There's some unique therapy now available to local women undergoing cancer treatment.
You might call if cleaning therapy.
A foundation called Cleaning For A Reason now has a chapter in Philadelphia. The foundation enlists local cleaning services to donate free visits to women undergoing chemotherapy or radiation.
Raylene Arko volunteered her service in Port Richmond, Keep It Clean With Raylene, remembering how her mother & grandmother struggled while they were undergoing cancer care.
Arko says, "We as women like to have a clean house. We are always worried about people coming over, and want them to come into a clean house. Now, they don't have to worry."
Arko donates 4 free cleanings, spreading them out over 4 months. "We do basic cleaning - we help the patient make the bed, scrub the kitchen, the bathroom, clean the tiles...... We dust."
Rosemary Bendler, who has metastatic breast cancer, says chemotherapy and radiation drain her energy, and since her husband is disabled, household chores often take a back seat.
The cleanings provide a happy break in the spiritual, emotional, and physical roller coaster of cancer treatment.
Bendler says, "When somebody will come out, and do something like this, you're just so dutiful and appreciative, there's no words to describe it."
She says when she recovers, she hopes to give back, to help other cancer patients out in some way.
Arko is glad she and her workers can give women even a little boost on their road to recovery.
Cleaning for a Reason has chapters in 20 states, including New Jersey and Delaware.
Keep It Clean With Raylene, Inc., can be reached at (215) 203-8688