Thank you to everyone that has made a year-end gift to Angel Foundation.  We are close to meeting the $15,000 challenge but we still need donors to step forward with a first time gift to Angel Foundation.  If you are new to Angel Foundation, please make a gift today.  If you are already a donor, you can help us make our goal by increasing your gift by any amount.  Only six days remain in this challenge–will your gift be the one that puts us over goal?

All clear–cancer free

Treatment’s done.  Weeks and weeks of daily radiation was hard on Joseph and his family but now that phase is done and the family is waiting for the results of the latest tests.  Questions are swirling through Joseph’s mind–Is the cancer gone?  If not, what’s next?  When can I go back to work?  When will life be more “normal”?

Joseph’s oncologist shares the good news–currently, there is no cancer in his body.  The oncologist tells Joseph that he will likely be tired for a period of time and he will need regular follow up appointments, but he should get back to his regular activities, including work, as his strength permits. 

Two months ago Joseph’s life was changed forever.  So was his family’s.  Even though he just received the all clear, he knows there is a chance his cancer may return. Over the last six weeks his diagnosis and treatment schedule have defined him.  In fact, the regular visits to the clinic, his oncologist and the other providers were a sort of security blanket.  He was actively doing something about the cancer in his body and the treatment was targeting the cancer cells.  The thought of getting on with his life was hard to fathom.  He knew the cancer had left his body, but he couldn’t get it out of his mind.

In early 2012, Angel Foundation’s Facing Cancer Together program will expand to include the Family Consult Program.  This program will provide information and support to adults with cancer and their families at four critical points along the cancer continuum:  diagnosis; treatment; advancement or recurrence; and end-of-life.  Meeting with family members, one-on-one and as a group, will provide information specific to the needs of that family.

The Family Consult Program is not offered anywhere else in theTwin Cities, the state of Minnesota and at only a few place throughout the nation.  Angel Foundation is able to offer this new program, and all its programs, thanks to the generous support of this community.  Thank you so much for your support in 2011.  Together, we are making a difference in the lives of families when cancer strikes.