More than five years ago, Jennie Bennett stepped out in faith to launch the nonprofit Reconstruction of a Survivor, which has since grown from two people to 10 groups in the Houston area.

After being diagnosed with breast cancer and going through her surgery and treatment, Bennett started a support group for women affected by the disease at the St. Joseph Professional Building in downtown Houston. In the last five years, the nonprofit has expanded to 10 support groups throughout Harris, Galveston and Fort Bend counties. In Cy-Fair, women meet on the third Thursday of every month at Methodist Willowbrook Hospital with about 30 members.

"Physicians can only do one aspect of healing, and that's the physical part, but there are emotional and spiritual scars that exist, and people need help with that," Bennett said.

The support groups are all faith-based and follow a curriculum called "Navigating Life's Road Map After Breast Cancer," which has 27 different sessions, ranging from "It's OK to Cry" to "Work That Body" to "Beauty is Not Only Skin Deep."

"We rarely stick to the topic, we usually laugh a lot," said Veva Harrison, a breast cancer survivor who joined the Methodist Willowbrook group during its inception three years ago.

Aside from the support groups, the nonprofit hosts several fundraisers throughout the year and launched the Janet Ely Angels of Assistance program early this year to help women with financial needs.

"Due to the crisis people can find themselves in because of the price of medication and treatment, we developed a fund to meet some smaller needs," said Wanda Johnson, project coordinator and facilitator. "People will put off purchasing tires for their car because they have to pay for medication, or the funds for groceries are just not there."

Since January, Reconstruction of a Survivor has awarded six grants to individuals who needed a boost in their finances, Johnson said.

Ultimately, Reconstruction of a Survivor hopes to provide women with support and to let them know they do not have to go through the reconstruction process alone.

"I think if they attended one meeting prior to treatment, they would realize they have many options in how far we've come and be encouraged about their future," Harrison said. "I think we would give them hope."

Methodist Willowbrook Hospital

18220 Hwy 249, Houston 713-741-4422

www.reconstructasurvivor.org