Making Quality of Life a Necessity

Thirty-five years ago, Charlotte Maxwell was dying of ovarian cancer. The chemo and radiation prolonging her life were painful and exhausting. So Charlotte took initiative. She gathered acupuncturists, massage therapists, and nutritionists around her to help her feel strong enough to both adhere to her chemo schedule and enjoy the life she had left. Her wish was that every woman with cancer could be held that way. The practitioners she gathered became founders of the clinic that bears her name.

Today the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic in Oakland provides free integrative care and wraparound support to low-income women suffering from cancer across the Bay Area. “I think we often frame things like quality of life and pain relief and compassion and community as privileges, not necessities,” says Ray Rieder, the clinic’s executive director. “But those things prolong and enrich life. Having a community that cares about and supports you is critical. It encourages you to prioritize your health. It makes your life less painful, and it makes you feel less alone.”

Most clients are women of color, all are low income, some speak no English at all, and many  have stage three or four cancer. When one woman arrived and spoke a language no local clinic could translate, Souad Elizzani, the clinic’s operations manager, worked to find common ground.  “This is the exact type of client that we are here to serve, those who struggle to feel heard elsewhere,” Elizzani says. 

The care itself is compassionate, integrative, and nurturing, encompassing acupuncture, massage, herbal medicine, energy work, and nutrition – all delivered by licensed and certified volunteer practitioners. Integrating these therapies into clients’ cancer experiences not only helps heal and reduce pain and trauma, but also can effectively support continuation of difficult standard medical treatment. And if clients are too sick to come in, the passionate volunteers deliver nutritious food and company to their doors. Last year the clinic saw 295 clients across 2,892 visits, every one free.

A Clinic Run on Generosity and Commitment to Service

What’s most heartening to the longstanding cadre of 125+ professional volunteers is seeing their clients heal. One client, who limped through the doors in 2018 leaning on a shopping cart, suffering from stage four cancer and neuropathy crippling her feet, now walks into the clinic unassisted three to four times a month, seven surgeries later, still adhering to her treatment plan.

While many nonprofits are shrinking, the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic is leaning into the opposite. “We have made a really intentional decision to grow because we think it’s an ethical obligation to do so,” Rieder says. They opened a new community space in January offering tai chi, yoga, lymphedema education, energy work, and nutrition classes. They have 40 workshops planned this year and all of their available appointment slots are fully booked. The demand is there. So, they insist, is the obligation.