Date: Sunday, December 11, 2011
Time: Early A.M.
Status: Developing a Men’s Cancer Support Group
Info: A member of the NY Times informed me that word counts for blogs should be in the neighborhood of 400 words, so I’m going to keep this particular blog short and sweet, and one of the reasons for the brevity this morning is because I really do not have the necessary tools to lend to the subject other than the fact the folks at Sutter Pacific in Santa Rosa believe I am the right person to do this. To develop and run a men’s support group for all things related to their relations with cancer, all forms of cancer. Cindi, a forty-year veteran of working with cancer patients across the country was initially assigned to Bonnie as her “Nurse Navigator”. It was nice to know we always had someone to handle our pressing matters, someone to call and when you have someone in your corner with four decades of experience in the field of cancer it’s like Christmas come early. I had no idea CIndi had been reading my blog since I first launched it, and she believes I have the voice and the backbone necessary to get on the phone, contact the men who have just received the news of their loved ones being affected by cancer and get them into this support group. When Cindi and I were on the phone regarding this challenge she asked me to define the objective of this support group and without blinking I responded “to provide inner strength”. Cindi gobbled that one up and we immediately realized we were already on the same page. We settled on Thursday evenings at the new center in Santa Rosa. Why Thursdays? When Bonnie and I first moved out here to the west coast and left it all in the rear view mirror we identified Thursdays as “pint night” where we would walk into town and stimulate a cash register or two by celebrating being with each other, here on the west coast starting anew. The news of breast cancer stopped those weekly sessions. So deciding on Thursday was easy. Something tells me when this kicks off – Thursday’s will never mean the same to me. Cindi – thank you for opening this door. As the ball drops on January 2012 the unknown will be on my mind. I plan to review older blogs to help me along with this support group and as I dive back into words of yesteryear I discover something I wrote from the first blog opined to my wife’s breast cancer: “Friendships, those that last and can go, and have gone the distance are priceless.” I wonder what friendships await. Your ideas, comments and suggestions are certainly welcome.
Peace,
Papa
