Cancer, Sandy can’t stop her

Business owner looks to help others fight on

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“You regret what you haven’t done,” Linda Dupuis, a 15-year Baldwin resident, said about her new business, SpaVie. Despite the many obstacles that life has thrown in her way in recent years, Dupuis decided to take a chance and open her own spa in Baldwin last winter.

Starting in 2010, she went from doctor to doctor for months, trying to find an answer for why she had muscle cramps and an “electric” feeling all over her body. Doctors told her that the sensations were a result of everyday stress, and nothing to worry about. But in 2011, after six months of appointments, a hematologist discovered the answer: stage 3 lymphoma. Fortunately, the cancer wasn’t aggressive, and Dupuis started chemotherapy right away.

In the summer of 2012, when she seemed to be in remission, Dupuis underwent a stem cell transplant. But a few months later, another hurdle came her way: Hurricane Sandy. Her home was flooded, and instead of recovering from the transplant in a sterile environment, she found herself pulling up carpeting and trying to fix all of the damage left by the storm. She came down with pneumonia. Given the combined burden of a second illness, the effort to clean up after Sandy and the depression she fell into after her stem cell transplant, it took two years to finish up all of the repairs on her house.

Shortly before she had been diagnosed with cancer, her mother-in-law was diagnosed, and Linda took her to her chemotherapy appointments. But her mother-in-law died, and Linda soon found herself battling the disease as well, but with a different perspective. “It was kind of strange going back to where she was and dealing with it myself,” she said.

Dupuis realized that all of the stress she had been feeling had led her to become sick. One of the leading causes of cancer, and sicknesses in general, she said, is stress. Of course, it’s hard to overcome because life happens, she said, but that’s where de-stressors, such as spas, come in.

She tries to create a relaxing and stress-free environment for her customers, Dupuis explained, which is evidenced by the soothing music and décor in SpaVie’s entrance. Since it opened on Milburn Avenue in December 2014, the business has attracted more customers each month, she said.

Rita Cavanagh, a frequent customer, said she loves the atmosphere of the salon and all of the organic products that Dupuis uses, because Baldwin doesn’t really cater to the spa crowd. She said she also found that Dupuis was a genuinely nice woman and a great listener. “I just felt like I could confide in her, and at one point she confided in me, and when I heard about what she’s been through, it just moved me,” Cavanagh said. In addition to owning the salon, Cavanagh said, Dupuis gives back by hosting small events that raise money for cancer research.

The spa is by appointment only, to accommodate its employees, who have time to be at home and tend to their families if need be. This helps reduce stress not only for not customers, but employees as well, Dupuis said.

Dayoda St. Aime, one of the women who works with Dupuis, said she has been a considerate and sweet from day one. St. Aime said she has two jobs and Dupuis is understading of her busy schedule, so she works with her to find the schedule that fits best.

In addition to the relaxing environment, Dupuis said, the spa’s products contain a minimum of chemicals and artificial ingredients, yet work just as well as other high-end treatments. She said she buys organic products to help reduce the amount of chemicals that customers use on their bodies, because many can be cancer-causing agents.

Dupuis said that her main goal is simply to help people do something for themselves, because it’s OK to do that every now and then and not feel guilty about it. She is also trying to get involved with the oncology department of South Nassau Communities Hospital, she said, because she wants to offer services, such as facials, to cancer patients. She is licensed to do so, and she benefits from remembering how difficult the experience was for her, she added.

With the love and support of friends and family, she managed to overcome some of the biggest obstacles in her life and take a chance on doing something she wanted to do. Now she’s looking to pay it forward.