WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER.
We are dedicated to providing information, services, and support to caregivers of persons living with cancer in Midland, Clare, and Gladwin.
OUR MESSAGE
You don’t have to navigate the cancer experience alone.
The Maria Mencia Cancer Caregiver Support Network is here to help.
Caring for a loved one with cancer presents unique challenges. You don’t have to navigate the cancer experience alone. The Maria Mencia Cancer Caregiver Support Network was created to help our caregivers cope with the shock of their loved one getting a cancer diagnosis and with the stressors of helping their loved ones meet the challenge with confidence and love.
We are grateful to work in partnership with MyMichigan Health, where our Maria Mencia Cancer Caregiver Support Network office is located. Our Caregiver Coordinator assesses each caregiver’s needs and then assigns one coach from a team of volunteers to give personalized assistance focused solely on the caregiver, free of charge. The team helps caregivers cope with and balance the demands and personal toll of being a caregiver.
OUR STORY
The Maria Mencia Cancer Caregiver Support Network was founded in honor of Maria Mencia, who lost her battle with cancer in 2007 at the age of 46. Caring for her became her husband, Lou’s, full-time job for the last six months of Maria’s life while caring for his children, their home, and trying to meet his own emotional and health needs.
Inspired by his own experience and to honor Maria’s memory, Lou founded the Maria Mencia Cancer Caregiver Support Network to help others. Since its beginning, the Network has provided information, services, and support to caregivers of persons living with cancer. With only 20+ programs of this kind, we are proud to have made history in 2009 when we became the second founded program in the nation. Our team is committed to carrying on Maria’s memory by continuing to support caregivers in our community.