Fire Family First is a monthly gathering of firefighter families impacted by cancer on the first Tuesday of each month throughout 2023 (except for July 4th).
The evening will be facilitated by Cameron Brown, D.Min., M.Div., BSSW, retired Fort Worth firefighter. Therapeutic play and activities for the children of firefighters during the gathering will be provided.
Fire Family First is a monthly gathering of firefighter families impacted by cancer on the first Tuesday of each month throughout 2023 (except for July 4th).
The evening will be facilitated by Cameron Brown, D.Min., M.Div., BSSW, retired Fort Worth firefighter. Therapeutic play and activities for the children of firefighters during the gathering will be provided.
Fire Family First is a monthly gathering of firefighter families impacted by cancer on the first Tuesday of each month throughout 2023 (except for July 4th).
The evening will be facilitated by Cameron Brown, D.Min., M.Div., BSSW, retired Fort Worth firefighter. Therapeutic play and activities for the children of firefighters during the gathering will be provided.
Fire Family First is a monthly gathering of firefighter families impacted by cancer on the first Tuesday of each month throughout 2023 (except for July 4th).
The evening will be facilitated by Cameron Brown, D.Min., M.Div., BSSW, retired Fort Worth firefighter. Therapeutic play and activities for the children of firefighters during the gathering will be provided.
Fire Family First is a monthly gathering of firefighter families impacted by cancer on the first Tuesday of each month throughout 2023 (except for July 4th).
The evening will be facilitated by Cameron Brown, D.Min., M.Div., BSSW, retired Fort Worth firefighter. Therapeutic play and activities for the children of firefighters during the gathering will be provided.
How the Cancer Care Team Brings Help & Hope Transcript:
The Cancer Care team was asked how they have provided help and hope to our clients. Here is what they said…
Carlene:
I was able to assist by making sure that our client was able to reach all of his treatment and doctor’s appointments through transportation assistance. And after six weeks he was able to ring that bell for the last time.
Christi:
I had a cancer patient who canceled all his appointments after finding out what his total cost was going to be. And so I was able to help find a lot of resources to cover those medical expenses so that he was comfortable rescheduling his cancer treatment and without accumulating as much debt as he would have had.
Megan H:
Last week when I got to sit with a father who had just lost his wife and he got to honor her memory by really conveying to the team how important she was.
Shawn:
This week I helped a caregiver who lives out of state get their elderly father to Multiple Myeloma treatments at a dialysis center here in Fort Worth.
Kelly:
It’s a pleasure to help Hispanic families affected with cancer with our services.
Megan C:
Getting to be the Camp Director and share these special memories with these kids and help them reduce their fear and anxiety of cancer is very impactful and very special.
James:
I was in a grocery store recently and overheard a conversation with someone that was recently impacted by cancer and I was able to provide the referral form and get them signed up and get them connected with Cancer Care.
Tamika:
A client reached out to me because he was having a hard time navigating his insurance. I stood in as a Financial Navigator and made sure that he was able to maintain his insurance so he could continue his cancer treatments.
Caryn:
I strive to calm our patients’ fears about eating and nutrition which empowers that patient to look at food as a way to deal with symptoms from cancer treatment or even as a way to reduce the risk of future disease.
Joy:
I’m grateful to offer a different perspective to clients who may otherwise not see a different alternative to their situation such as offering car payment assistance resources or rent assistance resources when they may not know where else to turn to.
My diagnosis with cancer was a big shock cause actually I was preparing to go on a cruise. So, I went on and went to this health club and they did a lab work on me. And they took three samples, and the first two came out really good. Then that third one, my doctor just said, “Your white blood cells are going off the chart here. We need to go and look at this further.” And that was pretty much when that happened with the cancer.
The young lady that I took to my 1978 prom, we were at Texas Oncology and we kept staring at each other, but not staring at each other cause we kinda knew who we were, but we didn’t know. And come find out, that was my friend, Ms. Eunice Baker. She introduced me to the Cancer Care, and it was so many other areas of that–that– that really just reached out with me.
Cancer Care has a Perry Mason, it’s in the body of Ms. Tamika. And she would sit back there and just dissect everything. She’d say, “Mr. Fields let me see your bills and this right here.” And it comes up that she navigated this whole system to where they actually found faults, the insurance. And I was actually almost like paying three policies.
