Sid Jacobson JCC's cancer center in East Hills supports patients, survivors

Jasmine Wade said she was ready to give up.

It was last July, and the single mother from Long Beach had an infant at home. But she was unable to work: Her breast cancer had metastasized to her brain and was Stage 4.

Enter the Nancy Marx Cancer Wellness Center at the Sid Jacobson JCC in East Hills.

For the past 17 years, the Marx Center has offered holistic support to those battling cancer from outside the traditional health care system. The center currently serves more than 700 people, offering educational programs, counseling, nutrition services and exercise classes. Its work is funded by various foundations and charities, such as the Manhasset Women’s Coalition Against Breast Cancer. It is one of the many kinds of groups that provide additional coverage for people with cancer, including support groups.

Wade reconnected with Joy Rubel, a cancer wellness social worker at the center she had first worked with in January 2024. Rubel, Wade said in an interview, has been her “saving grace,” connecting her with a number of resources to keep her family clothed, fed and safe.

“Ever since I spoke to her, I never let her go,” Wade, 37, said in a recent interview. “If it wasn’t for her, I probably wouldn’t be here right now.”

Wade was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer in December 2023. She connected with Rubel, a licensed master social worker who helps run support groups and provides counseling, the next month, when she was 33 weeks pregnant and undergoing chemotherapy.

“She came to me scared, alone, a lot of emotions, a lot of unknowns,” Rubel recalled.

Giving network activated

Wade had been working as a supervisor at a nursing home, but she resigned because of the cancer and was unable to pay her bills. Rubel arranged for the center to help pay Wade’s bills, and after she gave birth, provided clothes for her newborn son, Kairo.

Wade’s condition improved and she was declared cancer-free last May. But in July, she was told the cancer had returned and spread to her brain. Her older daughter came home from college to provide support. And Wade called Rubel, who quickly sprang into action.

Soon, strangers were sending Wade meals, diapers and more. Rubel arranged for Kairo to attend day care for free at the Early Childhood JCC Magnolia in Long Beach. And she told Debra Kessler, the Sid Jacobson JCC’s early childhood director, about Wade.

“I reached out to the families in my program who have children a little bit older than the baby,” Kessler said in an interview. Within about two hours, Kessler said, the parents had raised $2,300 in gift cards for grocery stores and agreed to donate clothing to Wade.

'Essential' groups

Natale Raimo, executive director of the American Cancer Society on Long Island, said in an interview that community groups like the Marx Center are "essential" for cancer patients and survivors.

"Oncology visits typically focus on treatment plans and timelines, and that leaves little room to address the emotional, social and practical realities of cancer," Raimo said. "Wellness centers and wraparound services within our community fill those gaps by addressing cancer as a whole-life experience, not just a medical condition. They help people cope with anxiety, isolation, fatigue."

Support groups also offer a variety of benefits. They help cancer patients or people affected by the disease "be with others who have the same type of cancer or similar cancer experiences," according to the National Cancer Institute's website. "Some research shows that joining a support group improves both quality of life and survival."

Rubel acknowledged that there are limits in what she can do. She said she wishes she “could cure” Wade.

“But I can’t,” she said. “I just want to help. I want to bring a smile to her face. I want her to know that her child is going to have food on the table, want to make sure her child is going to be clothed.”

Wade is grateful for the support she’s received from the center, Rubel and Kessler.

“A lot of people have come and gone since my situation has progressed,” Wade said. “People say they’ll help, and then disappear. Or they say they’ll help and they’ll throw all this stuff at me that I don’t understand, or I can’t do myself.

“All I have to do is mention something to Joy, and she’ll call me back with a bunch of resources.”

By Joshua Needelman

joshua.needelman@newsday.com

Joshua Needelman covers the Town of North Hempstead for Newsday. A Long Island native and University of Maryland graduate, his work has appeared in publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post.