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Welcome to the fall edition! We hope this finds everyone ready for this beautiful season in New England. If you haven’t already, please sign up here for future editions. This quarter, we’re covering all the great summer and early fall events, as well as recent publications about cancer survivorship. If you would like to share your story, or have ideas for content, please feel free to reach out to amy.litterini@mainehealth.org. Enjoy this amazing season!

Survivors Got into the Swing at Paris Hill

Paris, ME

On a beautiful day in June, 15 cancer survivors and 6 volunteers gathered to tee up for a common goal. This year’s “Get In The Swing” cancer retreat was another huge success filled with fun, laughter, great food and lots of memories for all the ladies participating this year. The experience was dedicated to introducing cancer survivors to the sport through golf instruction and practicing chipping and putting. Half of the participants returned from last year, while the rest were new survivors trying the sport for the first time.

The Paris Hill Country Club and Paris Hill Community Club generously offered their facilities at no charge for the event. The organizer, Linda Richardson, would like to expand the program to other golf courses in Maine and to offer slots to caregivers in the future. If you’re interested in learning more, please contact Linda @ cozycider@gmail.com.

First Forest Therapy for Cancer Survivors hosted in Augusta

Augusta, ME A group of survivors gathered on July 12th at the beautiful 224-acre Viles Arboretum in Augusta for a day to intentionally reconnect with nature. Under the thoughtful direction of certified Forest Therapy guide Constance Woodworth, the event was co-hosted by MaineGeneral Medical Center’s Peter Alfond Prevention & Healthy Living Center and the MaineHealth Cancer Care Network.

The day started with a seated guided meditation followed by guided exploration of the scenic property through sight, sound, taste

smell and touch. We experienced the extensive grounds via trails through mature woods, gardens, grassy fields, through architectural features, and on elevated walkways over wetlands. The day concluded with the sharing of a cup of tea, brought by our guide, with thanks given for the beautiful day and the time together to recharge.

Please feel free to watch for other forest therapy dates and unique opportunities through the Prevention & Healthy Living Center!

Fall Harvest Generosity in Abundance from the Local Community!

Scarborough, ME

On September 18th Broadway Gardens in South Portland donated mums to our Lung Screening Program at our 100 Campus Drive location in Scarborough. Then on October 9th Scarborough’s Highland Farm and Garden Center donated pumpkins, and Broadway Gardens also donated beautiful mums, all for sale by donation. SiteOne Landscape Supply coordinated the donations, and donated the Thoracic Oncology team hats for the Save Your Breath 5K fundraiser. Proceeds from all the efforts are designated for patients receiving lung cancer screening, as well as for those needing financial assistance to cover CT chest images due to suspicious findings on their lunch screening scan. A total of $1,427 was raised over the two events. Shown below are Kaylee Mutrie, Snow Tardiff and Hanna Mutrie of the Thoracic Oncology Program.

Cancer Survivorship Concepts

A late summer publication by Mollica et al.1 in the American Cancer Society’s journal Cancer sheds light on the complex concepts of cancer survivorship care. Highlights include the nature of the cancer survivorship continuum (see Figure 1 below), the comprehensive care needs of survivors (see Figure 2 below) that extend from primary care, to oncology, to various system specialists, and the need for survivorship research. Read the full article here.

Figure 2. Definition of cancer survivorship care: cancer survivorship care is comprehensive care for all people with a history of cancer and begins at the time of diagnosis, with the goal of assessing and mitigating the impact of cancer and its treatment.

Figure 1. Definition of cancer survivor: a cancer survivor is anyone from the time of diagnosis throughout the balance of life. This figure represents that cancer occurs alongside the many events within a person’s life.

New Study Reveals Smoking Cessation is Beneficial at Every Point of Cancer Survivorship

By Amy Litterini

A team of researchers from Washington University in Missouri and the University of Wisconsin recently published their inspirational work in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network showing an overall survival benefit for smoking cessation in cancer survivors across all types of cancer and all stages, including advance stage disease. The study, entitled “Smoking Cessation and Mortality Risk in Cancer Survivorship: Real-World Data From a National Cancer Institute–Designated Cancer Center,” was published electronically in October, 2025.

The researchers’ work began with a national collaborative, the Cancer Center Cessation Initiative (C3I), which recommended tools in the electronic health record to simplify the way oncology providers determine and document smoking status and offer tobacco cessation referrals to cancer survivors. Their initiative resulting from C3I, Electronic Health Record-Enabled Evidence-Based Smoking Cessation Treatment (ELEVATE), was a component of the National Cancer Institute Cancer’s Cancer Moonshot program and was the basis for the data collection in this study.

