These therapies offer more than comfort—they create meaningful moments of connection, peace and joy during an important time in a patient’s journey.

We are deeply grateful to everyone who supported Wonderlight and helped shine a light on the difference these services make.

Missed Wonderlight? Watch the full video below and see the impact of Integrative Therapies firsthand.

Your support can help bring more moments of comfort and connection to patients and families. Make a gift today to help Lightways continue providing these meaningful therapies to those who need them most.

For Grace, music has a way of reaching her.

Grace has been receiving services from Lightways Hospice and Serious Illness Care since February 2023, including nursing care, supplies, and support from the Integrative Therapies team. For more than three years, her care has been supported by a team focused not only on her medical needs, but also on the things that bring her comfort and joy.

One of those things is music.

Whenever her music therapist Julia visits, Grace responds. In fact, her daughters, Patti and Margie, say they can count on it every time.

“Every single time Julia comes, Mom wakes up and sings along,” they shared.

It doesn’t matter what time of day Julia arrives. As soon as Grace hears the music, she becomes engaged and joins in. She may not sing every word or every note, but that isn’t what matters. What matters is the response, the recognition, the participation, and the joy of being part of the moment.

For Grace, Julia’s visits have become a meaningful part of her care.

That connection is at the heart of Lightways’ Integrative Therapies program. Music therapy offers another way for our team to connect with patients, using music to encourage engagement, expression, and moments of comfort. For patients and families, these visits can become something they look forward to and remember.

Grace’s daughters are an important part of her care, too. Patti and Margie know their mom well and are always encouraging her to participate and try new things. Their involvement, along with the support of Julia and the rest of Grace’s care team, helps create a compassionate circle of care around her.

It is moments like these that demonstrate what makes an integrated hospice team so special. Every member brings a different skill and perspective, working together to care for the whole person, not just a diagnosis.

For Grace, sometimes that connection starts with a song.

Julia plays.

Grace wakes up.

Some moments are more than celebrations. They are dreams fulfilled.

At 17 years old, Iliana had faced an incredibly difficult journey living with pulmonary hypertension following a heart and double lung transplant. Through it all, she carried an attitude of hope that inspired not only her family but her Lightways care team, and together, they created beautiful and lasting memories.

One of those memories was a special quinceañera put together by her family and the Lightways Joyful Moments volunteers. During the celebration, Iliana was surrounded by her loved ones, dressed in a stunning princess gown inspired by Princess Belle. Iliana truly embodied grace, strength, and joy.

One of the most powerful moments of the evening was watching Iliana greet each guest from her throne chair, smiling, animated, and fully present in every interaction. She was determined to make the most of her night and chose to stand and dance with her mom. In another deeply meaningful moment, she shared time on the dance floor with her dad, reconnecting in a way that made the evening even more special.

And yet, her story of creating precious memories doesn’t end there.

Iliana worked closely with our musical therapist, Shira, to write and produce a beautiful legacy song and slideshow for her family. In this remarkably moving song, Iliana speaks words of comfort to her family, a true gift that they can cherish forever. Her memory lives on through this project that she worked hard to create, and it was her own courage, joy, and resilience that sparked the unforgettable collaboration.

Iliana’s story reminds us how meaningful it is to create moments of connection, love, and celebration, especially when they matter most.

Help us continue to bring moments like this to life for other families. Learn more about how you can support our pediatric care and integrative therapies team.

Through their “Shut the Front Door to Cancer” fundraiser, nearly 300 people came together to celebrate Jan’s life, raise awareness, and give back to Lightways.

Discover how one family transformed love and death into an extraordinary gift for others.

When Jim and Kaitlin Lynch first came to Lightways Hospice and Serious Illness Care, they were navigating unimaginable grief.

Their beloved wife and mother, Jan, recently died to cancer. Following her death, Jim, Kaitlin, and the Lynch family turned to the Lightways Grief Support Program for compassionate guidance.

Grief is a deeply personal journey, but no one should have to navigate it alone. Through the support of Lightways Grief Support counselors, the Lynch family found comfort, understanding, and a safe space to begin moving forward while keeping Jan’s memory close.

As time passed, the family began looking for a meaningful way to honor Jan’s life and the impact she had on the people around her. That desire became “Shut the Front Door to Cancer,” a fundraiser focused on cancer prevention, research, and awareness.

But the event was about more than raising money for an important cause. For the Lynch family, it was an opportunity to celebrate Jan, bring people together, and give back to Lightways – an organization that had supported them during one of the most difficult times in their lives.

What began as a goal of welcoming 150 attendees quickly grew into something much bigger.

In early June, nearly 300 people came together for “Shut the Front Door to Cancer.” Family members, friends, and members of the community gathered to honor Jan’s memory and stand together in support of a cause that touches so many lives.

The overwhelming response was a testament to the love Jan inspired and to the family’s commitment to making a difference.

And the generosity didn’t stop with the event.

In July, the Lynch family presented Lightways with an incredible donation from the fundraiser. Their gift represents so much more than a financial contribution. It reflects their gratitude for the support they received, their enduring love for Jan, and their desire to make sure other families have access to compassionate care and support when they need it most.

While Jan did not receive hospice or palliative care from Lightways, her family experienced firsthand the difference that grief support can make. Today, the Lynch family’s connection with Lightways has continued into another chapter of their journey: Jim’s father is receiving hospice care with Lightways.

Their story is a powerful reminder that the need for support doesn’t end with death. Families may encounter Lightways at different points in their journeys – through grief support, hospice care, palliative care, or other services – and those connections can become part of a family’s story for years to come.

For the Lynch family, giving back has become one way of carrying Jan’s legacy forward.

“Shut the Front Door to Cancer” brought hundreds of people together in her honor. Their generosity will now help extend that impact to others, offering hope and support to families facing their own difficult journeys.

At Lightways, we are honored to walk alongside the Lynch family through each chapter of their journey. We are grateful to Jim, Kaitlin, their family, their friends, and everyone who supported “Shut the Front Door to Cancer” for transforming love and death into an extraordinary gift for others.

Jan’s memory continues to make a difference – and through the generosity of those who loved her, her legacy will continue to touch lives in the years ahead.