SurvivorNet Breast Cancer Dialogues: 'The Hope Chest'
- During a cancer journey, survivors often say they cling to a special object, or memento, that serves as a beacon of hope and a strong symbol of their resilience.
- In their first-ever meeting, four women opened up about survival, vulnerability, and the power of community as part of SurvivorNet’s Breast Cancer Dialogues — a series designed to help patients feel less alone and more empowered on the road to healing.
- For this special, survivor-style show-and-tell — called “The Hope Chest” — breast cancer survivors, Anna Crollman, Irene Hong, Amy Knowles and Amanda Butler, gives an intimate glimpse into their own individual journeys, by sharing this special item and what it means to them.
In a segment we called “The Hope Chest,” Anna Crollman, Irene Hong, Amy Knowles and Amanda Butler offer an intimate glimpse into their own individual journeys by revealing their special item and what it means to them.
A Metaphor for the Sea
Read MoreA Spiritual Connection
As for New York City native Irene Hong, 37, also a stage 2 survivor, she brought “these two Buddhist gods” that mean the world to her, sharing how they brought her closer to her family.
When the strategic finance professional was diagnosed, her doctor recommended she do chemotherapy treatment, “and I was trying to grapple with how I was feeling. I wasn’t having the best relationship with my family. I [hadn’t] seen them for a month,” she said.
Hong went into a Nepalese store with the goal of finding “some trinkets that represent recovery and longevity to help me with my healing.”
After she exited the store in NYC’s Chinatown and began walking, Hong ran into her mother and brother eating. “And I was like, ‘Okay, this is too woo woo,'” she recalled of the “spiritual” experience that her “buddies” brought.
“There’s all these uncertain things that we can’t see [with] our eye, but does it mean it’s not there?” Hong expressed, adding: “And to be able to connect with my family again and accept that support was really meaningful and powerful to me.”
An ‘Askew’ Token of Hope
For Amy Knowles, 59, who is the Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Admissions at New York University’s Rory Meyers College of Nursing, she found comfort in a symbol that reminded her of her “not perfectly aligned self.”
The American Cancer Society’s “askew” breast cancer ribbon resonated the most with Knowles and became her top talisman.
“I am not perfectly aligned. I’m a little bit askew and silly and funny sometimes,” Knowles explained, noting that the ribbons are “all over my coats” and “all over my bags … it just speaks to me of hope.”
Since 2005, years before her 2012 diagnosis, Knowles has been a team captain for the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, an annual walk in Central Park.
‘A Little Piece of Home’
35-year-old trainer and fitness influencer Amanda Butler, for her share, showed one of the bracelets given to her by her best friends, that she wore “every day until I hit remission.” When her doctor said, “You’re clear,” she “took ’em off and I never worn ’em again.”
Added Butler, “So it was just a reminder of strength to get me through and just a little piece of home.”
For those going through cancer or another challenging obstacle, what special memento means the most to you and your journey?
Content independently created by SurvivorNet with support from Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp.
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