new partners

Number One 2009
CanCare, Inc. provides
one-on-one, emotional
support for cancer
patients and their families.
CanCare Celebrates Hope
for the Holidays!
Volunteer
Become a CanCare volunteer!
The next Training is June 19-21,
2009 – contact CanCare to sign up.
M
any would say that the best
time of year is around the
holidays. We celebrate the
ending of the old year and welcome the
New Year with great anticipation for what
it may hold.
At CanCare, it is a very special time of
year when we host our open house and
take time to celebrate with those who make
up the CanCare family. We get to visit with
our volunteers and meet their clients…
Together, they represent the heart and soul
of why CanCare exists.
Thank you to everyone who has
generously offered up your time and
energy towards our goal of improving
the quality of life
for cancer patients
and their families. As we enter 2009,
may we continue
to be blessed by the
joy of each other’s
friendship, faith and
Nancy Tucker and
Hope!
Pat Hogan Korge
Nicole Dixon
and Don
McLeod
Carol Surles, Gladys Williams and Kim Fricks
Beverly Bright and Anita Bullers
Roberta Scholdan with her daughter,
Dixie Wilson
Front: Anne McCluan, Joyce Greenfield, Kim Fricks and Debbie
Edmondson. Back: Amy Tanner, Tommy Thompson, Amy Lamb,
Brooke Drake and Pat Weatherspoon-Hall
Same Great Service, New Look!
C
anCare spent 2008 giving our
marketing materials a makeover
with the intention of drawing
people to our warm and inspirational-
Kennadie Robbins
(Kirsten’s baby)
gets in on the
festivities
looking brochures and website. Cancer
is a serious disease, and even through
the hardest times, CanCare volunteers
offer Hope and understanding. Our new
materials show the faces of our volunteers
who are fueled by their passion for helping
others.
Please take a moment to visit our new
website, www.cancare.org, where you can
read survivor testimonials, request help
from a CanCare volunteer, watch the
CanCare video, make a donation, track
CanCare events and more!
www.cancare.org
A mess ag e f r o m t h e P r e s i d e n t
Sharing Hope Through
S
ince 1990, CanCare has been
sharing our message of Hope, and
2008 was an exciting year indeed!
We weathered Ike, elected a new President
and are experiencing an economic
downturn which is quickly touching
every facet of our lives. But, through
it all, one thing has remained certain...
CanCare’s commitment to improving the
quality of life for cancer patients and their
families. It has been with the dedicated
commitment and support of our
volunteers, board members, constituents
and donors that we have been able to
multiply our efforts and continue to grow
to become one of the premier cancer care
services in our community.
the
Let me share with you some of the
highlights of this past exciting year. First,
and most importantly, we dramatically
increased the number of people we serve.
Our hospital clients grew 29%, and we
increased the number of new clients
matched with a CanCare volunteer by
17%. We established 4
new hospital visitation
programs, recruited 6 new
member congregations
and recruited 3 new
corporate partners.
We created a whole
new “look” for CanCare,
including a new website,
brochures, posters,
Meet CanCare’s Board
of Directors Member,
Jay Morris, M.D.
L
ast year, Dr. Jay Morris joined the
Board of Directors at CanCare.
“Having just lost a family member
to leukemia, I found the story, CanCare’s
mission, and the work their volunteers do
with patients and their families extremely
compelling. I wanted to be involved.”
Jay has over twenty years of clinical
practice and
healthcare
administrative
experience in the
Houston area.
He serves as
Market Medical
Director for
UnitedHealthcare
where his
work involves
interacting with
physicians and
hospital systems
to assure their
members receive
the highest
w w w. c a n c a r e . o r g
quality of care. “I consider myself engaged
in the active practice of medicine. When I
go to work each day, my work impacts the
delivery of care and the quality of care for
over a million patients in the South Texas
area.”
At the beginning of every Board
meeting, a CanCare volunteer is invited
to share their personal testimony of
survivorship. As Jay listens to each of
these stories, he is often reminded of the
following quote:
Years
postcards and health fair display materials.
