ASTROnews: Our Partners in cancer support

In 2003, ASTRO created the Survivor Circle as a way to reach out to the patient support organizations in the cities hosting our Annual Meeting who provide invaluable services to the patients we treat. This year we were honored to award Gilda’s Club Chicago and Halos of Hope with $10,000 grants each to further their work helping patients receiving radiation therapy.

Gilda’s Club Chicago
Walking into the 2009 ASTRO convention and seeing the Survivor Circle was a moving experience. There was the immediate image of courageous individuals living with determination and grace. But the meaning of the Survivor Circle soon became bigger – here at a national conference showcasing remarkable advances in technology was a symbol that with all our advances, we all share the same purpose: Help those impacted by cancer regain the everyday joys that make life worthwhile.

There are a few memories of the conference that will stay with me. Rep. Parker Griffith was interested in our Cancer in the Classroom program and immediately invited us to reach out to his staff. Congratulating our volunteer Carrie Daly on receiving the 2009 ASTRO Nurse Excellence Award reminded me how connected we all are in our work. I was also impressed by the welcome we received from the ASTRO exhibitors – we’ve already scheduled tours at our Club and hope to find ways to work together to reach more people.

In this sprit of collaboration, I asked myself, what does Gilda’s Club bring to ASTRO? The answer is tied to our mission to build welcoming communities for men, women, teens and children, and their family and friends impacted by cancer. We are your partners in treating the whole person through our ability to support expert medical treatment with compassionate emotional, social and informational support.

One of our members, Robin, recalled receiving a diagnosis this way: “When we went into the doctor’s office and he told my husband Dan ‘you have cancer,’ it was like a bomb went off in the room and we were left with the devastation.” Gilda’s Club Chicago connects people like Robin and Dan with those who can assist them in finding answers to questions they never expected to ask: How do I tell my children that I have cancer? How am I going to stay strong? How am I going to get through this?

You can’t call 411 and find someone who will share their personal journey and open their hearts to hear yours. That happens in a place founded in trust, nurtured by time and built on the knowledge that we are embraced just as we are. Last year, Gilda’s Club Chicago hosted more than 8,000 visits because our members know they can count on us. We are proud of our achievements and honored that ASTRO chose to acknowledge our community contribution.

If there is a lasting legacy of the 2009 conference, I hope it is the continued opportunity for us to work together. Last month in Washington, D.C., Gilda’s Club and the Wellness Community announced a national merger of our organizations. There is great promise in working together. In more than 50 communities, there is a Gilda’s Club or a Wellness Community. Please take this as our invitation to come in and see what we can do when we combine forces so that no one will need to face cancer alone.

LauraJane Hyde
CEO, Gilda’s Club Chicago

Chicago’s Hope
Halos of Hope was honored to be selected by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) as one of this year’s Survivor Circle grant recipients. We appreciated the work done by the talented graphic artists to bring our story to life in the panels of the Survivor Circle itself, allowing all ASTRO attendees to learn more about our outreach efforts to those in need.

We also want to thank ASTRO for allowing us to be part of the Patient Causeway and allowing us to talk with the nurses in attendance about the way we help patients who have lost their hair due to radiation or chemotherapy. As a result, we were able to make contacts with a number of centers and hospitals around the country and have already started sending our caps to these groups so they have free hats to give to their patients. More than 100 hats are already in the hands of ASTRO-participant centers around the country, with many more to come.

Rosemary Braun, Halos of Hope’s director of fundraising and volunteer recruitment, summed up the experience in this way, “It truly was a great experience to attend ASTRO and receive such a great honor. Walking in was overwhelming! The Survivor Circle was the highlight of the entrance and we were welcomed with open arms as so many of your members stopped to chat and thank us for what we are doing as we try to bring comfort one cap at a time. As we continue to knit, crochet and sew caps, we are so thankful not only for the grant but also for all the work and research done by ASTRO members.”

Pamela Haschke
President and Founder, Halos of Hope

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