Cancer patients spend a lot of time in hospitals. In Newark, there’s a new club in town that’s giving them and their families a place to heal minus the clinical atmosphere.

Walking into one of the pastel colored rooms at Gilda’s Club, one of the first things you notice is the smell of lavender.

“People say they walk in and they just sigh a sigh of relief ."

Ruth Dugan is President of the North Jersey chapter of Gilda’s Club named for comedienne Gilda Radner who died of ovarian cancer in her early 40s. The newest clubhouse opened this week across the street from Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. Dugan says it offers patients a comforting alternative to the sterile atmosphere of the hospital.

Patients like Kathy Seeley from Maplewood who’s been to Gilda’s throughout some of the roughest times in her multiple battles with cancer.

“Maybe it will be okay and maybe it won’t be okay, but at least while you’re here, you know you’re in a bubble of positivity and support.”