Our goal was for people with cancer to be
drawn to these materials and call us for
help…and they did!
The new year brings with it new
challenges, but our goal remains the same:
to serve more people and bring Hope to every
cancer patient and family who
is facing a diagnosis of cancer.
We look forward to 2009
with renewed commitment
and enthusiasm, and we will
continue sharing Hope through
the years.
Nancy Tucker, thyroid cancer
survivor since 1990
It’s an Honor:
C
ongratulations to Jan LaRocco,
Friends Board Member, for
being selected as a winner of
the BD Biosciences 2008 Henry Becton
Community Service Award for her
commitment to “helping all people live
healthy lives!” For Jan’s outstanding
efforts, BD has awarded $4,000 to
CanCare, Inc.
“What seems to us to be bitter trials are often
blessings in disguise.” – Oscar Wilde
Dr. Morris asserts, “How the bitter
trial of enduring a cancer diagnosis and
treatments are ‘blessings in disguise’ is the
amazing work product of CanCare.”
Jay is a native Texan who grew up in
Corpus Christi. He enjoys travel, exercise,
reading, movies, and the many events
available in Houston, such as concerts,
sporting events, and shows.
Thank you for your
continued commitment
and support, Jan!
When the Caring Professional Has Cancer
I nterfa i t h C l e r g y L u nch e o n
C
lergy and medical professionals
engage in care for people with
various health crises…but what
happens when they are personally met with
a crisis such as cancer? This was the topic
of CanCare’s November 5th Interfaith
Clergy Luncheon, “When the Caring
Professional Has Cancer.”
Rabbi David Lyon of Congregation Beth
Israel moderated a panel made up of two
medical professionals and two clergy, who
shared their personal stories of survivorship
and Hope with more than 120 people,
representing 51 congregations and
several hospitals. Regina Drake, CanCare
volunteer and thyroid cancer survivor
shared her personal story of survivorship
with the group. Clergy panelists included the Rev. Mr.
Mark Downs, Senior Pastor at Heights
Presbyterian Church and Cantor Robert
Gerber of Congregation Beth Israel.
Medical panelists were Harry Gibbs,
M.D., VP for Institutional Diversity
at M.D. Anderson and Kelly Baird,
R.N. of Sugar Land Surgical Center.
“Because you’re a doctor, a lot of times it’s
assumed you know what to do,” said Dr.
Gibbs, who was diagnosed with chronic
lymphocytic leukemia in 2007. “It’s
difficult to ask for help.”
Rev. Downs, who was diagnosed with
stage III non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in
2003, spoke of his new perspective on life
after cancer. He doesn’t sweat the small
stuff anymore and measures his life by the
depth of his personal relationships.
Kelly Baird recalled the unusual
dynamics of being a nurse and a caregiver
to her mother, a breast cancer patient.
“There were times when she needed my
clinical experience and times she just
needed me to listen.”
Our thanks to St. Luke’s United
Methodist Church for hosting this event,
which was a collaboration between
CanCare’s Congregational Relations
Committee and Board of Representatives.
Also, a warm thank you to Hall Barnum
Lucchesi Architects, Inc. for once again
underwriting this special luncheon.
