City of Hope

What could this be about? Well, this page is dedicated to my friends Lisa and Chris who are dealing with cancer that Lisa was diagnosed with late last summer. As self-employed grant writers, they have been forced to go without health insurance for the past several years because restrictions imposed by the insurance industry have made it almost impossible to secure health insurance without being part of an employer-sponsored group health plan -- Catch-22 for small business people. Needless to say, this cancer news was devastating in more ways than one. To make a very long story short, Lisa's diagnosis of Stage IV cervical cancer and her uninsured status qualified her for an amazing program that has made it possible for her to be treated by City of Hope Medical Center in LA. Top of the line medical team, cutting edge care at a world class Comprehensive Cancer Center, the whole nine yards. I am so impressed with this non-profit organization and the care that they’re providing to my friends that I have decided to do some fund raising for them. So far we have $100 gathered, just among a couple of friends, but there will be a going away party for me in late March, coupled with a fund raising that day. I hope people will feel able to donate a penny a mile for the cause. Who knows, $26.50 times ? could turn into a fair chunk of change. No matter what, I honor this organization and my friends for their bravery. And after three rounds of chemo, no sign of cancer! How's that for cool?

Lisa and Chris

I'll be including some words from them in the next couple of days. Should you also feel inclined to donate to the City of Hope you could send a check of any amount (made out to the City of Hope) to A. Gleason at 418 Darwin Avenue Santa Cruz, CA 95062. We will then send them on to our contact at the San Francisco office of the City of Hope. If you have any questions please feel free to email me at shskye@cabrillo.edu  After 4/10/2012 I'll be walking so any response from me will probably be slow. 

Just a little post party note. So far we have raised $654.50 for the City of Hope. I popped the checks off in the mail yesterday and received yet another check today. The money keeps coming in. Aren't people wonderful?

And NOW, for some words from my friends. I'll bet you can tell they are grant writers... so talented.

Wow!  We are blown away by Shelly’s fundraising effort on behalf of City of Hope!  Cancer hit us like a tsunami when, last August, a visit to the gynecologist to follow up on a little spot bleeding turned out to be a rare and highly aggressive malignancy — one that tends to evade discovery through PAP tests until it’s fairly well advanced.  We were shocked by that terrifying diagnosis (officially, “adenocarcinoma of the cervix”) and dismayed that, as 59-year old self-employed people, we’ve been unable to replace the health insurance that we lost when our insurance plan folded in 2003.  Since then, we’ve been living (nervously) in the hope that we could manage to stave off any serious health issues until either Medicare kicked in at age 65 or the Obama insurance reforms took effect.  Either way, we were forced to confront both the anxiety that came with the diagnosis itself and the very real possibility that treating it would also cost us our house, our savings and any possibility of retirement at any age.  Our doctor, Marki Knox, was dismayed as well — both by the alarming medical evidence of a rare and aggressive cancer and by the understanding of what that meant for us, as uninsured people.  She said, “You need to be at City of Hope.  Let me make some calls.”  And, with that, we were delivered into what felt like the arms of angels.

Thanks to the availability of the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Program at City of Hope, we have been able to access a level of care that would otherwise have been inaccessible to us — delivered within the context of an institutional culture that is as caring and supportive as it its medically excellent.  City of Hope Medical Center is one of only 40 hospitals nationwide designated by the National Cancer Institute as Comprehensive Cancer Centers.  From our very first contact, the commitment of COH and its amazing staff to it’s guiding principal has been in evidence, every single day:  “There is no profit in curing the body if, in the process, we destroy the soul.”  This is, in itself, powerful medicine.  From the outset, Lisa has been treated, not as a diagnosis, but as a three-dimensional, intelligent, living, breathing human being.  We both have.  Doctors, nurses, technicians, schedulers, and administrative personnel have all treated us with unfailing kindness, good humor and recognition of our now 27-year relationship.  In so many ways, this very large treatment and research facility feels like our family doctor’s office.  We exchange recipes with some of the medical staff.  Who knew?

As it’s turning out, City of Hope’s World Class medical expertise is serving us better than we’d even dreamed.  The tumor staging and assessment process revealed that Lisa’s cancer was at Stage IV; in terms of survivability, the situation was bleak.  Still, the medical team recommended an unusually aggressive, multi-stage, multi-disciplinary treatment plan whose success has astonished all of us. In February, the most recent PET/CT scan, revealed no evidence of the cancer after three cycles of chemotherapy.  There is a great deal more therapy to go but, this notoriously unresponsive cancer is officially on the run!  For so long, the word “cure” had not even been a part of our conversation; now, it’s become the primary treatment goal. Thanks to City of Hope Medical Center, that big word HOPE has made its way back into our conversation, our life together and — best of all — our future.

We can’t begin to express our gratitude for what our association with COH has brought to us; nor can we really say what it means to us that our dear friend Shelly has chosen to use her wild and wonderful adventure as a vehicle by which to further the work of this fantastic organization.  We will, however, be sponsoring her walk.  If you’re even thinking of doing that also, you might want to check out COH for yourself at http://www.cityofhope.org. Thank you Shelly Jo!  We love you so very much and we’ll be walking beside you in spirit — every single step of the way!