She said, “Well this needs to be taken care of immediately. He’s not being able to get his insurance. He’s not being able to get prescriptions. And he has a daughter that is not covered because of the, you know, the neglect of what’s going on here.” But she was really great and looking at what I was going through personally with finances, something that I could get and have that would be affordable.
Everybody is friendly, and the first thing they say is, “How are you doing Mr. Fields? How was that weekend, or how was the holiday?” There was a couple of times I had to say I was pretty much homeless, and they went to bat. I mean, they came up and got me shelter and lots of things like that. I mean, things that you don’t even think about asking, they seemed like well, we need to check because if he–does he have food? Is he okay? What’s going on with his doctors? Are you staying in contact?
I really think it’s more than medicine when you’re on the road to recovering from cancer, and Cancer Care is a big part of that.
Hope, in my opinion, is when you have a great family, and I call Cancer Care my family.
Life before Jessica’s diagnosis was very free for us in that we enjoyed traveling and planning where we’re going next. We had just come back from a trip from Ireland.
Jessica
I thought I hurt my back. My back pain continued to get worse. I went and saw a physical therapist. So, he did the scan, and it was showing a tumor was crushing my vertebrae. During those scans, I was trying to get up off of the scan bed to get repositioned, and I didn’t know at the time, but something snapped, and my vertebrae broke, and I couldn’t walk.
Mike
You know, as a husband, watching your wife go through this is very difficult. You know, you see her go from a full-time active nurse, rambunctious, and ready to go on trips to just very physically unable. And, you know, it’s hard.
Jessica
We lost a lot of our, at the time, close friends because they didn’t know what to say, they didn’t understand it. So, it was easier to kinda step back than be involved in the tough, hard discussions. But I remember someone, she was a nurse navigator, and she reached out to me, and she ended up letting me know about a young adult support group. And that’s where that I started finding out more programs and about Cancer Care Services and what they were doing for cancer patients and survivors.
The main experience I think of is when we went to the retreat in April of 2021. We just got so much enjoyment out of it and it kinda made you forget about a lot of the doctor’s appointments and things at that time. You just kinda go to experience new things and enjoy yourself.
Mike
Jessica was just finally starting to get to where, you know, we were going on walks again and stuff. We go to this retreat, and they split ya into different groups. And it’s okay, you know, we’re gonna go ahead and climb this 30-foot pole first. Let’s just get this day going. In my mind–well both of our minds, we were like this will be good to at least get, at minimum, a few steps in and kinda figure out like hey, see where my limits are, you know.
So, I go up first. I am waiting on the platform for her, and she starts. I’m watching, and I’m like, oh that’s cool she’s starting to go up, and then, then, she gets to the top of the pole. And I lost it. It’s just– from going from a person I’ve had to place in the shower to being able to climb this thing and go across and do all this. I mean, it was one the greatest moments of my life that I got to experience was watching her do it.
Jessica
Cancer Care Services represents exactly what their name says. I’ve met some very wonderful people. It’s not even just a working relationship, I mean, there’s a friendship that’s came out of it. They truly do care about their client.
Mike
That’s more of a blessing than I think some people could even ever realize. It’s just being there and caring. So, keep doing what you’re doing. Thank you.
I guess I will start the story of my cancer journey at the beginning. It was about a year ago, in September. I was the healthiest I have ever been – going to the gym every day, eating right, doing all the good stuff. One night while I was cooking dinner, I noticed a knot about the size of a ping pong ball by my collar bone and mentioned it to my fiancé. He could see it too. I made a telehealth doctor appointment and was told it was most likely allergies and to take Zyrtec.
It didn’t go away, so I went to urgent care and then my primary care doctor, who both also told me it was allergies. I had a regular OB/Gyn checkup appointment, and since three doctors had already told me it was just allergies, I had to work up the courage to mention the knot to the doctor. She sent off blood work that came back ‘funky’ and connected me to a surgeon. This led to a biopsy and referral to an oncologist, who diagnosed and staged my cancer as Stage 2 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, bulky.
Ashley and Cory with their dogs.
