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Category: Resources
Resources
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Gallery with A Cause
Through an emphasis on the healing properties of art, the New Mexico Cancer Center distinguishes itself from other institutions of its kind. The New Mexico Cancer Center is currently the largest art gallery in the state of New Mexico, providing an inviting space for patients and their families that is designed to minimize the clinical environment. Forty percent of each art sale is tax-deductible and helps our patients pay for non-medical expenses while experiencing life-threatening illness.
About the Gallery with A Cause
The Gallery: All public areas – waiting rooms, hallways, and distribution areas (PODs) – inside the New Mexico Cancer Center feature wall art by New Mexico artists. Gallery director and curator Regina Held organizes a new 400-piece exhibition every three months, each launched with a public opening reception. With this many pieces per show displayed on about 20,000 running feet of wall space, Gallery With A Cause is among the largest exhibition venues in New Mexico. The purpose of the gallery is two-fold: The NM Cancer Center strongly believes in the healing and uplifting attributes of art and invests in these exhibitions to improve the patient experience and staff morale.
In addition, art sales directly benefit the NM Cancer Center Foundation, which raises funds to alleviate non-medical needs for cancer patients.
The Venue: The presence of art is one of the many ways the New Mexico Cancer Center distinguishes itself from other institutions of its kind. It is an independent, multi-disciplinary, multi-site practice operated by New Mexico Oncology Hematology Consultants Ltd. It was founded in 1987 by Dr. Clark Haskins and Dr. Barbara McAneny (a recent president of the American Medical Association). The practice has been dedicated to providing the highest quality, most compassionate, comprehensive, patient-centered cancer care in New Mexico, focusing first on patients and their needs. When the New Mexico Cancer Center was initially constructed in 2001, one of the primary design goals was to surround patients and staff with beauty and light. Thus, the center was constructed as a living art gallery as well as a medical facility.
The Beneficiary: The New Mexico Cancer Center Foundation is an independent non-profit branch of the NMCC run by Foundation Director Tim Tokarsky. It is unique in the country because it raises funds to provide financial assistance for non-medical needs for cancer patients. It does so through fundraisers, donations, and art sales and provides more than $130,000.00 to patients for assistance with housing, utility bills, transportation and the like. 40% of all art sales go to the New Mexico Cancer Center Foundation and are tax-deductible. -
Women’s Care Wednesdays
Women’s Care Wednesday was launched in May 2023 to provide social and emotional support, as well as practical, hands-on skill development through programming open to the entire community.
Facing breast cancer is an incredibly challenging journey, and no one should have to go through it alone. That’s why we launched Women’s Care Wednesday in May 2023—to create a safe, welcoming space where patients can find not just resources, but connection, understanding, and hope.
Through heartfelt programming, we bring people together to share stories, build practical skills, and provide social and emotional support. This initiative is open to everyone, rooted in the belief that community is a vital part of healing.
The New Mexico Cancer Center Foundation teamed up with local organizations, experts, and caring professionals to identify what was missing in the current support system. For gaps where no resources exist, we’ve developed new programs that meet patients where they are—offering timely, relevant, and deeply supportive care.
Women’s Care Wednesday is more than a program—it’s a lifeline, a place to discover resilience, and a reminder that no one has to walk this path alone.Program Activities
In 2025, the New Mexico Cancer Center Foundation will continue to build on our core programming to be responsive to the needs in our communities. Core programming for Women’s Care Wednesday is currently centered upon five programs designed to provide comprehensive support, open to the community.
These programs are:- Gift Bags. In partnership with Pink Warrior House, we provide each new patient undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer with a durable, canvas tote bag. Each bag contains a variety of goods, including a water bottle, resource books, socks, a throw, a hat, oral hygiene, lip balm, and tissue, as well as other items based on supplies available.
- Peer-to-Peer support. Peer-led talking circles facilitated by trained survivors, designed to foster connection and shared experience.
- Beautiful Warrior. Makeup and skincare classes that provide Thrive Cosmetics and techniques to overcome the changes to skin, eyebrows, and appearance because of treatment-related side effects.
- Gift Closet. Through our Gift Closet, we provide wigs, bras, and prosthetics, free of charge, to enhance self-esteem due to the effects of treatment and surgeries.
- Nutrition. In partnership with Danielle Arnold, MS, LDN, CNS, Human Clinical Nutrition and Integrative Health – The Source Functional Nutrition, we provide two distinct, three-week rotating programs. The first program is designed for nutritional education and quick, easy, healthy, inexpensive meals that will allow for greater healing during treatment and post-treatment. The second program is designed to reduce the impact of hormone depletion for women through replacement through natural foods and nutrition.
We also offer traditional medicine men, dental resources, acupuncture, and other therapies every three months or as available.
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Financial Counseling
The New Mexico Cancer Center Foundation provides direct financial assistance exclusively to patients of the New Mexico Cancer Center.
As a “foundation of last resort,” we prioritize helping those who have exhausted all other options. Our eligibility process recognizes that medical crises are often unplanned and can drain even healthy savings; therefore, we weigh monthly expenses more heavily than total income when determining need.
Key Program Features:
- Targeted Support: Reserved solely for NMCC patients.
- Expense-Based Eligibility: Focuses on your financial burden rather than just your salary.
- Streamlined Process: Designed for speed, our grant committee meets twice a month to ensure timely decisions.
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New Mexico Cancer Center
With locations in Albuquerque and Gallup, NMCC provides comprehensive care to cancer patients across New Mexico, with an additional focus on breast, prostate, lung, and colon cancers, aiming to enhance our specialized services for these prevalent diagnoses.
