|
|
|
|
chapter excerpts
Click on the title of
each story for chapter excerpts
|
Compassionate
Hands
Kelly Turner, a 17-year veteran police
officer, describes herself as shy, but
you wouldn’t know it by what she has
taken on. Motivated by her own cancer
experience, Kelly courageously stepped
out of her comfort zone and ...
|
|
 |
|
www.TheChainFund.com
|
 |
|
Emilio's Life
Emilio
was only three years old when he was
diagnosed with leukemia. His parents,
Richard and Diane Nares, fully expected him
to survive and had determined from the onset
that someday they would ... |
|
www.EmilioNaresFoundation.org |
|
Stepping Up to the
Plate
When Jennifer Fuller married Warren
Brusstar, Philadelphia Phillies teammate
Tug McGraw was part of the package.
Tug signed on as “big brother” and
the friendship deepened through the
years, extending to family members.
When Tug was
diagnosed with brain cancer, it was only
natural that the Brusstars ...
|
|
 |
|
www.TugMcGraw.org |
 |
|
Biking for a Cause
Just ten months after a surgery that removed
only half of his brain tumor, Gary Bonacker
rode alongside Lance Armstrong at the Ride
for the Roses cycling event in Austin,
Texas. The experience so impacted Gary that
he ... |
|
www.TourDeschutes.org |
|
Live, Love, Learn ...
Every Day
Minnie
Hines-Chen was diagnosed with breast cancer
just a few weeks before she was accepted
into nursing school. She was only 20 years
old and women her age “don’t get breast
cancer.”
Minnie chose a tough chemo regimen so she
could get back on track with ...
|
|
 |
|
|
Sparrow Clubs
This is the story that prompted the 7th
grader to withdraw his life savings from the
bank, that seeded the account, that grew
through an overwhelming response of
compassion, |
|
that saved a baby’s life, that sparked the
founding of Sparrow Clubs USA.
Seven-month-old Michael Leeland needed a
bone marrow transplant. The price tag was
$200,000 and the insurance company had a
waiting period. |
|
www.SparrowClubs.org |
|
Finding Balance
Colorectal cancer and the repercussions of
extreme surgery, chemotherapy and radiation
would have slowed most 29-year-olds down.
But not Ben Moon – adventure photographer,
rock climber, surfer. With the help of his
friends, Ben ... |
|
 |
|
www.BenMoon.com |
 |
|
Wendy's Wish
Wendy was always thinking of others, even in the
final week of her life on this earth.
While battling Stage 4 colon cancer, Wendy laid
out her wishes to her husband, Al, and their
closest friends – she wanted a fund established
to help pay for cancer education and screenings
for ... |
|
www.WendysWish.org |
|
 |
Community at its Best
In December 2006, two little boys from Floyd
County, Virginia – Chance Harman, age 4, and
Joshua Cantrell, age 3 – were diagnosed two
weeks apart with aggressive brain tumors.
Three months later, another Floyd County
family learned their 12-year-old daughter,
Kassidy Foster, had bone cancer. |
|
The good folks of this small county – 383
square miles straddling the highlands of the
Blue Ridge Mountains |
|
– rallied in ways that were beyond belief
with financial, emotional and prayer
support. If
they could
have had their choice of miracles
... |
|
 |
|
www.SameFight.org and
www.KassidysPage.com |
 |
|
Prayer Shawls:
Hand-Knitted
Kindness
Compassion and prayers are woven into the
hand-knitted prayer shawls and then given to
people recuperating from surgery or illness.
But two long-time friends, Marilyn Jaquish
and Jill Hinds, have taken the concept to a
whole new level. |
|
Everyday Hero
Three separate cancer diagnoses within ten
months left Doug Ulman, Brown University
soccer player, frustrated that there were so
few cancer resources for his age group. Doug
had a great network of family and friends,
but all he wanted to do was ... |
|
 |
|
www.UlmanFund.org and
www.LiveSTRONG.org |
 |
|
A Pink Ribbon
Shopping
for breast cancer products in the middle of
chemo treatments turned out to be a dismal
experience for Suzanne Penny: limited
selections, insensitive salesgirls and some
not-so-safe areas of town.
Challenged by a friend—“So what are you
going to do about it?”—Suzanne came up
with the idea for ... |
|
www.APinkRibbon.com |
|
Quilting for Cancer
If you
had told Frank Halden that someday he would
sew quilts and raffle them off for the
benefit of cancer research, he probably
would have thought you were crazy. After
all, it was his wife, Hallie-Jo, who was the
seamstress in the family. |
|
 |
|
www.Quilt4Cancer.org |
 |
|
I'm Too Young For
This!Matthew
Zachary
was studying music in college with the
ambition to be a Hollywood composer when
his encounter with brain cancer forced a
career change. After surgery and
treatments, the
doctors told him, “You’re done. Go home.
Get on with your life.”
Matthew didn’t |
|
know what he
going
to do. He held in the anger for a very
long time, and then found
himself thrust back into the world of
cancer when he ... |
|
www.i2y.org
|
|
Angel Hair
Staci Wright had an
all-American upbringing in a loving family.
