Cancer Support Sonoma provides complementary therapy services to people diagnosed with cancer to find support and improve quality of life.
Cancer Support Sonoma helps people with cancer find support and improve their quality of life.
01/12/2026
Thank you to Dr. Patricia Brooks for her dedicated service to Cancer Support Sonoma clients! 💙
Patricia brought both warmth and wisdom to our support groups, offering thoughtful, steady guidance to those facing a cancer diagnosis. Her therapeutic expertise and compassionate presence have made a meaningful difference in the lives of so many.
As she turns her focus toward her private practice, we wish her all the best. She will be truly missed, and we are deeply grateful for the care and support she shared with our community. ✨
01/11/2026
🎉 Save the Date 🎉
Cancer Support Sonoma is thrilled to announce WigOut Sonoma! 2026
Join us on Thursday, September 17, 2026, as we gather once again at the stunning whirlpool bath Family Vineyards for an unforgettable evening in support of those facing cancer. You don't want to miss this year's party with a purpose!
More details coming—stay tuned!
whirlpool bath Wines
01/08/2026
We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Dr. Danielle M. Schwaderer Kettler as she steps off the Board of Directors for Cancer Support Sonoma. 💙
Dr. Danielle’s generous commitment, thoughtful guidance, and steady leadership have made an extraordinary impact on our organization, and her perspective in the boardroom will be truly missed.
Thankfully, this is not goodbye. Dr. Danielle will continue to care for Cancer Support Sonoma clients through naturopathic consultations, and we are deeply grateful for her compassion, expertise, and insight—both in the consultation room and in the boardroom.
Thank you, Dr. Danielle, for all you have given and continue to give to our community. 🌿✨
Sonoma Roots
01/07/2026
We are so grateful to Joelle Smith of Floral Journey for hosting a wonderful afternoon of wreath-making and holiday merriment at Cancer Support Sonoma! 🎄✨
Thanks to Joelle’s generosity, creativity, and community spirit, participants enjoyed making beautiful holiday wreaths—and 20% of the proceeds were donated to Cancer Support Sonoma! We are deeply thankful for the holiday cheer, the sense of community, and the meaningful support this event provided.
Thank you, Joelle, and thank you to everyone who joined us to make the season a little brighter! 💙🌿
01/06/2026
We’re thrilled to welcome Becky Parrinella to the Cancer Support Sonoma family! 💙
Becky joins us as a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, bringing more than 30 years of experience in mental health through nonprofit work—including hospice care—and private practice. She has a special focus on supporting military members and their spouses, as well as individuals navigating trauma, grief and loss, and major life changes. Becky is trained in EMDR, stress management and relaxation techniques, family therapy, and gerontology.
Her professional expertise is deeply enriched by personal experience. After her own cancer diagnosis in 2011, support groups and retreats played a vital role in her healing, inspiring her to devote part of her practice to supporting others facing cancer.
Becky will serve as a Support Group Facilitator at Cancer Support Sonoma and will also be available for one-on-one mental health counseling. We are grateful to have her compassion, insight, and lived experience as part of our community. 💫
12/12/2025
🌟 Nominate Cancer Support Sonoma for Nonprofit of the Year! 🌟
The Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce is now accepting nominations for the 2025 Nonprofit of the Year — and we’d be honored if you would consider nominating Cancer Support Sonoma.
With your support, CSS continues to enhance the quality of life in Sonoma Valley by providing vital integrative wellness services to anyone affected by cancer. In 2025, we expanded programs, strengthened community partnerships, and supported more clients than ever — all thanks to people like you.
If you believe in our mission and the impact CSS has in our community, please take a moment to submit a nomination.
🗳️ Nominations are due by Noon on Thursday, December 18.
Thank you for helping us continue this important work for our Valley. 💙
11/30/2025
✨ Season of Giving at Cancer Support Sonoma ✨
As we celebrate our 10th anniversary, we’re grateful for a remarkable year — and we’re asking for your support to help us continue serving those in our community facing a cancer diagnosis.
In 2025, with your generosity, we:
🌟 Hosted our first-ever Walkathon
🌟 Welcomed a dedicated Client Navigator
🌟 Offered new programs like group Jin Shin Jyutsu, strength & mobility training, and education on medicinal cannabis
🌟 Launched the Susan Lundquist End of Life Doula Project
🌟 Added a Caregivers Support Group, Sound Healing, and seven new practitioners
As the only integrative cancer-support clinic in Sonoma Valley, we rely on your gifts to ensure every client receives care — regardless of their ability to pay.
Your support makes a real impact:
💛 $3,000 = 30 massages
💛 $2,000 = 20 acupuncture sessions
💛 $1,000 = 10 therapy sessions
💛 $600 = 6 hrs doula care
💛 $500 = 7 oncology yoga classes
💛 $100 = 1 naturopathic session
Please consider a year-end gift to help us continue this healing work.
