As we head into Fall and kids return to school, it is a busy time for everyone — especially for GW Cancer Center patients, who are also parents. Like any parent, they juggle carpools, homework, and daily responsibilities. But for them, all of this happens while fighting cancer and focusing on recovery.
Janelle Williams, the Access Team Lead for the GW Cancer Center, understands the unique challenges her patients face. She knows they are not only fighting for their health, but also striving to keep life as normal as possible for their families. With this in mind, Williams and her team have developed programs that provide the extra support patients and families need.
One of those patients is Rashelle Helms, a mother of five who is undergoing treatment for stage-4 breast cancer. Helms first came to The GW Medical Faculty Associates (GW MFA) for care 12 years ago while pregnant with her first child. She has been a patient at the GW Cancer Center since her diagnosis six years ago. Earlier this week, she stopped by the GW MFA with her children and shared how much the cancer center team means to her.
“The staff here is like family,” Helms said. “Janelle is my go-to — she’s like a second mom to me. Honestly, I feel like I can call her for anything. I depend on her, and I know I can count on everyone at the GW Cancer Center to make sure I have what I need to stay strong for my kids.”
This year, Williams organized a school supply drive to ensure patients’ children had everything they needed for the school year. Thanks to the generosity of staff, patients like Helms could send their children back to school with full backpacks, ready to succeed.
“Taking care of our patients does not end at treatment,” said Williams. “During the course of a patient’s cancer journey, we get to know them well, and we get to know their families. If helping out a mom or dad with school supplies allows them to save their energy for the fight ahead, then that’s what we’ll do. We are here to support our community of patients, and it’s important they know they can rely on us.”
Beyond school supplies, the GW Cancer Center team comes together throughout the year with clothing drives, food donations, a Thanksgiving meal distribution, holiday toy giving, and winter scarf and hat collections. These efforts reflect a simple truth: care at the GW Cancer Center goes beyond medicine — it is about lifting up patients and their families in every way possible.
The GW Cancer Center team, added Williams, is proud to stand beside its patients, not just in treatment rooms, but also in everyday life providing strength, compassion, and community when it’s needed most.
