Chemo Angel Cancer Support
I know many of my readers have been touched by cancer and I would like to take a minute to tell you about a neat little program. If you are currently undergoing chemotherapy you can sign up to have a Chemo Angel. I had one for the last two months of chemo and really enjoyed it.
If you are healthy, never been touched by cancer, or a survivor you can be a Chemo Angel or a Card Angel. What’s the difference you ask? A Chemo Angel sends little gifts and notes to their chemo patient - words of encouragement. It will cost you slightly more than being a Card Angel. A Card Angel, does just that, sends cards and maybe an occasional little goody.
How often do I send these things? Once a week.
How long do I send them? As long as the person is undergoing treatment.
Why do I send them? To give encouragement to the person struggling with chemotherapy.
How do I know the person I am sending things to actually is undergoing chemo? Chemo Angels gets information from the person regarding who their oncologist is, what kind of cancer they have and how long treatment is predicted to continue. They verify things before assigning an Angel to the person. Chemo Angels will also contact both of you via email once a month to make sure everything is going ok. You will be notified when the person is no longer undergoing chemotherapy.
Will I hear from the person I am writing? You may, but you may not. The cancer patient may not have the energy to write you back. But they will appreciate the time you are giving them.
As a little side note, Chemo Angels also sponsors a program for Seniors to let them know they are not forgotten about. So you could do that if you prefer.
If you’re interested in any part of this please go to Chemo Angels Cancer Support Organization and check it out, maybe even sign up. It’ll make your heart feel good.
The flower picture is beautiful and so is your post today!
I was an Angel for 5 years with ChemoAngels!! It's a fantastic
organization! I Angel on my own now and just finished Angeling a lady who
was diagnosed with breast cancer. There is a group of us 'Canadian' Angels
who have all belonged to ChemoAngels, some still with the organization, and
some retired from it. Our group of 18 have kept in touch for years and we
will be having our first Canadian Angel Gathering next year in PEI. I
always get excited when I see ChemoAngels mentioned. Whether you still
belong to the organization or not, once you've been an Angel you know the
joy, and sometimes grief, of Angeling and all the Angels have a bond.
What a great idea! Thanks for posting about this. I am thinking very
seriously about signing up to be a Card Angel. I want to be sure that I
can commit to it completely before I do.
lisa has been my chemo angel for awhile now and has sent me cards of
support and wishes.lisa i want to thank you, you have not only helped me
but my wife as well.thank you so much.benny
Benny, How nice to hear from you! Thanx for finding me here and posting.
:)
I had no idea about chemo angel...I just signed up as a card angel! I
think this is soooooooooooooooooooooooooo WONDERFUL!!!!!! =) Thanks for
sharing this info!!!! I will post on my blog how it goes!!!! What a great
way to give back!!!!!
I am very disappointed with my experience with chemoangels.com as a person
with cancer. It started with a chemo angel who felt like a mismatch for me,
so I asked for a new angel two or three times. I received an email saying
that this hadn't been addressed because my issue was "petty." Then I
emailed again and was told that they had contacted Julie and she was no
longer my angel. Julie called and left a message on my home phone Friday
indicating that she never heard from chemoangels to discontinue servides
and she planned to send a package even though I had sent her a letter
thanking her but letting her know tha I no longer required her services.
After that I emailed chemoangels.com and forwarded all of the
correspondence concerning this issue over the months that it continued. The
response back was that I am going to be removed from the chemoangels
program due to the "stress " that I am having due to this. I am upset and
feel that this is an inappropriate action and punishing of me. Due to this
action, I will not longer hear from my chemo angels through this less than
benevolent organization. They have the anonymity of their website and can
mete out any justice? they desire. This is no way to treat someone with
cancer who is already going through so much. I wish I could contact the
founder of the group, Laura Armstong.
Sincerely,
Yvonne Eppinga
Yvonne Eppinga
What a wonderful program. I've heard people mention being a chemo angel
before, but never really knew exactly what it was.
Hello. I would like to reply to Yvonne’s letter. I am Julie, her former
ChemoAngel. I angeled her for a while, sending what I think are nice gifts:
little books, angel items, such as a “Guardian Angel” pin, and others,
teas, coffees, mugs, etc. I sent a few Christmas or religious/spiritual
items. I have angeled 5 other people, and they seemed to like what I sent,
and my letters. I never heard from Yvonne or ChemoAngels, that she was
unhappy with my angeling, until I got her letter thanking me and saying
that she “didn’t need my services anymore”. I was confused, since
ChemoAngels hadn’t let me know this. I am sorry that this happened, and am
surprised that ChemoAngels didn’t just tell me and assign her another
Angel. But, she also could have sent me a letter or email, or called me, as
I think I did give her my phone number also. She only sent me one letter,
and since I hadn’t received anything from ChemoAngels, was confused. That’s
when I called her,and left a message, after having found her number online.
Now, she can have Michelle & Mary continue to send her items, since many of
us Angels do so long after our patients/”buddies” have left the program. It
isn’t a rule that you stop sending things just because a person has left.
I am sorry she had this bad experience, yet I would have liked to know of
this experience sooner, so that I could also have asked ChemoAngels to
assign someone else to Yvonne.
Julie A. Roberts, ChemoAngel since 11/2001.
I like how you explain what a chemo angel does and you talk about the great
support they are, but you never say how we can get a chemo angel! I am
also a patient whose colon cancer was found by a colonaoscopy before the
age of 50 with NO family history. I also have Stage 3 Colon Cancer. My
scope was done out of a last ditch test of why I had lost almost 100 lbs in
a year and my crit would not come up. My hematologist said he would kick
himself he didn't do this last test and it turned out I had colon cancer!
The funny thing- I had no visible blood in the stool and the only time it
tested positive was during the colonoscopy.
I love your explanation of a chemo angel, but you never explained how one
could sign up to get a chemo angel. I also was diagnosed with Stage 3
colon cancer after a colonoscopy- before the age of 50. It was a last
ditch effort to try to figure out why I had lost almost 100 lbs in a year
and my crit wouldn't come out. I had no visible blood in my stool and only
tested positive when they did the colon resection surgery.
Margie, If you’re interested in any part of this please go to Chemo Angels
Cancer Support Organization at http://www.chemoangels.net/ - that is also
the link to sign up to get a chemo angel.