Regina Drake
and Warren
Bright
Rabbi David Lyon of Congregation Beth Israel, Rev. Rene Truan
of Foundry United Methodist Church, Jill Mussman of St. Luke’s
United Methodist Church, Rev. Terry Thompson of St. Paul’s
United Methodist Church, Rabbi Mark Miller of Congregation Beth
Israel, Cantor Robert Gerber and his wife, Graciela Gerber, also of
Congregation Beth Israel
Stacei Bible and Rev. Stew Grant of
The Woodlands United Methodist
Church
Chaplain Hope Lipnick of the Jewish Federation of Houston, Joyce
Greenfield, Chris Tinsley and Rev. Linda Christians of St. Luke’s
United Methodist Church
Mehri and Khalil Homafar of
the Iranian Islamic and Cultural
Foundation
Father David Noble of the Archdiocese of
Galveston-Houston and Rev. Dr. Tommy Thompson
Rev. Lynne Buckridge with her father, Bill Hall and Dr. Bob Boyd
713.461.0028
Team CanCare in the
Houston Marathon
J
anuary 18th… it was a great day to
be outside! Team CanCare walkers
and runners were among thousands
of people out “Running for a Reason”
in beautiful downtown Houston. Some
turned out to show support for their family
and friends who are cancer survivors, some
were there to honor the memory of loved
ones, and some ran for themselves. One
thing is for sure… if you were out there,
you were inspired! CanCare’s Hoopla site
and live music from The After Hours Band
gave a boost to runners as they neared
the finish line and
reached their goal.
Team CanCare
has been one of the
top three fundraising
charities in the
Houston Marathon
since 1996, and we
appreciate everyone
who participated on
Dixie Evans, Half
behalf of CanCare
Marathon Runner,
this year, and a
CanCare volunteer,
huge thank you
survivor
to our sponsors:
Arne’s Warehouse,
Bushwacker - Aveda
Concept Salon and
Day Spa, Copano
Energy, Moore &
Associates - Certified
Public Accountants,
Saint Arnold
Brewing Company
Nan McCreary – Half
– Our Victory Party
Marathon Runner
Sponsor, Trademark
and Team CanCare
Construction, and
Newsletter writer
Williams.
Thanks once again to Pat Hogan
Korge for spearheading our Marathon
efforts, Nan McCreary for doing the
Team CanCare newsletter, all of those
who dedicated their fundraising efforts to
CanCare, and a special congratulations
to longtime CanCare supporter, Karen
Northcutt, who met her goal and qualified
for the Boston Marathon this year.
Way to go!
Crossing the finish line!
Lisa Spence, Nicole Dixon and Susan Sinclair
Pat Hogan, Co-Founder of Team CanCare
Sue McLeod, Paige O’Neal
and Marylen Smith
Amy Lamb, Carol Surles, Jan LaRocco, Kim Fricks, Brooke Drake
and Debbie Edmondson
Amy Lamb, Joyce
(Darlin’) Greenfield
and Jan LaRocco
Tommy Thompson, Brooke Drake and Austin Drake
w w w. c a n c a r e . o r g
Warren and Beverly Bright
The After Hours Band
Teresa T r i p l e t t, Ca n Car e V o l u n t e e r
walking and skiing. Teresa has worked in
marketing for ten years, and started her
own company last year, T3 Promotions,
where she sells a number of custom
designed promotional items. “I guess you
could say one of the lessons that cancer
taught me was not to wait on anything…I
now pursue goals, adventures and serve the
Lord with all of my love and energy.”
The following Bible verse was taped
on Teresa’s cabinet during her treatments
and served as her inspiration: “I have set
the Lord always before me. Because He is
at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”
Psalms 16:8
C r aw f i s h
T
wo days before her stage III breast
cancer was diagnosed, Teresa
Triplett was sitting in church,
where they showed the film clip, “What is
Your Purpose?” She asked God to show her
what He wanted her to do. “I knew from
that day forward God had plans for me,”
said Teresa. What followed was two years
of cancer treatments and reconstructive
surgery. “I had many dear friends that
helped and mentored me through my
treatments, and I wanted to do the same
for others.”
In February 2008, Teresa became a
CanCare volunteer and hasn’t wasted a
minute getting to work helping others; she
has provided one-on-one support to six
different CanCare clients and is an active
health fair exhibitor representing CanCare.
Teresa also volunteers in the Radiology
department of North Cypress Hospital. “I
have had people come up and tell me that
they know God placed me there to help
them that day. This is all I need to hear to
know that CanCare is making a difference
in people’s lives.”
