Rhonda Caldwell, Cancer Wellness Program Coordinator at Piedmont Henry.
STOCKBRIDGE - The first thing you notice about Rhonda Caldwell is her smile. The second is her energy.
Two years ago, Caldwell was bringing that same energy to Piedmont Henry while sitting in a chemotherapy chair.
Diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2024, she was still undergoing treatment when she found herself coaching the women around her.
“I would just be coaching everybody, and I would just be hugging everybody,” she remembers.
Her oncologist noticed. One day, his nurse called and told Caldwell there was another patient who needed her.
“What do they need?” Caldwell asked.
“They need your energy,” she was told. “They need to know how to get through this. They need to know how to survive.”
Soon, calls from other women facing cancer began coming in. Caldwell formed a breast cancer support group while still undergoing treatment herself.
“I created this group in the chemo chair,” Caldwell said. “While I was going through chemo, I was coaching other ladies who were going through chemo.”
Helping them became part of her own recovery.
Today, Caldwell is Piedmont Henry’s Cancer Wellness Program Coordinator, rebuilding a program designed to support people through the parts of cancer that extend beyond medical treatment.
The Thomas F. Chapman Cancer Wellness program has been part of Piedmont Henry since 2010, but had gone about four years without a coordinator. Now Caldwell is bringing that support back.
Cancer Wellness includes yoga and movement classes, nutrition and cooking programs, meditation, journaling and emotional support. Patients can also be connected with resources when finances or transportation become part of their journey.
“Just having a support system, that is wellness,” Caldwell said.
She understands that need from both sides.
“I can look at it from both sides,” she said. “The patient and the employee. What would I need? And then I can put it into place.”
Rhonda Caldwell, left, with Diane Spears at Piedmont Henry’s Cancer Wellness program. Spears connected with Caldwell after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2024.
Diane Spears knows what that kind of support can mean. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2024, Spears connected with Caldwell after finding one of her flyers.
“You meet other people that understand you and where you’ve been and the things that you’ve gone through,” Spears said. “It’s a community.”
That may be the most important thing Caldwell now offers patients: the reassurance that the person sitting across from them understands the fear and uncertainty because she has lived it herself.
When someone asks whether she really understands what they’re going through, Caldwell answers easily.
“I do.”Subscribe or Share
🎀 Cancer Wellness at Piedmont Henry This October 🎀
Piedmont Henry’s Cancer Wellness program has a full schedule this month, with virtual and in-person activities including yoga, mindfulness, nutrition, writing for recovery, and support groups. October also includes Breast Cancer Awareness Tables throughout the hospital and a Cancer Wellness Meet and Greet.
For questions or more information, call 678-289-771