A Simple Way To Give Support To Those With Cancer

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If you have been around my blog a while you know that My father died of cancer 5 years ago. I have spent these last 5 years trying to find anything I can in the way of giving back on a budget. When I received an email form a reader telling me about ChemoAngels, I was so impressed that she had served those with cancer in such a way that I asked her if she could share her story with you. She sent me her story and I want to share it with you first and then I will give you a bit of my thoughts and hopes at the end of the post.

This is her story.

“Well, what can I say about ChemoAngels. It is a great organization. I am a volunteer at heart. It is one of my greatest passions, but sometimes traveling to somewhere to give time can be difficult when you are working full time and caring for your family. So after seeing ChemoAngels featured online I decided to check it out. I became a Card Angel sending cards and small gifts once a week. It required little time, but I was able to connect with that part of me that wanted to serve another person.

I have done this on and of for 4 years. You apply on the site and are matched with a patient. This can take several weeks. My first patient was an elderly man whose wife I did share correspondence with. His cancer was treated and went into remission. This was a great first experience for me. What you must know though is that this is not a penpal type of thing. Your patient is not obligated to communicate with you, they can if they choose. You receive check-up info through ChemoAngels directly to see how your patient is doing. I have had other patients that have sent a card as they graduated the program thanking me for my care. Patients leave the program one of 3 ways – remission, lack of communication\check in, or death.

I have not had a patient die, but I have had one cancelled for lack of check-in. It was saddening, because of course you wonder what struggles they are facing. With a situation like that you send a final letter and if you so choose sign up to be matched with another patient. “

First off, I really want to thank Stephanie for sharing this with me. I had never heard of ChemoAngels before. I can honestly say though that those few minutes it takes her to write and send a card of encouragement with a little personal note about her and her family made the day of that chemo patient. They sit for long hours getting treatment and to have the correspondence of someone for them to read or to feel the encouragement from makes the time go by faster and helps the whole family to get through the process.

By the new year I hope to be able to be a part of this. I have a few things I need to finish up in the next couple months, but I hope to be able to give to someone and to help them find the strength to fight this horrible disease. With the recent passing of Patrick Swayze, it has brought back a lot of the feelings that went along with the disease in my family. I feel it is such a small thing that only takes a small amount of time and is probably one of the best ways you can give to the cause on a budget. Please take the time to look into this and see if you have a few minutes that you can give to someone in need. It will mean more then you could ever imagine!