Teresa is a devoted wife of almost 23
years and mother of two. Her son is a
junior in high school and her daughter
attends Sam Houston State University. She
loves being outdoors and enjoys jogging,
B o i l
“What is Your Purpose?”
Crawfish, Crawfish and more
Crawfish! Young Friends of CanCare
is hosting its 5th Annual Crawfish
Boil on May 9th at Blancos! Enjoy
the sounds of The Chris Baker Band
and The Katie Stuckey Band while
you “Laissez les bon temps rouler!”
To buy tickets, become a sponsor or
donate a raffle item, please contact
Brooke at 713.461.0028 or
[email protected].
Please Welcome Amy Lamb
to the CanCare Team
Amy Tanner Joins CanCare
as Director of Development
A
A
my Lamb joined CanCare
in October 2008 as
Communications and
Community Partnerships Assistant
after graduating from Texas State
University - San Marcos in August
with a bachelor’s degree in Public
Relations. Amy developed a passion
for nonprofits as she worked her way
through college with several organizations, including the
United Way, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children and
the Capital Area Food Bank. In her spare time, she enjoys
traveling, singing, writing and spending time with family and
friends.
my Tanner began her work in the nonprofit world
with Habitat for Humanity in 1998. From there, she
moved to the Houston Museum of Natural Science,
where she gained experience in nonprofit administration
and fundraising. In 2003, Amy accepted a position with
AIDS Foundation Houston where she started her career
as a grants writer and was shortly
thereafter promoted to Development
and Marketing Manager. She graduated
with a bachelor’s degree in Business
Administration in Marketing from the
University of St. Thomas. In her spare
time, she enjoys Ballroom and Latin
dancing, the arts, reading, sailing, and
her many cats!
713.461.0028
Upc o m i n g Ev e n t s
Weekend of April 24-26
FUNFARE Tennis Tournament
and Reception for CanCare
Welcome New Partners
Saturday, May 9
Young Friends of CanCare
5th Annual Crawfish Boil
CanCare is proud to welcome our newest
member congregation, The Woodlands United
Methodist Church. Under the leadership of
Senior Pastor Dr. Ed Robb, who joined the
church in 1978, TWUMC has experienced
tremendous growth. The once modest 30person congregation has blossomed into one
of the fastest growing churches in Methodism
with a weekly attendance of over 8,800
congregants. TWUMC extends the love of
Christ through a variety of programs and
ministries fulfilling the third action of the
church’s mission statement: Help those in need.
These ministries offer comfort and support
through the different challenges life may bring.
TWUMC will soon begin to educate their
congregants who are cancer survivors to use
their experience by becoming trained CanCare
volunteers. By partnering with CanCare,
TWUMC eagerly takes up the mission of
CanCare, to improve the quality of life for
cancer patients and their families.
Thursday, May 28
CanCare’s 15th Annual Cancer
Survivors Day Luncheon
Weekend of June 5-7
National Cancer Survivors Day
in Member Congregations
2009
We proudly welcome St. Martha Catholic
Church of Kingwood, Texas to the CanCare
family. Founded in February of 1979, St.
Martha has a wealth of active community
involvement and faith-oriented ministries to
serve over 4,200 families and beyond. This
parish has joined in ministry with CanCare
to provide compassion and support for those
facing a battle with cancer. In these thirty
years, growth for St. Martha has been so great
that it has become the first parish in the entire
Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston granted
permission to build an entirely new church and
related facilities to serve its faith family and the
Kingwood area. Lead by Msgr. Chester Borski,
St. Martha and CanCare are traveling the path
of Hope together.
Don’t miss the Houston
Aeros take on the
Chicago Wolves on
March 7!
A portion of your ticket price
will benefit CanCare when
you call or e-mail Josh Young
to reserve your seat!
713-361-7937;
[email protected]
Don’t forget to tell him you’re
supporting CanCare!
w w w. c a n c a r e . o r g
Support CanCare with Internet Searches
H
ow often do you use Google or
Yahoo for your Internet searches
each day? You can earn a penny for
CanCare with every search you make!
