Oncology Garden Legacy

The featured image is a painting by Saint John artist Joanne Fitzpatrick who was commissioned to do the painting in recognition of the Auxiliary being awarded the CAHA national "Care Award" in 2002. It was then and continues to be the Auxiliary's hope that the site of plants coming into bloom gives hope of continuing life and brings to mind the beauty that surronds us.

Cancer treatment is usually long term, with some patients attending the Oncology Department several days a week for weeks or months at a time. Many oncology patients spend long hours receiving chemotherapy treatments in a room which for years overlooked a dreary peice of land between

While the Oncology Garden actually was begun in 1993 it was not until 2003 that it received the attention and recognition that it deserved. For the ten years in between it was mostly overgrown with weeds and lacked the attention required to maintain it and the various plant material it contained. In 1998, under the direction of Auxilian Joan Smith, the Oncology Garden Renewal Project was begun. Over the next five years new plants, shrubs, a waterfall and concrete walkway were added.

By the fall of 2001, the garden was a beautiful sight now receiving regular attention from members of the Auxiliary and from the Fundy Garden Club. According to Mrs. Smith, "from may to October there is always something blooming with hundreds of bulbs, annuals, perennials and even flowereing trees and shrubs".