Every day, we meet people with amazing stories of Hope and Inspiration, and we in turn pass on a “Share the Hope” bracelet or “Hang in there Hope” monkey or lizard. All of these are our little gifts that we provide through UCAAN for cancer survivors and their families, it’s the little thing that we can do to provide an even bigger impact in their lives.
The purpose of these “Share the Hope” gifts is simple… We give it to them to bring them that little bit of Hope and Inspiration, and when they meet someone on their journey who needs the hope more, they are meant to pass it on and Share the Hope with someone else. They also are asked to share their Share the Hope story with us! Below are some testimonials from people we have helped and the wonderful stories of sharing the hope!
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You wake up one morning and are told that you have Cancer.
I am sure some people completely freak, some become very task oriented and yet others stand in one spot frozen in time, and can do nothing but cry, most people will likely do a combination of all three. No matter what the reaction is, eventually we come to realize that a diagnosis of Cancer is a process, a process that not all of us will make it through, and a process that will be different for everyone.
I was told early in my diagnosis by a very wise cancer patient that I should, “Consider for a moment how many different types of Cancer there are, and how many different types and combinations of Chemo therapy there are.” That thought truly blew my mind; Cancer is not the singular identity that some people perceive it to be. It is a very multi layered complex experience that in every way will change the very color of your world and how you fit into it.
So much about a diagnosis of cancer is about a lack of control. So much of the time, your body and mind are being managed by your doctors and Pharmaceutical/Insurance company’s. The indiscretions of cancer treatments and the effects they have on your body can leave you sad, depressed and sometimes shut off from anything that even remotely resembles your pre-cancer life.
I however have always held the belief that while you don’t have control over what happens to you, there is control in how you respond to it. I have held this thought very close during my own cancer process and believe in its validity. No matter where you are at in your process there is a lot of support out there, you can take a little control back and make the choice to reach for that support. Organizations like United Cancer Advocacy Action Network and people like Rachel Shur can help provide some important tools for you to wage your own war on cancer. There are many organizations out there to lend a hand but Rachel happens to be a member of the club. For myself, the information that she provided regarding on line networking sites for Lymphoma was particularly helpful.
Remember my friends, knowledge is power and organizations like United Cancer Advocacy Action Network can help you gain a little control over your personal battle with this disease.
May we all find peace in the process! ~ Scott Richard, NY
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UCAAN provided support to my entire family while my nephew was enduring the pain of the recurrence of brain cancer. Rachel connected, educated and entertained all to keep morale up during a very stressful time period. Her attention to my nephew, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law helped soften the reality of life without Edward.
UCAAN and I hope you do…Support Rachel and her efforts.
-Mary Victoria, Aunt of Edward Hernandez
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A VERY SPECIAL “HAPPY HOLLY-DAYS” 2010
My name is Valerie and I have been a hematology patient at City of Hope in Duarte for the past 6 years. While waiting for one of my infusion appointments this past Christmas, many of my fellow patients and I had a very nice surprise. Inside the Brawerman Clinic, a wonderful group of vocalists entertained us by singing some classic Christmas carols. And, some of us patients even joined in for a few choruses.
Also present was a group of children and teenagers who were passing out hand-made Christmas cards to us patients and our families. Even though some cards were more elaborate than others, each was unique and beautiful, and obviously made with love. Two charming little girls gave me mine, and I was really impressed with how gorgeous it was. It was very lovely, complete with glittery strips of red and green paper woven into a beautiful design. There were also green holly leaves and little red berries and an inscription that said “Happy Holly-days!” It was truly prettier than most of the commercial cards my husband and I had received at home. I know there were some patients present whose cultures don’t recognize Christmas, but everyone had a smile on their faces – a reflection of how much they enjoyed hearing the carols and receiving their own special “holly-day” card.
I turned my card over and much to my surprise and delight saw an inscription in the back that said it was hand-made and decorated by volunteers from a wonderful charity organization called UCAAN. UCAAN was founded by a fellow City of Hope patient and my friend Rachel Shur. It’s a very special cancer support organization where people of all ages and with different cancer diagnoses can find the information and resources they need to help them become fully self-supporting while recovering from their treatment. Knowing this card was made by my friend Rachel’s organization made it even more special to me.