GoodSearch.com is an Internet search engine
powered by Yahoo that can be downloaded as a
toolbar on your internet browser or established
as your homepage. Select CanCare, Inc. in
Houston, TX as your charity of choice, and
for each search you make using GoodSearch,
the L.A.-based company will donate a penny
to CanCare. If CanCare recruits 1,000 faithful
GoodSearch users who search the Internet
twice a day, our organization will receive
$7,300 in a year. But it gets better…
Are you an Internet shopper? Go to
GoodShop.com, select CanCare, Inc. as your
charity of choice, and shop in hundreds of
well-known online stores such as Target,
Amazon and Best Buy, and they will donate a
portion of your purchase to CanCare.
Visit www.goodsearch.com today and start
raising money for CanCare!
The Spirit of
W
e held our first annual Holiday
Card Art Contest this year
for children of CanCare
volunteers. Artists ranged from ages 5 to
12, and we were thrilled with all of the
wonderful entries we received. The theme
was to show volunteerism and helping
others, showing the spirit of what we do
here at CanCare all year long.
1st place went to Caroline Bullers,
grandchild of Anita Bullers, CanCare
hospital volunteer and breast cancer
survivor. Caroline described her drawing
as “Reading to a person who is sick makes
them feel better.” Caroline won a $100
the
Holidays
gift card to Toys R Us, and
her artwork was featured
on CanCare’s holiday card.
2nd place was awarded to
Joshua Chan, who won a
$50 gift card, and 3rd place,
with a $25 gift card, went
to Hayes Odum. We also
selected a group of Honorable
Mentions because it was so
difficult to choose from all
of the great work! Thanks to
everyone who encouraged
their little artists to enter the
contest.
1st place - Caroline Bullers - age 6
Honorable
Mention
- Evan Chan
- Age 8
2nd Place - Joshua Chan
- Age 10
3rd Place - Hayes Odum - Age 6
Honorable
Mention
- Sarah Chan
- Age 5
Honorable Men
tion - Alex Odum
- Age 9
Honorable Mention
- Age 7
- Thomas Meyer
T e n n i s
T o u r n a m e n t
We are gearing up once again for the CanCare Tennis
Tournament at Copperfield Health and Racquet Club
the weekend of April 24-26! To enter the tournament or
become a sponsor, contact Brooke at 713.461.0028 or
sign up online at www.cancare.org.
ily McCarty
Honorable Mention - Em
- Age 12
713.461.0028
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Organization
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9575 Katy Freeway, Suite 428
Houston,Texas 77024
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T H E M I S S I O N O F C A N C A R E : To i m p r o v e t h e q u a l i t y o f l i f e f o r c a n c e r p a t i e n t s a n d t h e i r f a m i l i e s .
Please remember these people in your prayers:
CanCare Board of Directors
Shelaghmichael C. Brown, Chair
Richard A. Hollar, Treasurer
Patrick J. Kiley, Secretary
Jill McDonald Pavlas, Legal Counsel
Patricia Hogan Korge, M.A.,
Lifetime Director
F. Max Schuette, Lifetime Director
Warren E. Bright
T. Jay Collins
Harvey G. Garza
William W. Hall, Jr.
B. Cory Hawryluk
John A. Holland
William F. Kimble
Richard A. Lindermanis
Chad N. Lyons
John D. Miner
Jay Morris, M.D.
Leslie S. Nelson
Wil C. Uecker, Ph.D.
CanCare Board of Representatives
William W. Hall, Jr., Chair
Darlene Alexander
Dianne Gautier Anderson
Marcia Barham
Gloria Barnes
Philip David Belanger
Stacei Bible
Rachel G. Birney
Marty R. Buck
Jeanne Byrd
Joe H. Cantrell
Jaime T. Clark
Bitsy Cleveland
Sharon D. Cooper, R.N.
