The “cancer hospitality house” helps rural Maine cancer patients who face long-distance travel to the Bangor-Brewer area for care without an affordable place to stay.
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Sarah's House of Maine — a “home away from home” for cancer patients and caregivers in the Penobscot County town of Holden — is breaking ground on an expansion.
The work will add four guest rooms, expanded ADA-compliant accommodations, a new elevator and infrastructure improvements designed to better support guests with mobility challenges.
"After more than a year of careful planning, unwavering community support and dedicated fundraising, we are thrilled to officially break ground on our elevated expansion project,” said Heather Massey, the nonprofit’s executive director.
The project is financed by a $1.6 million fundraising campaign. Construction is expected to be completed later this year.
Bowman Constructors, of Newport, is the lead contractor, working with WBRC, an architecture, engineering and interior design firm in Bangor.
Rural challenges
Sarah’s House, at 346 Main Road in Holden, is named after Sarah Robinson, who was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2010. During treatment, Robinson saw the challenges rural Maine cancer patients faced traveling long distances to the Bangor-Brewer area for care without an affordable place to stay, according to a news release.
Robinson died in 2011. The “cancer hospitality house” opened in 2014. Referred guests are served without regard to financial resources. The nine-bedroom facility includes private bathrooms, a shared laundry room, a fully equipped kitchen, a great room and an outdoor patio.
Since opening, the organization has welcomed over 780 guests from communities across Maine. For many families in rural Maine, cancer treatment often means long drives, financial hardship, emotional exhaustion and extended time away from loved ones and support systems. Sarah’s House helps ease those burdens by providing a warm, welcoming environment where patients and caregivers can focus on healing and spend time together close to treatment facilities.
“Through this expansion, Sarah’s House will be able to welcome even more guests and ensure that every patient we serve can stay with us safely and comfortably, regardless of mobility challenges,” said Massey.
