Cancer survivors are invited to stop by the Baptist Cancer Center-Anderson this week to place their handprints on a canvas as the center holds its 11th annual Handprints for Hope.
Held in honor of National Cancer Survivors Month, Handprints for Hope is both a way for survivors to celebrate their victory over cancer and a message of encouragement to those newly diagnosed or undergoing treatment.
Donna Creel, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017, said the canvases of survivors’ handprints were one of the first things she saw arriving at the center for radiation therapy, and they gave her hope.
“The first time I walked through these doors downstairs to the radiation part, I saw all these canvases on the wall,” she said. “It was just encouraging. It gave me hope because I could see the survivor names, how many years people have been survivors for, 20, 25 years, and that could be me. I could do that. It just gives you hope and encouragement to fight the battle you’re going through.”
Creel said her faith played a big role in her battle with cancer, and it helped her learn to look for the small things in life often taken for granted. Finding things to be thankful for, she said, helped keep her mind away from self-pity and complaints.
“When I started counting my blessings and naming them, when I was done, whatever my complaint or my pity party was, it didn’t matter anymore because I had so much more to be thankful for,” she said.
After her diagnosis, Creel said she was trying to find the right way to tell her son and daughter in-law about her cancer. At the same time they were also trying to figure out how to break the news to her that they were expecting a child, she said.
“So we both shared our news at the same time, and three days after I left here from my final radiation, my granddaughter was born, and I was hold her and love her and that was my gift from God,” she said. “He cured me and made me well, and I’m here today to hopefully give hope and encouragement to others.”
Cancer survivors can stop by Baptist Cancer Center-Anderson, 1704 23rd Ave., anytime from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through June 6 to add their handprint and time of survivorship to the canvas. As of 4 p.m. Monday, 31 survivors had already added their print to the canvas. The 2023 canvas collected a total of 138 handprints representing more than 1,200 years of survivorship over the course of the week.
Regardless of whether they have one day or several decades of survivorship, all cancer survivors are invited to take part in Handprints for Hope and share encouragement with others.