But, as much as I would have loved keeping that card, there was someone else at City of Hope that I thought deserved it more. One of my infusion nurses who works in the VAD (vascular access draw) Unit is named Holly. Holly isn’t just one of my favorite nurses; she is one of every other patient’s favorite nurses. Besides being a great RN in the technical respect, she is sweet, compassionate, and very, very patient with all of us patients. She’s one of the special ones – the kind that makes our visits much more tolerable and even enjoyable. So I immediately and without reservation decided that I wanted Holly to have this card. And I wanted her to know that even though it had been given to me, I was passing it along to her on behalf of UCAAN, Rachel, myself, and ALL of us VAD patients who appreciate her so much.
Waiting for an appointment can sometimes be pretty stressful, but on this beautiful sunny day, sitting in the waiting area in front of the clinic’s huge and gorgeously-decorated Christmas tree, listening to these talented singers, and receiving a card from the UCAAN volunteers, made me feel very blessed. Being there with other patients with different diagnoses and from various countries with myriad beliefs and customs reinforced that we all have one thing in common – HOPE! But, it was ‘paying it forward’ to Holly that made this day so special for me. Even now, she keeps this card by her workstation in the VAD Unit as a reminder of how much she is loved. I think this is one way that Holly helps keep the Christmas spirit alive each and every day.
Then the funniest thing happened. I’m not one that believes in coincidences; I believe that things happen for a reason. Call it kismet or fate, but about a month after Christmas and right before my last infusion, I actually ran into Rachel in the COH Brawerman Clinic hallway. Our appointment dates usually don’t coincide, so our meeting at that exact date and time at a very large medical center campus was meant to be. After hugging each other and meeting her friends, I told Rachel about my “Happy Holly-days” card story and she almost started to cry. Seems that Rachel personally made that card – and – with “our” Holly as her inspiration. No wonder the card was so beautiful! She was so thrilled to hear that I had gotten that one very special card and that I in turn gave it to our RN friend, Holly! This sounds corny, but it’s almost like that card assumed a life of its own and was delivered on angel’s wings and not hand-to-hand like it was. A hand-made, holly-decorated Christmas card – made by Rachel, put in with a batch of dozens and dozens of other cards, chosen at random and given to me at just the right place and time, then to be passed on to our special real-life Holly… If you ask me, that’s our own little Christmas miracle!
Written by:
Valerie Stevenson Multiple Myeloma Survivor (12/2004) Inland Empire Multiple Myeloma Support Group Co-chair City of Hope Patient UCAAN Fan
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In May, my assistant Sarah and I took an amazing trip across the country – a 21 day, 9,000 mile drive to visit some of the top cancer centers but to also meet some of the survivors we had helped in previous years. On this journey, we met Bree, an older woman with chronic panceatitus, tumors in her brain and multiple cancers. Bree’s story was unique and very heartfelt. She had been through so much tragedy and trauma in her life and now was facing her biggest challenge – her cancers. Bree was in the room next to her and we really saw it as a God send, we were meant to meet her. Bree had been getting treatments at a hospital in North Carolina and had been living in the hotel room for about a month, her room was filled with racks of clothes shipped from her friends in California who had no clue she was deathly ill and in need of help, and with her she had two small apple head chihuahuas named Binky & Bubkiss. Bree was from another state, but had come out to North Carolina with some hope that they could help her with her cancer and treatment side effects.
I ended up spending some time with Bree that night in her room, listening to her story, her diagnosis and her current challenges. As she told me about her horrible past and then chances in life where she helped so many despite her struggles…. I felt for her and understood why she was so strong. The truth was, Bree needed help. The hotel she had been living in for a month was kicking her out on the street the next day because she had no money left to pay for her room for another day. She had contacted the social workers at her hospital, churches and organizations and was unable to get any help from anyone. Somehow she connected with a man named Mr’ Perry, who was staying the in hospital and was a parishioner at a local church. (He was a saint and had donated his home to a family that lost their home due to unforeseen circumstances and now he was living in the hotel.) Mr. Perry agreed to help Bree as much as he could and he took it upon himself to go out and try to raise money for her hotel room by washing car windows. I had the privilege to meet Mr. Perry and asked him to help me help Bree. We (UCAAN) didn’t have extra funding to pay for her hotel for a few days, so what I did was donate some of our Share the Hope jewelry – about $300 worth – and I asked Mr. Perry to sell the jewelry to raise money for Bree’s hotel. Within the night, Mr. Perry did just that ans was able to help raise money for Bree.
When we were leaving in the morning, Bree recorded a special message for us, which you can view below. But as Sarah and I drove out of North Carolina I called the one person that I had spoken to in North Carolina and within 20 minutes I had connected the head for Social Services in North Carolina with Bree. Awesome!!
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More Stories & Testimonials to Come!
