L:R: Geoff Graham, senior director, QEII Foundation, Ron Ternoway, a cancer patient survivor and a longtime Sunshine Room volunteer, and Terra Thibault, director of cancer care for Nova Scotia Health's Central Zone at the reopening of the Sunshine Room on May 8, 2025.
The Sunshine Room, a calm and welcoming environment for cancer patients in a newly renovated space at the Victoria General site of the QEII Health Sciences Centre, officially opens today, May 8. Funding for the renovations, design and furnishings was made possible through a partnership between Nova Scotia Health and the QEII Foundation.
Located on the main floor in Room 24 of the Centennial Building, the Sunshine Room is operated by Nova Scotia Health’s volunteer services. Patients and family members may drop in Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., for a cup of tea or coffee, to enjoy some quiet time or to try a service such as massage therapy, Reiki or reflexology provided by licensed volunteers. Wigs and wig fittings are also available. In time, the Sunshine Room will have a book club, a knitting club and art therapy. All services are available on a drop-in basis and provided free of charge.
“The reimagined Sunshine Room is a gift to cancer patients and a credit to all who helped make it possible,” said Eileen MacGibbon, vice president of operations, Nova Scotia Health’s Central Zone. “Thank you to our colleagues in volunteer services, volunteers, Cancer Care Program leaders, the QEII Foundation’s team and donors for working together to make a warm and inviting space for patients and their families.”
Many patients benefited from the original Sunshine Room before COVID-19 arrived and the world, including the Sunshine Room, shut down.
“A cancer care journey includes more than the medical treatments and the physical impacts that patients experience. It affects someone’s entire life, including their emotional and mental well-being,” said Geoff Graham, senior director, QEII Foundation.
“QEII Foundation donors believe in the power of supporting the entire care journey and have provided crucial funds to ensure the Sunshine Room can reopen. Sometimes it is the small things that really have the biggest impact. The QEII Foundation will continue to raise funds to enhance the space and the experience for patients.
Terra Thibault, director of cancer care for Central Zone said the vision for the original Sunshine Room was spearheaded by a patient who recognized the need for a positive, healing environment for patients – away from the clinical world and worries of cancer treatment.
“The new Sunshine Room is equally inviting in a larger and more modern space, with a lounge area for relaxation and separate rooms for massage therapy, reiki and reflexology and for wig fittings. We are grateful for the many contributions that have made this space possible and for the ongoing support of our incredible volunteers.”
Ron Ternoway, a cancer patient survivor and a longtime volunteer with the original Sunshine Room said his visits to the Sunshine Room 10 years ago as a patient prompted him to become a volunteer a few years later.
I have a rare incurable blood cancer and at the time I was on a clinical trial that required monthly visits to the hematology clinic,” Ternoway said. “I was up on the 11th floor pharmacy waiting for my prescription when I discovered the Sunshine Room. Soon after, I was introduced to the power of Reiki and benefited from weekly Reiki treatments at the Sunshine Room. I was astounded by how good I felt after a 20-minute session, and I wanted to share that healing energy with others.
The Sunshine Room begins welcoming patients on May 26. To learn more or to donate to the Sunshine Room, visit QE2Foundation.ca/SunshineRoom.
