sandra J. Wing Healing Therapies Foundation focuses on the five therapies that its founder, Sandra J. Wing, experienced during her cancer journey: acupuncture, acupressure, therapeutic massage, guided/visual imagery, and deep breathing meditation. Many scientific studies have shown that these techniques offer therapeutic benefits and can provide relief from neuropathy, anxiety, stress, aches, fatigue, nausea, and pain.

“We are the only organization in the greater San Francisco Bay Area that provides complementary healing therapies to cancer patients regardless of gender, age, or socioeconomic status,” says Sandra J. Wing, CEO. “As the pins that we distribute and wear at events say, ‘Cancer Sucks.’ Our goal in providing access to healing therapies is to provide support and relief to cancer patients and help them feel more like themselves again. It is so gratifying when beneficiaries and their families thank us for being a bright spot during a difficult time.”

The foundation primarily supports cancer patients by issuing grants to cover the costs of therapy from more than 25 approved providers throughout the Tri-Valley. These therapies can play an integral role in reducing the toxic side effects of chemotherapy and radiation and therefore allow patients to complete their prescribed treatments, according to Wing.

“Covid-19 has posed many new challenges this past year, as is the case for so many organizations and businesses,” she notes. “Of course, cancer doesn’t stop, and so neither can we. We are grateful to be working alongside wonderful providers who are experienced in working with cancer patients and who are keeping their unique needs in mind as they reopen and implement new safety precautions.”

One local beneficiary was approved for a grant in February 2020 while she was undergoing chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. Chemotherapy left her with extreme muscle stiffness and reduced mobility. Even though the woman received her grant just before shelter in place orders went into effect, she was able to receive acupuncture treatments, as acupuncture was considered an essential service. Afterward, she thanked the foundation for the grant and for the “amazing” clinic staff that carefully followed safety procedures and provided life-enhancing acupuncture. Today, the woman is in remission and considered cancer-free.

“Our work centers on removing barriers to accessing healing therapies, both financial and otherwise,” says Wing. “While many scientific studies have shown that they offer therapeutic benefits, we find that many people either don’t know about them or may be hesitant to try them. I myself was unfamiliar with these therapies before friends and doctors suggested them during my cancer journey. Not infrequently, we hear from our beneficiaries that they had no idea how helpful the treatments would be or that they waited a long time before reaching out to the foundation. This is why we love sharing beneficiaries’ testimonials. We hope that real stories from real people in the community will resonate in a way that perhaps scientific studies may not.”

The Sandra J. Wing Healing Therapies Foundation is a volunteer-based organization. It  relies on volunteers for help with event planning and staffing, website and database administration, grant writing, graphic design, and much more. It also relies on fundraising events and donors to meet its goal of helping cancer patients. The foundation’s next in-person event is scheduled for October 2021; supporters are welcome to donate to the foundation via its website.

“If you know of anyone undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatments for cancer and residing in the Tri-Valley, please encourage them to apply for help from the Sandra J. Wing Healing Therapies Foundation,” says Wing.

For more information about the Sandra J. Wing Healing Therapies Foundation, please visit www.healingtherapiesfoundation.org.