Our work has been highlighted in several print media sources.
Patient Navigation/Survivorship Program
May 10, 2024
Michael, a lifelong Ojai resident who had been unhoused for several years, knocked on the office door of OjaiCARES one evening after hours. Susan Kapadia opened the door a crack and asked what he needed. “I have cancer,” he said. She invited him in to talk. What followed was a year of CARE as Michael’s prostate cancer progressed, and he required more attention, navigation, and advocacy support.
Listen to “Susan Kapadia on Why Ojai CARES” by Ojai: Talk of the Town
Ojai CARES (Cancer Awareness, Resources, Education & Support) was founded in 2013 by Susan Kapadia after her own bout with breast cancer. After volunteering with cancer support groups in Santa Barbara she realized that Ojai residents needed/deserved their own. Susan talks about her years running the popular World Flavor Cafe, using recipes adapted from her years in the food business, the stresses of receiving her diagnosis while running the restaurant, and her quest to find support for herself, and to support others in turn. She also talks movingly about some of the memorable people whose lives touched hers.
Ojai CARES (Cancer Awareness, Resources, Education & Support) was founded in 2013 by Susan Kapadia after her own bout with breast cancer. After volunteering with cancer support groups in Santa Barbara she realized that Ojai residents needed/deserved their own. Susan talks about her years running the popular World Flavor Cafe, using recipes adapted from her years in the food business, the stresses of receiving her diagnosis while running the restaurant, and her quest to find support for herself, and to support others in turn. She also talks movingly about some of the memorable people whose lives touched hers.
OWF Supplies Grant To OjaiCARES
November, 2023
OjaiCARES — Patient Navigation/Survivorship Program: OjaiCARES provides multidimensional support to patients when they are newly diagnosed with cancer, assisting with the navigation of their health journey in all aspects. Answering questions, providing tools, setting goals, and helping patients to “leave that first meeting with hope,” said Susan Kapadia, executive director. “This $15,000 grant will help us sustain and continue to provide our clients with one of the first steps in their cancer journey: patient navigation.” Before 2013, individuals dealing with cancer in the Ojai Valley had to drive to Santa Barbara or Ventura to receive support. OjaiCARES is a comprehensive cancer resource center with advocacy, support groups, oncology massage, reiki, guided imagery, and transportation.
Ojai Women’s Fund Newsletter
The Ripple Effect of Local Giving: A Conversation with Susan Kapadia, Founder and Executive Director of OjaiCARES
June, 2020
Ojai CARES Cancer Resource Center received an Ojai Women’s Fund Grant in 2019-2020. “The ripple effect of giving is powerful,” Susan Kapadia, founder and executive director of Ojai CARES remarked in an interview with OWF member Cecilia Starin. Read the article here.
Ojai Valley News
December, 2019
The Ojai Women’s Fund awarded more than $110,000 in grants last week to 10 non-profit organizations in the Ojai Valley… The largest of the 10 grants, for $20,000 was awarded to OjaiCARES for it’s “Patient Navigation, including Promotores Program.” Read the article here.
Ojai Women’s Fund Community Corner
December, 2018
In February of 2009 Susan Kapadia received the news that most of us hope we’ll never hear: she had cancer. The news did what one might expect, it shocked, frightened, and overwhelmed both her and her family. Out of the blue they faced navigating a bewildering maze of medical information and services in addition to grappling with the idea that she had a serious and life-threatening disease. Her story ended happily and she has been cancer free for nine years now, but it was her own experience that led her to become a passionate advocate for cancer patients in our valley. Read the article here.
Women of the Ojai Valley – 2018
June, 2018
The Ojai Valley News revisited some of the notable women they profiled over the last year. Here they updated the July 14, 2017 article about Susan Kapadia and Renee Mandala of Ojai Cares.
Ojai Women’s Fund awards $64K in community grants.
January, 2018
OjaiCARES received the maximum grant of $10,000 to increase patient navigation support to 50 new clients diagnosed with cancer. Read the article here..
Cancer Support Group Shows Growing List of Patients That Someone Cares
July, 2017
For more than three years, OjaiCARES, a resource center for those with cancer and their caregivers, has provided programming to local cancer patients free of charge. Read the article here.
A Survivor Creates a cancer Support Center
January/February, 2017
Read this article from Spirituality and Health Magazine here.
Who Cares?
November, 2015
OjaiCARES. Susan Kapadia and Renee Mandala on the creation of the Ojai Valley’s only non-profit community-based cancer support organization. Read the article here.
Ojai Cares Lives Up To Its Name
June, 2015
Some of us do things for the glory — laurel wreaths, trumpet blasts, the adulation of the crowd. Some of us do things for the money. Some of us do things for approval. Sometimes outside pressure induces us. Others accept a challenge. Sometimes we do something because it has to be done. But perhaps the most noble reason for doing anything is gratitude. And Susan Kapadia is a star performer in that category. Read the articles here .
Community Rallies Around Friend With Slew of Ojai Events
May, 2015
Ojai Cares, a cancer resource group, has helped Rosa with advice and resources. It provides information on all aspects of cancer, including how to perform self-examinations for lumps in the breast. Read the article here.
Survivor Opens Cancer Support Center in Ojai
April, 2014
In 2009, Susan Kapadia’s world changed radically. Diagnosed with breast cancer, she began the daunting task of sorting through and enduring a myriad of medical decisions on her path toward regaining her heath. She emerged changed and resolved to make a difference in the lives of others facing a similar journey. Read the article here.