Addy - thanks for asking about Chemoangels.
Laura Armstrong was a stay at home mom in California who met a woman who was undergoing chemotherapy treatments. Laura started writing to her and sending her cards and small gifts every week. The woman told her that those cards and notes did more to brighten her spirits and get her through the treatments than anything else. The simple act of looking forward to the mailman's coming gave her that special encouragement and boost she needed to keep on fighting the cancer.
Laura started recruiting her friends in this effort and they started writing to other chemo patients and Chemo Angels was born! There are over a thousand angels now - spread out all over the world. I found this description of what they do on the Net and it describes it very well:
"This group of volunteers helps those facing cancer and going through chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation treatments. Each chemoangel is given a patient to contact and help in any way they can. They send cards, gifts, and letters. They give love, support, prayers, and encouragement. They offer their help with kind minds, compassionate hearts, and caring souls. They look for and they find anything they can to help cancer patients heal their bodies and uplift their spirits. They are there to cheer with each patient who is declared cancer free and they are there to grieve with every family who loses a member to this terrible disease. They are there to make a difference, to share love, and to give joy and they never fail to do so."
ChemoAngels also have specialized groups who angel senior citizens. And others who work as 'special angels'. These come into play at crisis times - when the primary angel is sick and isn't able to keep up their end, the special angels come in and take over until they're well again. Under no circumstances is the patient allowed to go without an angel during any part of this time.
I was having a major battle with depression following 9/11. I was receiving medical help, but it wasn't enough. One day at work (at the Smithsonian) my coworkers and I got on a discussion of "if heaven exists, what do you want it to be for you?". A visitor to the museum heard me say that when I passed, I wanted to be a guardian angel. She said "you don't have to wait to be an angel - you can be one right now." She then told me about the Chemoangels. I got my first 'buddy' in mid 2002. I've had 5 altogether and all but one have successfully beaten the cancer monster. You will never, EVER, know how wonderful it is to work with these people. You discover very early on that when you're busy helping someone else, you don't have time to worry about yourself. These women were going through such a hard time, how could I possibly be feeling sorry for myself? (It was my choice to angel women who were close to my own age. The angel can ask for anyone they want - seniors, children, anyone.) The one exception of course was my dear friend Nancy. I became personally closer to her than I had to any of the others because we shared so many things. I'm out of the program right now and I don't know when I'll have the nerve to ask for another buddy - but I'm sure I will. I'm convinced that being active in the program saved my life. (And got me off Zoloft!)
Oh - and SUNSETS! I'm a night person. I don't operate very well during the day, but at night I'm wide awake. Besides, they look so beautiful - don't you think? I'm not usually awake to see the sun rise so I don't know if they're as beautiful or not!
www.thebreastcancersite.com
A click for life.
mamie4 5/14/03
