symptoms of cancer of the throat

  • Subscribe to our RSS feed.
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • Digg

Friday, 21 March 2014

Helping Your Children Memorialize Their Parent

Posted on 06:52 by Unknown
Jessica Bemis Young Widow
Jessica Bemis is a full-time, working mom of two who lost her husband to testicular cancer in November 2011. Since then, Jessica has been sharing her story on her blog, Hope for Young Widows and working to bring awareness and hope to women and men who have lost their spouses to cancer.

In trying to find ways to celebrate Jim’s life I thought a lot about his favorite things to do, see, work, travel, etc. One way the boys and I have memorialized Jim each year since his death is by releasing balloons on his birthday. The boys write cards to Jim, and then we attach them to balloons and watch them disappear into heaven as if dad received them. It has helped the boys to have a connection to their father.

Some other ways to memorialize your spouse is by requesting that in lieu of flowers a donation be made to a charity or other organization in remembrance of the person; a tree can be planted accompanied by a plaque with your tribute; a trust can be set up to help surviving family members; etc. For us, we chose to memorialize Jim with an annual 5k race.

Jim was an avid runner; he had a passion for running and weight lifting. His dream was to own a gym one day. From spring through fall he would look forward to running in 5k races to support various charities. Jim had a great friend, Mike, who also enjoyed running or rather grew to enjoy running after a 5 mile run through Valley Forge Park. Mike reached out to me to discuss creating a 5k race in honor of Jim’s memory.

The event raises money for Bringing Hope Home, a local charity in the area. Bringing Hope Home helps families struggling to pay their bills while receiving cancer treatments. Aligning the memorial with Bringing Hope Home is a great way to give back to the community and honor Jim at the same time.

Here is Mike’s story…

As I grow older, I realize that some of the most life-changing events are the small but powerful interactions to which we often give inadequate meaning while we wait for the large things (marriage, children, career, etc.) to define us. You have all heard the word nudge. What does it really mean? While to many it may seem a small thing, a nudge is really a push, a stubborn unwillingness to give up, acquiesce, or settle for less than success. Jim epitomized what I call the powerful Tao of Nudge.

For those who knew him it is no surprise that, Jim was first and foremost a devoted family man; son, brother, husband and father. There are so many words that could be used to describe Jim: funny, loyal, determined, courageous, encouraging, forthright, caring, inspiring and loving. He brought these traits to bear in all that he did, whether it was work, running (one of his favorite pastimes), encouraging others, or hanging with friends and family.

Jim was the Tao Nudge in his triumphing repeatedly over adversity and teaching others to do the same, throughout his fight with cancer. Not only was his 18-month battle with cancer a fight he planned on winning, he remained a father, friend and a stubborn mule when it came to giving up or even getting upset at setbacks and nearly innumerable procedures. All the while Jim was an inspiration to me and surely many others. There was a moment, a run actually, that Jim and I went on as a training run leading up to my very first Valley Forge 5 miler..

Learn more about volunteering and registration for the 4Jim5K run.
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to Facebook
Posted in Hope for Young Widows | No comments
Newer Post Older Post Home

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Popular Posts

  • Radiating Love
    When Neha Vapiwala, MD , and John P. Plastaras, MD, PhD , met during the Perelman School of Medicine’s residency program in radiation oncolo...
  • Megan's Story: From Sarcoma to Survivor
    "When I came to the Abramson Cancer Center (ACC) with stage 2 synovial sarcoma, I needed hope and I needed help. Dr. Kristy Weber treat...
  • Cancer-Fighting Recipe: Anytime Crunch
    The orange zest found in this "Anytime Crunch" provides an instant mood lifter as well as flavor elevator for your yogurt, cottage...
  • Positivity and Hope at the Abramson Cancer Center #CSD14
    Cancer Survivor’s Day is a day to celebrate life with and after cancer. Every person diagnosed with cancer is considered a survivor, and tod...
  • Cancer-Fighting Recipe: Springtime Vegetable Slaw
    Warmer weather is a perfect time to eat light, and take advantage of vegetables that pack a healthy punch. This recipe for vegetable slaw...
  • Learn About Skin Cancer Prevention at Penn
    Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center invites you and your loved ones to attend CANPrevent Skin Cancer, a free educational conference for anyone i...
  • A Toast to Hope and Progress at the 10th Annual Focus on Melanoma Conference
    Christine Wilson, cancer survivor, shares her experiences from the Abramson Cancer Center’s 2013- Focus Melanoma and CAN Prevent Skin Cancer...
  • The Benefits of Whole Grains
    Whole grains provide many cancer-fighting benefits and help with bowel regularity, decrease spikes in blood sugar and make you feel fuller l...
  • The Saracini Family’s Own Miracle on 34th Street
    After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the world became a very different place. For Ellen Saracini and her daughters, the event...
  • Julia’s Story: How a Pair of Genes Changed My Life
    My story began in June 2009 when I found out that the word “genes” can mean more than something you wear on the weekends. The symptoms that ...

