By Kelly Hendershot, LGSW, LMSW 

In March 2020, I was the program director at Gilda’s Club Quad Cities (now CSC Iowa and NW Illinois at Gilda’s Club). I had a short, eight-minute commute to our beautiful, cozy clubhouse that overlooked the Mississippi River. We all know what happened next, the pandemic forced many of us to work from home. 

While it can sound idyllic to some to work from home with the imagined luxury of multitasking on household chores between calls, it was anything but for me. I was in a small, one-bedroom apartment. There was no room for an office area, and ergonomics were out the window as I shifted from working at my dining room table to sitting on my sofa with a TV tray to hold my laptop.  

Most of all, as a direct service provider I missed the in-person interactions with our participants. Sure, there was still engagement. I facilitated support groups via Zoom, educational programs saw an uptick in attendance, and I personally benefited from being the Zoom host during meditation classes. But the feeling of claustrophobia my small apartment induced made me realize that I was not prepared for this for the long haul.  

Five months later, I accepted the wonderful opportunity to move to Washington, DC, to work for Cancer Support Community Headquarters (CSC HQ). I was focused on finding a home that had a space that could make working from home feel “just right.”  

I knew I would be moving to an apartment as the pandemic made it hard to hunt houses virtually. Being unfamiliar with DC, an apartment also seemed the best bet until I got to know the area better. My criteria to support my working from home included the following: a large enough (still one bedroom, I was shifting from Iowa to DC cost of living after all) apartment to accommodate a desk, proper office chair, bookcase, and filing cabinets, as well as windows to allow for plenty of natural light. Bonus, my apartment has a balcony, so I easily step outside for breaks during work. I also wanted to be near the Metro for when we returned to the office, and near the airport because my job would eventually involve frequent travel. I was able to meet all my top criteria in the move. 

Sometime later, rather than force staff back to the office, CSC HQ decided we could choose to work from the office, work from home, or select a hybrid option. What to do… 

Now, as implied above, in-person interaction with others was one of the things I missed most when the pandemic first led to my reason for working from home. However, the role at CSC was more administrative than direct service. And by this time, I was traveling regularly to visit our 196 worldwide locations. I realized I could have the best of both worlds and chose to continue to work what I consider hybrid for me. 

Since my day is primarily meetings and 1:1 calls with leaders at our network partner locations, my apartment gives me plenty of privacy for those interactions. It’s just me and my dog, Gabby, so I don’t have to worry about someone accidentally walking behind me and being caught on camera. Nor do I have to wear headphones because there’s no one to disrupt or keep a call private from.  

I can also focus on my self-care easily by working from home. For instance, I worked for a long time with my chiropractor to ensure my desk, chair and monitors were set up best for me. I can use essential oils to bring myself calm during the day without worrying about the smell bothering someone. I also have more time to work out because I’m not commuting.  

But you can’t work at a place called the Cancer Support Community without really appreciating the feeling of community. Generally, I am traveling at least twice a month to visit one of our North American locations. That’s where I get to the vibrant work each CSC or Gilda’s Club location brings to the network in action.  

I’m proud that an organization with 40+ years of community being synonymous with in-person was able to turn on a dime to provide quality virtual psychosocial support opportunities to those impacted by cancer.  

I’m also proud that we didn’t take a step back. It would have been quite easy to open our red doors again while closing our virtual ones. But for CSC, how people found and engaged in community had changed, so hybrid was our best path forward.  

In 2022, 26% of visits were in-person, 69% were virtual, and 5% were on demand visits across our network. Children, teen and family programs had much better attendance in-person since youths were still bouncing back from Zoom fatigue. But the network began to find its stride in what to offer as in-person only, virtual only, or in a hybrid format based on their specific community’s needs. 

In 2023, we saw more of a balance in how participants chose to engage. In-person visits increased to 42%, 55% of visits remained virtual, and 3% were on demand. We’re still compiling data for 2024. 

Our vision at CSC is that everyone impacted by cancer receives the support they want and need throughout their experience. Some want in-person connection. Others want the convenience offered by virtual programs. One size fits all does not exist when it comes to coping with cancer, so we plan to evolve and innovate to continue to meet changing needs. 

Find a Cancer Support Community or Gilda’s Club near you.