Cancer patients in the south suburbs have a new ally as they face the reality of what it takes to try to beat the disease, thanks to a resource center that treats the whole patient.
The Northwestern Medicine Living Well Cancer Resources at the St. George Cancer Institute in Orland Park, 15300 West Ave. Suite 108, which quietly opened this spring, celebrated its official opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony last month that highlighted its support services for patients and families affected by cancer. All services are free for patients.
Its holistic aspect is an important aspect of its mission. “Cancer care isn’t just about medicine – it’s about healing the whole person. At the Northwestern Medicine St. George Cancer Institute, we’ve created a space where patients can find strength through movement, expression through art, and connection through community,” Dr. Timothy Kuzel, medical director for oncology at Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital, shared via a news release. “These supportive services are more than amenities. They’re lifelines that help people rediscover joy and resilience during one of the hardest journeys of their lives.”
One breast cancer patient who found that support is Country Club Hills resident DeShunn Bray, and she urges patients and families to use the center as soon as they can.
“Don’t wait because cancer is like a person who you want to punch. ‘Living well’ is exactly what it is. It takes that feeling away from you and you don’t need to be angry, depressed and sad when you’re facing this battle,” she shared. “You need a safe space for this healing and your growth, and Living Well Cancer Center will renew your strength. They treat you like a person and not like a victim.”
Bray was diagnosed with breast cancer after finding a lump Jan. 3. A mammogram already scheduled days later turned up an anomaly that led to a biopsy a week later. “I was pretty much told instantly that I had breast cancer during that visit and it was confirmed a couple days after,” she said. She began chemo to treat stage 3 cancer in her left breast that had a tumor so large it caused neuropathy.
Chemo led to what she called “cancer brain” and falls from losing her balance. Her coworkers at Kates Training Academy and Community Initiatives, where she is deputy director, were understanding, but each Wednesday treatment left her weak and unable to get out of bed on the weekends. A seven-day hospital stay when her colon started bleeding – and a consultation with her oncologist – led to the realization that Bray was too sick for a second round of chemo, so she stopped that at the end of July and had a double mastectomy.
Before the operation, her mother told her the surgeons wouldn’t find the tumor. “I come from a Baptist family, and our faith is very strong, so when she said they wouldn’t find any cancer, any parts of that tumor, I believed it,” Bray said. “Three days later I found out from my breast surgeon they couldn’t find a trace of that tumor – it was completely gone. It (had been) the size of a fist! That’s why we listen to mommy and God.”
A counselor from Living Well Cancer Resources spoke to her after the surgery and gave her a handmade black and yellow blanket that served as a comfort blanket both in the hospital and now. Bray receives infusions every three weeks and plans to undergo reconstructive surgery in early 2026.
When she was still doing chemotherapy, she learned about the resource center. Something that helped her was getting 10- to 20-minute hand massages from a former aesthetician, which helped with the neuropathy, which was so bad she couldn’t snap her fingers. “I was so relaxed, I fell asleep!” Bray said.
A crowd gathers for a ribbon-cutting ceremony last month at Northwestern Medicine Living Well Cancer Resources at St. George Cancer Institute in Orland Park. This latest site joins others in Geneva and Warrenville. (Northwestern Medicine)
Just last month, she was able to snap her fingers for the first time since starting chemo. “Everybody in the car started clapping – it was a real moment,” she shared, adding that she’s not sure why losing that ability was so impactful.
Bray also spent time at Beautiful You workshops for patients who lose their hair, which “changed my life, my way of thinking about things” thanks to being in a group with women of other cultures and ethnicities who all had something in common: hair loss. She lost hair on her scalp and had no eyelashes and just a trace of her eyebrows. Someone did her eyebrows for her. “I looked in the mirror and I looked like me!” she said. “Most people don’t know you don’t look like yourself anymore.”
Although Bray decided not to wear a wig, she got help with styling scarves and instructions on how to care for them. She also received meditation references that were very helpful.
A virtual support group is what helped Amber Commodore, an assistant principal at a Chicago Public Schools high school who lives in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood.
Although the group is just a few women, “one had the exact same diagnosis I had – invasive lobular carcinoma – and a different woman got the reconstruction that I’d like. It was really great to hear her perspective as well,” Commodore explained.
She hopes to find an in-person group that works with her schedule because she believes it will be more engaging.
Cancer patients can be fitted for wigs offered for free at the resource center. Since May 2025, about 60 wigs have been given out at the St. George Cancer Institute. (Northwestern Medicine)
A mammogram in 2022 showed abnormal results in Commodore’s left breast so she was getting the test every six months. She was diagnosed with breast cancer not long after Christmas Eve 2024, when a mammogram done in Orland Park showed abnormal results for her right breast and a diagnostic ultrasound and biopsy revealed cancer had spread to her lymph nodes.
Commodore had a double mastectomy and finished her chemotherapy at the end of September, beginning radiation treatments a month later. She learned Living Well Resources was available in Warrenville – and even got a few hats and socks while visiting it – but was elated to learn about a center opening closer to home.
“I went to Warrenville once, so I was able to see what was out there, but knowing we were getting one in Orland made me really appreciate it,” Commodore said. “To be completely honest, it’s such a great resource for everybody.”
It’s easier for her to get to treatment in Orland Park rather than Northwestern Medicine’s Chicago hospital, and the care is just as good, she said. “I never felt more taken care of,” she said. “Everyone is so kind. I feel like everyone at the Orland location is vested in you. … It’s the compassion of the people who work in this field and the resource center.”
Jamie Ott coordinates Northwestern Medicine Living Well Cancer Resources at the St. George Cancer Institute in Orland Park. The Orland Park facility is the newest site of the resource center, which is marking its 20th anniversary this year. (Northwestern Medicine)
Although she couldn’t participate in yoga sessions the center offers, Commodore did get a free wig. “And I really enjoy being there and chatting with (center coordinator) Jamie (Ott),” she said. “It was kind of difficult for me to get a wig because it doesn’t work right on me, but she worked with me to try on every wig to get one that looked right. I tried on five or six.”
Sharing feelings is an important aspect of facing cancer, Commodore said, urging patients “to just show up and be honest with their fears, be honest about any hesitation or any concerns because the folks with the resource center are really there to support in any way it is to support.”
She shared a story about a low time. “The day that I went out to see Jamie was one of my rough days, and I probably had a meltdown there too. She was so kind,” Commodore shared. “If it’s fear or if it’s sadness or confusion – whatever it is – the folks who do this work do it with compassion. Don’t be afraid to show up, even if that’s all you can do. They’ll support you through whatever the next steps are.”
In addition to the beauty workshop, the center, run by three staff members and three volunteers, offers exercise consultations to develop personalized exercise plans during and after treatment, fitness classes, chairside visits in which professionals offer hand massages or a small art project in the infusion area, pop-up art therapy classes, and a respite area that has coloring pages and puzzles for stress release.
Information and a program guide are at livingwellcrc.org.
Melinda Moore is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/14/orland-park-living-well-cancer-resources/