Florida Cornelius-Cooper
Ruth M. Davies
The Rev. Mrs. Janet C. Dennard
Nancy D. Devlin
Rita J. Donaldson
Nila Fenton
Elizabeth Fish
Donna Q. Fong
Connie Marie Fowler
Frances S. Franklin
Roberta D. Ganek
Jill Gentsch
Verna M. Goertz
David Johnson
Lisa Johnson
The Rev. Dr. Robert Joiner, Jr.
Elizabeth Kabat
Leah Katz
Frances S. Kittrell
Liza Kutner
Cindi D. Kuykendall
Gary P. Lamb
Larry Latimer
Jim LeBlanc
John Leslie, Sr.
Kathleen Lewelling
Judith E. McGuire
Ardelia McNulty
Paul G. Meyer
The Rev. Ms. Kim Meyers
Marian A. Murphree
Nancy Bennett, John Holland, Betty Kosley, Donna Lewis and Family,
Louis Marshall, Judith McGuire and Family, Leslie Nelson,
The Family of Mary Reid, Dave Reimers, Ellie Snapp, Gayle Spencer,
C a n C a r e
L u n c h e o n
Dianne Stewart, Patty Stone, Jane Van Tassel and Nathan ‘Buddy’ Webb
Mark your calendars!
CanCare’s 15th Annual Cancer Survivors
Day Luncheon will be May 28, 2009
featuring keynote speaker, Lynn
Redgrave, breast cancer survivor and
legendary actress of stage and screen. We thank ConocoPhillips for their 2009 pledge in printing
to CanCare, Inc. This generous donation enables us to share
CanCare’s message of Hope through this publication, About Life.
We appreciate the continued support of ConocoPhillips and
its employees.
Editor, Nicole Dixon [email protected]. Graphic Design production, Hanagriff
King Design, Inc. Contributing writers: Nicole Dixon, Amy Lamb, Amy Tanner,
Nancy Tucker. Contributing photographers: Nicole Dixon, Amy Lamb. – About Life is
published quarterly by CanCare, Inc., a volunteer ministry for and by cancer patients
and survivors and their families. This nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization is located at
9575 Katy Freeway, Suite 428, Houston, Texas 77024.
Phone: 713.461.0028 or 1.888.461.0028 Fax: 713.461.0704, www.cancare.org.
Patricia K. Nickel
John W. Overton
Sally H. Powell
Emily Prus
Donah Claudette Rogers
Betsy Schauer
Roger Schuelke
Lynn H. Schulenberg
Stephen H. Schultheis
Russell K. Schulze II
The Rev. Mrs. Lillie Seals
Joann Seuser
James O. Simmons
The Rev. Mr. Timothy W. Sloan
Andrew E. Smith
Patricia B. Stone
Christene Tinsley
Donna A. Vokaty
Lorna Weible
Mikki Wunderle
The Rev. Mr. Jack Worsham
Friends of CanCare Board of Directors
Leslie S. Nelson, President
Stacei Bible
Leslie Coleman
Phyllis Dent
Dixie Evans
Pat Hogan Korge
Jan LaRocco
Nan McCreary
Gretchen Odum
Emily Prus
Jamie Sengbusch
Carol Surles
Friends of CanCare Advisory Board
Lynn Hancock, Chair
Carole Alm
Ginger Blanton
Mary Chavanne-Martin
Marilyn Drane
Kathy Garza
Alicia Jansen
Linnea Kob
Jane Lehto
Anne Reed
Nancy Wilfong
Young Friends of CanCare Board of
Directors
Chad Lyons, Chair
Lauren Box
Kim Brown
Beth Bryant
Jordan Buckalew
Kendall Buckalew
Kyle Callender
Carrie Camero
Lauren Diamond
William Getschow
Burton Hanson
William Jochetz
Kelly McIver
Elena Day Parsons
Whitney Rape
Jhonathan Shaikh
Michael Sieger
Shauna Stern
Sonya Villamagna