Thank you for supporting our community. 💛
11/18/2025
🎉 Celebrating 10 Years of Healing, Hope & Heart 🎉
We are honored to share our 10th Anniversary video, marking a decade of Cancer Support Sonoma’s mission to provide integrative therapies, comfort, and community to those facing a cancer diagnosis.
For ten years, our dedicated practitioners, volunteers, donors, and partners have helped create a space where clients can find relief, connection, and strength during one of life’s most challenging journeys.
💛 Thank you to everyone who has walked alongside us.
💛 Thank you to those who believed in the power of healing beyond medicine.
💛 And thank you to the clients who inspire us every day with their courage.
Here’s to the next ten years of compassionate care and transformative support.
✨ Watch the anniversary video and celebrate with us! ✨
11/01/2025
🎄✨ Holiday Wreath Workshop — Benefiting Cancer Support Sonoma! ✨🎄
Join us on Saturday, December 6, 2025, from 3–5pm at Cancer Support Sonoma for a festive afternoon of creativity and cheer! 🌿🍷
Create your own stunning holiday wreath at this hands-on workshop led by Joelle Smith of Floral Journey by Valley of the Bloom. Enjoy lite bites and wine as you craft, connect, and celebrate the season — all while supporting a great cause. 💚
🎟️ Tickets: $125 — with 20% of proceeds benefiting Cancer Support Sonoma.
🌸 Tickets go on sale November 1, 2025. Space is limited!
Let’s make something beautiful together this holiday season! ✂️💐
10/27/2025
🌿 Practitioner Spotlight: Dawna Leigh 🌿
Meet Dawna Leigh, whose curiosity about the mind-body connection began in her mid-30s and grew into a lifelong journey of healing and self-discovery.
Five years ago, Dawna joined a Jin Shin Jyutsu self-help class at her senior center — and everything changed.
✨ “At the end of an hour and just holding each of my fingers, I felt complete harmony in my whole being. I had to know more!” ✨
Since then, she’s studied with the international faculty of Jin Shin Jyutsu Spirit Mind Body, becoming certified to practice and teach self-help in 2023.
We’re so grateful for the warmth, wisdom, and healing energy Dawna brings as one of our practitioners to Cancer Support Sonoma. 💚
10/24/2025
💙 Practitioner Spotlight: Catharina Severson, LMFT 💙
Meet Catharina Severson, a compassionate, culturally sensitive, and client-centered therapist who has been supporting individuals, couples, and families for over 17 years.
Her work blends heart and science — drawing on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness, EMDR, and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) to guide clients through healing from stress, trauma, relationship challenges, life transitions, and parenting concerns.
Her work at the Cancer Wellness Program at Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa provided her with deep insight into the emotional needs of those facing cancer — a calling she continues today with the dedicated team at Cancer Support Sonoma.
We are so grateful to have Catharina’s warmth, expertise, and compassion supporting our community. 💚
10/24/2025
A HUGE THANKS to everyone who made this year’s WigOut Sonoma! a tremendous success!
Cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, often lead to hair loss, but “WigOut Sonoma,” founded in 2019, tackles these challenging realities with both humor and gra…
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Cancer Support Sonoma helps people with cancer find support and improve their quality of life.
Launched under a partnership between the Sonoma Valley Hospital Foundation and The North Bay Cancer Alliance, and funded as a research study, CSS is the only oncology program in the Sonoma Valley. Services are available to anyone in the valley and surrounding areas who has (or had) cancer, from diagnosis throughout treatment and into recovery.
In October 2017, when the Cancer Support Sonoma study came to an end, we had a choice to make: close our doors or find new funding sources and a new home and continue to provide services.
The feedback from patients and a glimpse at study results told us our work has made a significant difference in the lives of those we serve. The request from patients and providers was heartfelt and unanimous – “Please keep Cancer Support Sonoma going.” So, of course, we chose option 2!
Reinventing Cancer Support Sonoma
Having to pause the program while we regrouped left us with a full roster of patients, some with advanced stages of cancer. Our patients had come to depend on their weekly visits to the third floor at SVH, which some described as a “healing oasis.”
They looked forward to receiving hands-on care from providers who have extensive experience in treating the physical and emotional side effects of chemotherapy, surgery and/or radiation. As a frequent recipient of our services said, “This is the only place that I don’t have to be the breast cancer warrior queen!”
Finding Funding
To help us get started, CSS received a patient donation and a small grant from To Celebrate Life Breast Cancer Foundation. Sonoma chiropractor Dr. Eliot Carter generously offered temporary office space located down the street from the hospital. Former Program Director Pam Koppel set about establishing a not-for-profit, 501(c)3 organization and seeking new funding sources so Cancer Support Sonoma could operate on its own. Over 2018, we found a clinical space, established a Board of Directors, and hosted our first fundraising event (Our 2018 Holiday Open House and Silent Auction.)
We are now providing critical integrative oncology services 2-3 days a week at our home at 246 Perkins Street in Sonoma, CA 95476.
In addition to our dedicated staff and providers, CSS will depend on generous volunteers and donations from the community. You can learn more about donating at our website www.cancersupportsonoma.org.
