When his wife got breast cancer, Benjamin quit his successful Beverly Hills law practice to support her struggle with the disease. He founded the Wellness Community, a network of free support centers for cancer patients (and their families), with centers in 22 cities in the U.S. and abroad.
He also trained therapists who have started non-associated programs, such as “Gilda’s Club”, opened in memory of comedian Gilda Radner, who was helped at a Wellness Community. “What Harold did was organize a replicable national model,” says the founder of Commonweal, another cancer treatment center. “Nobody, to my knowledge, has done such a comprehensive job for all cancer patients.” Wellness Communities help support 30,000 cancer patients per year. His wife survived her cancer and her husband, who died December 23 from pulmonary fibrosis. He was 80.
Update: In 2009, the Wellness Community merged with Gilda’s Club to form the Cancer Support Community.