The acupuncture helps with the pain and provides the rare ability to sleep, the meditation gives her strength and focus and the support groups help her to know she is not alone.

“This place is a gift,” Benita Dunton, says of the Cancer Community Center in South Portland. “I can’t even imagine what my journey would have been like without the services available. It was so instrumental.”

Dunton, 53, of Cape Elizabeth is a little more than a year removed from a diagnosis of breast cancer, which sent her life spinning out of control from the moment the doctor bluntly told her, “You have cancer.”

Throughout her treatment and recovery, Dunton has relied on the programs and services at the Cancer Community Center, particularly on what the center calls complementary therapies, also known as alternative approaches to health care, which include acupuncture, massage, meditation and yoga.

The cancer center has recently received a $7,500 grant from the Welch Charitable Fund that will allow it to double access to its complementary therapies, especially the popular acupuncture and oncology massage services, according to Molly Stewart, the mission services director at the center.

What is key to all the programs and services the Cancer Community Center offers is that they are free, which is particularly important for the complementary therapies that are often not covered by insurance.

“This grant will increase access to therapies like acupuncture and oncology massage,” Stewart said. “A growing body of research shows that these modalities can improve the health and well-being of cancer patients.

“While many patients are open to trying complementary therapies, they are often limited by the cost of such options. At the Cancer Community Center, cancer patients can try these therapies at no cost,” she said.

“We’re a bit of a hidden gem,” said Stewart, the mission director at the center. “The complementary therapies we offer can make a huge difference in the quality of life” for cancer patients.

In the past several years the cancer center has made a commitment to providing “these types of therapies because research shows they can be helpful” especially for pain management, stress relief and supporting the immune system, she said.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and though a lot of progress has been made in even just the last decade, according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, the disease is still the second leading cause of cancer death for women.

Founded in 1998,  the cancer center provides “a haven where anyone whose world is disrupted by cancer can regain control and make sense of their new normal,” the center said in a press release announcing the Welch Charitable Fund grant.

“By offering free wellness programs, complementary therapies and peer support, the center helps people gain valuable tools and connections for healing” the release said. “An essential part of (any) treatment plan, the programs and services (at) the center can help many people survive and thrive through cancer.”

Dunton couldn’t agree more.

“I don’t feel like I’m on display here, and what I’m getting from the center is the ability to take huge steps forward,” she said.

Dunton first discovered a lump in her breast while sitting in a hot tub following an 8-mile hike she took to celebrate her 52nd birthday.

“I was terrified,” she said. “Something about this was different, it just didn’t feel right.”

Following several tests, including a mammogram, an ultrasound, a biopsy and an MRI, Dunton was told she had breast cancer.

“It was like being slapped in the face,” she recalled.

Even so, she didn’t immediately tell her family or decide on a course of treatment,  though her doctors were urging a course of chemotherapy, along with surgery to remove the lump and post-surgery radiation.

Dunton, the mother of two daughters, a recent college graduate and a 12-year-old, waited until a Thanksgiving trip out to California, where her oldest daughter was attending school, to tell them about her diagnosis.

She was surprised by their reaction to the news, especially when the only question her youngest asked was, “Are you going to die?”

Dunton responded by saying, “No, I don’t think so,” and that was the end of the discussion.

“They were both much stronger than I thought they would be. They were really great,” Dunton said. “As long as I was OK, they were OK.”

Dunton, who is divorced, said her ex-husband, who is now a good friend, was a key support during her treatment and recovery, as was her sister and mother. Dunton praised her sister, in particular, for attending all the doctor’s appointments and taking notes.

That was important early on, Dunton said, because, “I really don’t remember anything about those first few months” after being diagnosed.

Dunton eventually opted for a bilateral, or double, mastectomy, which consisted of the full removal of both breasts and her lymph nodes.

However, she refused the chemotherapy and radiation, limited her use of painkillers and is still deciding whether to follow up her mastectomy and breast reconstruction surgeries with tamoxifen, a common drug prescribed to women recovering from breast cancer.

Tamoxifen is supposed to help prevent a recurrence of cancer, but Dunton said the list of side effects is so long and so intense that she’s not sure it would be right for her, especially since she’s just starting to feel healthy again and has just started back to work part time.

Both Dunton and Stewart were clear that Dunton’s choices are her own and said that it’s important for every cancer patient to understand that they must do what seems right and best for them in terms of choosing treatment options for their particular cancer diagnosis.

“I watched my grandmother die from chemo,” Dunton said. “When I wanted to talk about (other options) I could find no one who hadn’t done everything the doctors said.”

Dunton said her mother introduced her to the Cancer Community Center.

“I saw the alternative therapy classes as an incredible gift,” she said. “I felt the best when I was coming here and when I left here.”

Otherwise, she didn’t feel much like leaving the house.

Dunton said the acupuncture treatments she received were key in helping her to sleep, which her doctors said was important to the healing process. She also said the oncology massage helped relieve her neck and upper back pain, as well as the severe neuropathy, or nerve pain, in her upper right arm.

Stewart said with the grant, the Cancer Community Center will not only be able to double its offerings of complementary therapies, but also be able to offer them at times that are more convenient and accessible to people, like evenings and weekends.

“Everybody should be connected to this place the second they hear the word, ‘cancer,’” Dunton said of the center.

To celebrate her 53rd birthday, she climbed Blueberry Mountain in New Hampshire with friends.

“I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to climb a mountain again,” Dunton said. “And it was so hard, I thought I might not make it to the top. But when I did, I was so happy. I said every second, every step, every pain was worth it for this moment.”

A closer look

The Cancer Community Center in South Portland is holding its annual fundraiser, Marie’s Closet, on Saturday, Oct. 29, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. This rummage sale is a key fundraiser for the center, which is located at 778 Main St. See www.cancercommunitycenter.org or call 774-2200 for more information.

Benita Dunton of Cape Elizabeth is a breast cancer survivor who relied heavily on the alternative, or complementary, therapies, such as acupuncture, massage and yoga, offered at the Cancer Community Center in South Portland.

The Cancer Community Center in South Portland is “a bit of hidden gem” for cancer patients, survivors and their families and caregivers, according to Molly Stewart, the center’s mission services director.

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