For more than 35 years, Cancer Support Community Greater San Gabriel Valley (formerly Cancer Support Community Pasadena) has touched the lives of thousands of individuals — patients, caregivers, survivors, and loved ones — through free support groups, healthy lifestyle classes, educational workshops, and social activities. Our vision remains clear: to uplift, support, and foster compassionate communities where those impacted by cancer can find strength, connection, and hope.
Cancer Support Community is a global nonprofit with 200+ locations across 50 markets, including four in Southern California. This vision is rooted in a pioneering belief that began in 1982, when Harold and Harriet Benjamin founded The Wellness Community in Santa Monica, pioneering the belief that emotional well-being is as essential as physical health. Their vision inspired a national movement, including Gilda’s Club, founded by Gene Wilder in memory of his wife, Gilda Radner, in 1991. The two organizations united in 2009 to form the Cancer Support Community.
Locally, that legacy took shape in 1990, when Debbie Bolton, RN; Dr. Marguerite Marsh; Arlene Harder; and Paul Taylor founded The Wellness Community–Foothills in Pasadena. The organization became Cancer Support Community Pasadena in 2009, moved to 76 E. Del Mar Blvd. in 2016, and in 2023 proudly opened its new home in Sierra Madre, becoming Cancer Support Community Greater San Gabriel Valley.
Today, we continue to grow, expanding access to free cancer support services and proving that community is stronger than cancer so that no one faces cancer alone.
