Folks battling cancer or who have walked that road in the past now have a confidential place to gather, share their stories and find new sources of help.

The group is led by Carol and Bogdan Kulminski, owners of the Blue Heron Bed and Breakfast on Orcas.

“We’ve been on the island about five years and were hearing more and more about people struggling with cancer,” Carol said. “We’re just hoping it will meet that need in the community for some place that is safe and confidential … No matter what cancer it is, there’s still a lot of common denominators: there’s still the fear and the unknown and the sickness, and the need for hope, so they can leave with some sense of ‘I’m gonna be okay.’”

The group is open to all members of the community. Cancer survivor Sue Foulk is also helping facilitate the group.

“It’s meant to be a place to share that journey of going through cancer,” Carol said. “It could be survivors who want to come and support someone else, or a caretaker who needs someplace to get ideas. It’s faith-based, so we pray and we ask people if they want prayer, but we’re pretty sensitive to the fact that it’s open to the community.”

She said the folks now attending come from widely varying walks of faith.

“I see us as organizers,” she said. “It’s flexible. We’re so open to ideas. We’re creating this space, setting up all those logistics, then if people come, allowing them to share. I think we’re building a good core group.”

For some cancer survivors who fear recurrence, she said, “Even when they’ve survived, they have this sense of ‘will it come back?’ That needs to be addressed so they can walk in freedom.”

At the group’s last meeting, attending men shared about their experiences with prostate cancer.

“You have no idea what this has meant to me,” said one.

“Because where else can a man come and share?” commented Carol.

The Kulminskis led a cancer support group in San Diego before moving to Orcas Island, and have walked through cancer with close family members. Representatives of the American Cancer Society (ACS) are supporting the group with services like nutritional information, providing prosthetics or wigs, and a program called “Look Better, Feel Better” that may send a cosmetologist to Orcas to lead a workshop on hair and makeup for men and women undergoing treatment.

The group will provide information on ACS services, including the 24-hour medical phone answer line staffed by a live person. Carol said the ACS is also working on expanding the current Mercy Flights program that provides islanders with free transportation to medical appointments.

The group’s code of honor is as follows: a) if you mention a doctor, don’t say any names, b) don’t give advice, and c) everything is confidential.

“The greatest part for me is it’s not about the numbers, it’s about having anybody come and leave in a better place. Whoever the Lord wants will be there,” Carol said.

Meetings are held the second Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Orcas Island Community Church library. Call 376-4198 for information.