Cards4Cancer Day - finally here!

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who contributed cards to Cards4Cancer Day. We collected 86 cards for CHEO (Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario) and 116 cards for OHCC (Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre).

I dropped the OHCC cards off with Diane Manii, Clinical Manager of the Psychosocial Oncology Program. Some of the support the program provides are: speech-language pathology, nutrition counseling, social work, psychiatry, psychology, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, exercise rehabilitation, geriatric oncology and access to the patient and family library.

I’ve known Diane since 1998, when she led the support group I joined when I was first diagnosed. She has seen many changes and improvements since then, including a modern and spacious chemotherapy centre in the new wing of the cancer centre.

I also met with Marie Belanger, Media Relations and Events Specialist at CHEO. Marie was happy to hear about the guidelines established by SpritJump (e.g. no religious content, stored in a smoke-free area, etc.). That made it much easier for them to accept and distribute the cards. They plan to put them on the food trays. The children's cards were filled with drawings, stickers, pictures of pets and cheery messages.

While I was waiting for Marie in the lobby, I met Dorothy (on the right above) who was delivering bags of teddy bears made by her mother, Peggy Williams. To-date, they have made and delivered over 5,000 teddy bears to CHEO for distribution to the patients there.

What I'm grateful for today: Unsung heroes who are making a difference in our community: people like Dorothy, Peggy, and all of the people who contributed to Cards4Cancer day. Also, a huge shout out to the wonderful staff at the Ottawa Cancer Centre for the care they show while doing a difficult job. In particular, I'm grateful for the good relationship I have with my oncologist, Stan Gertler. (OK, I admit, I've had a platonic crush on him for years!)

The prodigal son returns in: 27 days

Only 10 days left until Cards4Cancer Day

April 10th is just around the corner and I'm still collecting Cards4Cancer. I have 48 cards for kids and 49 for adults. Let's take it to over 100 -- and beyond!

Please take a few minutes to write a note to put a smile on the face of someone going through cancer treatments. That's all it takes: just a card and a few minutes to wish someone a good day.

What I'm grateful for today: This great weather!

The prodigal son returns in: 39 days

Hope and a Smile

Here's a video about Cards4Cancer day that was posted to the Livestrong website.



Please send your cards to me before April 10th.

What to write on your cards 
Guidelines for writing your cards 
Cards4Cancer Day video

What to write on your Cards4Cancer card

Lots of folks want to contribute to the Cards4Cancer day but it’s hard to know what to write on the cards. Here are some ideas that I came up with. Please leave a comment with your ideas as well.

A quote. Search on the internet to find a quote that you think is cheerful and uplifting. E.g. When you face the sun, the shadows always fall behind you. – Helen Keller

A picture of your pet. Children would probably love to get a special message from Fluffy, Rover, or even Igor the Iguana. Take a cute picture of your pet and include it in your card.

Children’s drawings. If you have children or grandchildren, have them draw a picture on or in the card. A bright picture drawn by a child will hopefully put a smile on anyone’s face.

A simple message. Eg. I hope you are having a good day and that knowing someone cares brings a smile to your face.

A personal message. Eg. I know that having cancer is a challenge, because I’m also a cancer survivor. It’s a club that no one wants to join, but as ‘members’ we can support one another and take each day as it comes.

A poem. Here are 2 examples:

What is life?
Life is a gift, accept it. Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is a mystery, unfold it. Life is a game, play it.
Life is a struggle, face it. Life is beauty, praise it.
Life is a puzzle, solve it. Life is opportunity, take it.
Life is sorrowful, experience it. Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a goal, achieve it. Life is a mission, fulfill it.
Author unknown

Look to this day, for it is life, the very life of life.
In its brief course lie all the realities
and truths of existence, the joy of growth,
the splendor of action, the glory of power.
For yesterday is but a memory and tomorrow is only a vision.
But today well-lived makes yesterday
a memory of happiness and every tomorrow
a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, to this day!
Sanskrit Writing

I prefer humor to serious poems, but you can find something that is meaningful to you, either funny or serious.

Just remember to keep it uplifting and non-religious. (Hey, I'd write "FUCK CANCER" on the cards, but that's probably not such a good idea...!).

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