I was angry and scared after my diagnosis. I asked myself why I had wasted my time trying to be healthy and what good had I done by eating right instead of eating what I wanted. I thought I was a good person and wondered what I had done wrong to deserve cancer. I also was surprised at all the buildup before treatment actually started. I thought that treatment would start right after diagnosis, but I had a lot to learn. I had no idea what a ‘port’ was or how chemo might affect my fertility.
Finally, chemo started, and I waited to get really sick. I wasn’t – just really tired. It wasn’t all that bad but did get worse as it went on. I wish they had told me not to eat my favorite foods during treatment because now I don’t want to even see them anymore. There were bad side effects to the steroids, and I had radiation after the chemo. We were also house hunting during all this and had to decide whether to keep looking for a house. We decided to keep pushing forward and figure it out as we went rather than let cancer end my world.
“We decided to keep pushing forward and figure it out as we went rather than let cancer end my world.”
After treatment, my scans showed me to be cancer-free – no evidence of disease in my body. The doctors don’t say ‘cancer-free’ or ‘cured’ because it can come back, but I call myself ‘cancer-free.’ It seems like much longer than a year ago this all started, and I have felt out of control. I felt like a burden and was in a really dark place.
I can’t really say I am grateful for having cancer, but I am grateful for all I have learned and all the support I have received. I always had the same nurses for my treatments, and they were great. I have also had the support of Cancer Care Services. They were always warm and welcoming.
Even though most of the Cancer Care programs and activities had to be virtual due to Covid, I was able to participate in support groups and activities with people in my own age group (most of the people I met at treatment were 20, 30, 40 years older than me). Cancer Care made the Zoom meetings so much fun, and we were able to do outside yoga face-to-face and a painting class.
My fiancé did some of the things with me, and he appreciated being able to spend the time together. I know how much the support I received helped me, and now I want to use what I have learned to help others – especially people in my age group because there aren’t many of us.
I am grateful to be healthy again and to look at myself in the mirror and see me. I am the same person, but I do think more about what I think of myself instead of what others may think of me. I didn’t believe I would ever be in a place like this – where I would want to help others without feeling sorry for myself or angry, but I am! I want to give other people grace now that I can.
Transcribed by Jane Melms from Ashley’s video interview in September 2021.
You can support cancer survivors like Ashley through our monthly giving club- The Hope Collective – for just $25 a month! As a Hope Collective member, you ensure that everyone gets the help they deserve today.
Young adult cancer patients and survivors had so much fun in the sun at Camp Gold 2022! This year was magical and full of girl power!
What is Camp Gold?
Camp Gold is an AYA (Young Adult & Adolescent) retreat hosted by Rutledge Cancer Foundation and Cancer Care Services at YMCA Camp Carter. Camp Gold promotes healing through camp activities like the challenge course, meditation, and games. The campers often forge new and lasting friendships so that no one has to cope with cancer alone.
Meet our Camp Gold 2022 participants:
Toni in the lake at Camp Gold 2022.
Toni soaked in everything Camp Gold! She did it all and saw it all. Toni candidly shared her cancer journey with her peers and bonded with the soon-to-be tight-knit group. Toni made it about halfway through the challenge course during her first attempt, but she wasn’t ready to stop there. On just her second attempt, Toni climbed to the top of the tower! Toni had chemo treatment the week before and surgery to remove a very large tumor in February, so this feat was a tremendous victory celebrated by all!
Tiara and Vanessa posing with their canoe paddles.
Tiara, a cancer patient, and her friend Vanessa were the dynamic duo at Camp Gold! Vanessa accompanies Tiara to her appointments, so she cherished the opportunity to learn more about her friend and ways to support her. The honest conversations from the campers helped Tiara feel comfortable opening up during group time. Everyone had the chance to support and be supported by others who had been touched by cancer. Vanessa and Tiara also tried their first s’more at camp! How tasty!
That’s a Wrap!
We are so proud of the girls for embracing the fun and challenges of Camp Gold, but more importantly, each other. Thank you to all the donors, volunteers, and staff for making this retreat possible! Because of your generous hearts, young adult cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers now have incredible friendships and memories.
Donate today to keep the care coming for those impacted by cancer. Get help today if you or a loved one has been impacted by cancer.
