Monday, November 10, 2025
Breast cancer survivors, current patients, volunteers and local elected leaders joined Geri Barish, executive director of Hewlett House, at Hewlett House on Oct. 1 to celebrate the organization’s 25th anniversary and the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Over the past two and a half decades, Hewlett House has treated over 42,000 people with breast cancer. It supports cancer patients at every stage of treatment and offers educational materials, 24/7 peer support and a network of cancer survivors and health professionals.
The Hewlett family originally owned the building, one of the oldest structures on Long Island, in the early 17th century, before giving it to what became the Hewlett-Woodmere School District.
In 1996, the school district called then Nassau County Legislator Bruce Blakeman to ask for financial help, because the district couldn’t afford the upkeep of the building. It was proposed to be a museum, but the idea for a safe place for women battling breast cancer was born.
Blakeman asked the school district to sell the building to the county for $1, and he reached out to Barish, a five-time cancer survivor, and asked her to take it over.
“There is nobody like you in all of America, for your advocacy, passion and commitment,” Blakeman, now the county executive, told Barish at last week’s celebration. “I want to thank all the volunteers who are here — we couldn’t run this place without you.”
Blakeman was joined by Legislator Howard Kopel, County Health Commissioner Dr. Irina Gelman, County Clerk Maureen O’Connell, Hempstead Town Supervisor John Ferretti and Town Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby.
Throughout October, the dome at the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building will be lit up in pink in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“Get those mammograms, go for your checkups, be diligent and be sure that you keep yourself healthy,” Blakeman said.
Barish thanked Blakeman for spearheading the effort that allowed Hewlett House to open 25 years ago. “We wouldn’t have saved all those lives,” she said. “I will forever be indebted and grateful to him for his fight to get this open, for the struggle to continue on and for his backing and support.”
Barish said that Hewlett House depends on community, the schools and the people who come and volunteer.
“We’re making an impact on our next generation,” she added. “Maybe we’ll get a cure — I hope so. But we’re going to keep fighting for that.”
Barish turned her personal tragedy into a mission by fighting for patients’ rights and learning more about the causes of cancer. She lost her mother to breast cancer in 1974, and her son Michael to Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1986.
“Something special happens in this house,” she said. “It’s about caring, love and helping one another. We have seen miracles here.”
No one pays for anything at Hewlett House, Barish said, because it is a free resource. She is most proud of her wig room, because for every wig the organization gives out, it is given another one to replace it.
“When I see younger and younger women — in their early 20s and all the way up — happy to walk out and feel whole again,” she said, “it makes me so proud of what we’re able to do.”
Hewlett House works with a number of hospitals and health care systems, including Mount Sinai South Nassau, Northwell Health and NYU Langone.
“Saving lives in our goal,” Barish said. “It means a lot to all the volunteers and all the survivors who are here today that we started out with so long ago. Where there’s a will, it happens.”
O’Connell said she was “drawn to the cause” because she worked in the cancer department at North Shore Hospital for 10 years. “As we were working on treatments that we were developing to treat breast cancer, it was very challenging and very difficult,” O’Connell recalled. “I was fortunate enough to go to Albany as a representative, where I got to know Geri, as she was the leader in trying to get breast cancer covered.”
O’Connell thanked Barish for devoting her life to the cause.
“We’ve come a long way,” Gelman said. “We have a long way to go, so please make sure you discuss your family history with loved ones. Make sure you’re getting your own self tested and remind you loved ones to get screened.”
She thanked Barish for her “relentless pursuit of the cure.”
“She has been nothing short of a superhero for us today,” Gelman added. “She has been the support system and the engine that keeps everything going.”