And then when she was 13, an intruder broke
into her safe circle. Cancer.
Staci was
frightened about losing her hair. Her mom,
Debbie, learned of a
hair
|
|
|
|
system that looks
real and stays in place – even on the
soccer field. Staci loved her new hair, but
was concerned about the other kids she met
at the children’s hospital. That’s
when Staci and Debbie decided to
... |
|
www.AngelHairFoundation.org |
|
|
The House that JW
Built
He was known as JW, short for Jan-Willem. He
left this earth too soon, but in his sixteen
years he inspired countless people across
two continents with his courage and vision.
JW imagined ... |
|
www.JWHouse.org |
|
I Never Signed Up For This!
When Katie Strumpf was diagnosed
with leukemia, there were no online
resources or publications to offer guidance
to a ten-year-old kid dealing with cancer.
While still going through treatments, Katie
told her mom that someday she would ... |
|
 |
|
www.KatieStrumpf.com |
 |
|
Highly Motivated
Time is of the essence. Duke University
student Josh Sommer has chordoma, a rare
form of cancer with an average survival rate
of seven years. Volunteering
in the research lab of Dr. Michael Kelley,
an oncologist who is working to find a
successful |
|
treatment
for chordoma, Josh soon realized that one
person working in isolation in one lab
wasn’t going to get the job done quickly
enough.
That’s when he and his mom, Dr. Simone
Sommer, established ... |
|
www.ChordomaFoundation.org |
|
Gift of Hope
Byron Dudley was
fortunate to have parents who encouraged his
photography interests at a young age. After
a successful career in education and a
cancer
diagnosis, Byron was inspired by
a visit to Zion Canyon to
produce
a ... |
|
|
|
 |
Chemo Quilts:
Paying It Forward
They come
in all sizes. They’re made from plaids and
solids and fun prints, in audacious colors
and sweet pastels. They’re chemo quilts, and
they’re designed to bring comfort and warmth
to patients |
|
undergoing chemotherapy.
Marilyn Malloy had never used a |
|
sewing machine in her life. When her
daughter, Mona, was diagnosed with a rare
form of cancer ...
Karen Brockway, on the other hand, is an
avid quilter who has used a sewing machine
for as long as she can remember. A friend
gave her a quilt while she was undergoing
... |
|
 |
|
Adventure Therapy
First Descents is the brainchild of Brad
Ludden, professional kayaker and Nike
athlete; and Allan Goldberg has taken it to
the next level. Fueled by Allan’s passion
for
survivorship |
|
issues, First Descents facilitates
whitewater kayaking and outdoor adventure –
free of charge – to young adults coping with
cancer. |
|
www.FirstDescents.org |
|
Bridging the Gap
Within 24 hours of her breast cancer
diagnosis, Lizzi Katz received two phone
calls – one from the local Breast Cancer
Case Manager and the other from a patient
Navigator.
After a full recovery, Lizzi was hoping to
find a way to give back. And then an
opportunity presented itself ...
|
|
 |
 |
|
Conquer Together
Nine-year-old
Mark Ciccarelli pasted a smile on his face
and pretended that everything was fine so
his family and friends wouldn’t worry about
him. But no child with cancer should have to
carry that burden. Mark later met another
survivor and realized how helpful it was to
have that connection.
As a result, Mark created ... |
|
www.ConquerTogether.com |
|
Casting for Recovery
Sabina Smith didn’t think she was the type that
needed a cancer support group – until she
stumbled upon an opportunity to attend a fly
fishing retreat.
Sabina’s weekend venture left her with the tools
to better manage cancer. It also inspired her to
... |
|
 |
|
www.CastingForRecovery.org |
 |
|
Camp Sunshine
Matthew Hoidal, second
from left, and his team of 12 athletes were on a
run up the eastern seaboard from Florida to
Maine. Halfway through Delaware, Matt's cell
|
|
phone rang. It was Larry Gould, co-founder of
Camp Sunshine, a place for children
with life-threatening
illnesses and their immediate families. Matt and
his team were ... |
|
www.CampSunshine.org |
|
Chocolate, Tea and
Pocket Angels
The white boxes are
filled with various comfort items, along
with information and contacts for cancer
support services. Each box is tied shut with
pink tulle ribbon and distributed to the
surgeons who give them to women
at the
time of diagnosis. Pam |
|
 |
|
DiDente, breast cancer survivor and nurse,
brought the idea home
from a
visit to Alaska, and local survivors
have been ... |
|
Journey with Purpose
My
husband, Gary, was diagnosed with prostate
cancer at a relatively young age. Finding
purpose from this seemingly senseless
diagnosis has been a powerful thing. Writing
this book, creating Web sites, presenting to
groups of survivors and caregivers have all
been therapeutic and ... |
|
www.CancerAdventures.org |
|
|
Purchase
through PayPal:
Purchase
through Amazon.com:
... or send
check or
money order for $13.99
plus $2.30 shipping to:
CANCER ADVENTURES
PO Box 7353
Bend, OR 97708-7353
For shipping costs for multiple books,
contact us at
info@canceradventures.org
|
