Your Local Cancer Community!
Wednesday, February 12th: ST&BF Indoor Row Group (IRG) Gives Back to the Cancer Care Fund!
The Indoor Row Group (IRG) kicked off the 2019/20 season on November 1st, 2019. Over the past few months, several IRG members inquired about ways they could “give back” to SCCCF for the opportunity to row and participate in Survive, Thrive & Be Fit!
So, we scheduled an Indoor Row Group session on Wednesday, February 12th, which also happens to Abraham Lincoln’s 211th birthday. IRG members were invited to consider making a donation to the fund:
- One CENT for every ten meters they rowed (10 meters per CENT... or “10 per CENT”)
- One CENT for every hundred meters the team rowed on this night (100 meters per CENT or “100 per CENT”)
- One DOLLAR for each year of “Survive, Thrive & Be Fit” ($10.00)
- $20.20 to commemorate all survivors who participate in “Survive, Thrive & Be Fit” throughout 2020.
- Any donation of any amount that is meaningful to them!
Before we finished up, one of our survivor-athletes (I assure you... it was NOT me) totaled up our meters for the session and discovered we were at 98,100m and decided to hop back on the erg and complete another 1,900m for an even 100,000m!
Some, sticking to the Lincoln’s Birthday theme, donated their pennies... some included other coins and even currency... others wrote out a check. From what I can tell, all of the donations we received came from the rowers themselves or from the families and friends they reached out to. As a result of their rowing effort and the generosity of all donors, this CENT-sational fundraising effort has brought in $961.75.
But before I “close the books” on this fundraising effort... I thought I’d see if any of you out there would consider to figuratively, “hop back on the erg,” as one of our survivor-athletes did that night by donating an additional $38.75 and getting us to $1,000.00 (100,000 pennies)!?!
Tuesday, February 18th: ST&BF IRG Session, TLC Survivorship Can Be Fun & TLC Survivorship Session!
ST&BF Indoor Row Group:
Starting around 3P some of our ST&BF Survivor-Athletes began filling the common area on the 2nd floor of Matthews Oncology Associates and Sheboygan Cancer & Blood Specialists for a Survive, Thrive & Be Fit Indoor Row Group (IRG) Session. IRG members sign up for 45-minutes slots that are scheduled into the evening until about 630P.
TLC Survivorship Can Be Fun: World Series of Blackjack & More!
Around 4:30P, survivors (some fresh off the rowing ergs) and co-survivors began gathering for the TLC Survivorship Can Be Fun Game Gathering! A variety of games are always available. On this night there was Crokinole, Farkle and the second of three sessions of this month’s featured TLC World Series of Blackjack! (NOTE: Next month we will be featuring Cribbage and Farkle with lessons, practice and open play on Tuesday, March 17th and single-elimination tournament play on Tuesday, March 31st!)
We will hold our third session of the TLC World Series of Blackjack on Thursday, February 27th (see attached) for details). Players from each of the first two sessions have qualified for the “Final Table” with more seats to be determined during our early play on Thursday, February 27th before the “Final Table” at 7P!
TLC Survivorship Session: A Day in the Life of an Oncology Nurse!
At 6P we began to settle down (and quiet down) for the monthly TLC Survivorship Session that featured our guest speaker, Cathy Keefe, OCN – MOA & SCBS Nurse Manager who shared her experiences in “A Day in the Life of an Oncology Nurse.”
We often begin the TLC Survivorship Session (peer-to-peer support group) by lighting a candle. We do so to honor the thousands and thousands of years people have sat around a fire telling and sharing stories, because that’s what we do at TLC – share stories!
We spend most of our time sharing stories about the challenges and complexities of from the perspective of patients/survivors and co-survivors so it was helpful to hear a different perspective.
It is often said, the people who are really good at what they do make it look easy, and that certainly applies to the amazing doctors and nurses that care for us at Matthews Oncology Associates and Sheboygan Cancer & Blood Specialists (and, I would suspect, elsewhere).
Cathy shared just some of the many duties and responsibilities that both she and the amazing nurses she manages must perform on a regular basis... and they do it with a smile as well as a keen eye for side effects and complications! They guide us through our individual cancer experiences, with its many ups and downs, while also dealing with the challenges and complexities of their work and the rest of their lives!
I have always held a deep respect and admiration for those who care for cancer patients. I, along with all of my fellow survivors, certainly did not choose this path! The doctors, the nurses, the support staff that care for us... they CHOOSE to do the important and meaningful work they do and willingly accept the complexities and challenges that come along with it!
Thank you to all of the dedicated doctors, nurses and everyone else involved in caring for those in our community who have, are or will experience cancer!
Sunday, February 23rd: Survive, Thrive & Be Fit: Survivors (& Co-Survivors) on Snowshoes!
Nearly thirty cancer patients/survivors and co-survivors enjoyed a gorgeous afternoon this past Sunday, February 23rd, snowshoeing at the Christopher Farm & Gardens! These pictures certainly don’t tell all of the stories from throughout the day... but I hope they may entice you to come out and join us next time!
See "Local Cancer Community Update" for more photos!