From June to December of 2018, the team reviewed 13,282 newly diagnosed cancer survivors of all cancer types and stages being seen in their outpatient cancer centers. For the survivors who smoked at the time of diagnosis, they followed them for six months for those who quit and those who continued to smoke. After two-years, those survivors who quit within six months of their diagnosis (n=381; 22.1%) had an overall survival benefit compared to those who continued to smoke. Based on these findings, the conclusion is a clear recommendation for smoking cessation for all cancer survivors.

At the MaineHealth Cancer Care Network, we also adopted a new streamlined tool into our electronic health record to support referral to cessation support for survivors with tobacco and vape use. If you currently use tobacco or vape in any form, please consider contacting the Maine Quit Link. For other options to help, please speak with your primary care or oncology provider.

What’s in a Name?

In 2025, two national survivorship organizations have undergone a rebrand with a name change. Thankfully, both are providing the same great resources and programming for cancer survivors! They are Cancer Nation and Blood Cancer United.

After 40 years, the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCN) is now Cancer Nation.

August

South Portland, ME

MaineHealth Cancer Care staff members participated in the Maine’s largest fundraising triathlon, Tri for a Cure, on July 20th. The swim, bike, and run event with all women racers has been held since 2008 and raised over $26 million dollars for the Maine Cancer Foundation. All funds raised by the dedicated participants are used to support Maine communities for cancer prevention, early detection, and access to care.

First Annual Brain Tumor Awareness Walk a Success

Survivors and their supporters were joined by MaineHealth care team members on September 21st for the inaugural Maine Brain Tumor Awareness Walk. The two-mile walk, which began at

Portland's Payson Park, had 170 participants raise $5,435 for the American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) in support of brain tumor research.

Thanks to all who participated on this inspirational day! If you missed this year’s event, please join us next year. For more information about the ABTA, click HERE. For information about our brain tumor support group, see next.

Above: Brain tumor survivor and event logo designer, Tom McGowan; At right: Maine Medical Center R6 staff members from left: Faith Musk, Delaney Loring, and JJ Neumann

Above: Dr. Lu Emerson, left, and neuronavigator and event coordinator Sara Cox, RN, right. At left: One of four message boards for participants to write the inspiration for their walk.

Purple for a Purpose

Scarborough, ME

Over 100 participants, including survivors, loved ones, and staff, gathered at our 100 Campus Drive location to celebrate gynecological cancer awareness month on September 27th. The second annual Purple for a Purpose event kicked off with a 1-mile walk, followed by a lunch and learn, educational vendor tables, a Yoga session, and raffles of donated items from several community partners. Thank you to the GYN Oncology team for hosting, our speakers Sadie Tirrell, RN, Amy Pearl, RN, and Dr. Jason LaChance, our vendors, our donors, and our survivors for whom the day was meant to celebrate!

Nutrition Education Services Center | Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

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Support from a Survivor

When facing breast cancer, connecting with someone who knows what you’re going through can be a crucial form of support. Some challenges can only be understood by someone who has been there. The American Cancer Society Reach To Recovery® program connects you with a trained volunteer who is a breast cancer survivor. Our volunteers provide one-on-one support to help you cope with treatment, side effects, and more. With a convenient mobile app and website, you can connect and chat wherever and whenever.

“Cancer is not just physical, it’s emotional and psychological. You have moments where you wonder if your feelings, thoughts or emotions are normal. Speaking to survivors validates these feelings.”

–

Meagan F., Survivor & volunteer

FIND A MATCH

SIGN UP

Create a profile on reach.cancer.org or our mobile app, ACS Reach.

MATCH

See volunteers who faced a similar diagnosis

CONNECT

Chat, call, or message for one-on-one support

To learn more, visit reach.cancer.org or search for ACS Reach To Recovery on Google Play or the App Store.

Volunteers do not provide medical advice. Reach To Recovery is a free program.

Our No-Cost Support Services

Learn more about all the services you can access as a cancer patient, survivor, care partner, family, or friend here at the Dempsey Center.

Counseling

Integrative Therapies

Movement and Fitness

Nutrition

Support Groups

The Balancing Work and Cancer Webinar series offers a targeted lineup of sessions on topics critical to patients, survivors, and their care teams with no cost to join. We hope you will join us for one, or all, of these conversations!