Categories

  • Abramson-Cancer-Center
  • acupuncture for cancer symptoms
  • alcohol
  • American Cancer Society
  • amyloidosis
  • amyloidosis clinic
  • Angelina Jolie
  • ASCO
  • Basser
  • Basser-PR
  • Basser-Research-Center
  • bone marrow transplant
  • bone-marrow-donation
  • brain cancer
  • brain tumor
  • brain-cancer
  • BRCA
  • BRCA1
  • BRCA2
  • breast-cancer
  • breastfeeding
  • cancer
  • cancer-prevention
  • cancer-risk
  • Cancer-survivorship
  • cancer-treatment
  • caregivers
  • Carlette
  • CART 19
  • Center-for-personalized-diagnostics
  • cervical-cancer
  • check-your-skin
  • chemoprevention; breast-cancer
  • chemotherapy
  • childhood-cancer
  • children
  • chronic-lymphocytic-leukemia
  • colon-cancer
  • colonoscopy
  • colorectal-cancer
  • colposcopy
  • complementary-therapies
  • conferences
  • Cure Is Within
  • CVS
  • cysts
  • dcis
  • diagnosis
  • e-cigarettes
  • e-connects
  • Emily Ko
  • endometrial-cancer
  • esophageal-cancer
  • events
  • exercise
  • eye
  • Father's Day
  • fertility
  • focus on conference
  • food
  • FORCE
  • gastroenterology
  • gastrointestinal-cancer
  • gene-mutation
  • genetic-counseling
  • genitourinary-cancer
  • geriatric-oncology
  • guest-blog
  • gynecologic
  • hair loss
  • head and neck cancer
  • head-and-neck-cancer
  • HEADSTRONG Foundation
  • Hodgkin-lymphoma
  • holidays
  • Hope for Young Widows
  • HPV
  • immunotherapy
  • integrative-medicine
  • Jane the Writer
  • joan-karnell-cancer-center
  • John Kosteva
  • kale
  • Kamp-Kesem
  • kidney-cancer
  • leukemia
  • liver-cancer
  • livestrong
  • lung cancer
  • lung-cancer
  • lung-cancer-awareness-month
  • lymphedema
  • male-breast-cancer
  • mammograms
  • manicure
  • MDS
  • melanie-gaffney
  • melanoma
  • men's-health
  • mesothelioma
  • mindfulness-program
  • mint
  • Mothers-Day
  • Muir-Torre Syndrome
  • multiple-myeloma
  • myeloma
  • National Lung Screening Trial
  • NETs
  • neuroendocrine-tumor
  • nicotine-addiction
  • non-Hodgkin-lymphoma
  • nursing
  • nutrition
  • obesity
  • Office of Diversity
  • OncoLink
  • oncology careers
  • oral-cancer
  • oral-health
  • ovarian-cancer
  • pain management for cancer
  • pancreatic-cancer
  • patient
  • patient-story
  • pdt
  • peas
  • Penn Medicine Valley Forge
  • Penn proton therapy
  • pet-cancer
  • philanthropy
  • photodynamic-therapy
  • potatoes
  • prevention
  • previvor
  • prostate-cancer
  • proton-therapy
  • PSA-test
  • quality
  • QVC
  • radiation-therapy
  • raloxifene
  • recipes
  • rectal-cancer
  • Reiki
  • relationships
  • Ride to Conquer Cancer
  • risk
  • RTCC
  • Sarcoma
  • screening
  • skin-cancer
  • smoking
  • smoking-cessation
  • Stand-Up-2-Cancer
  • stomach-cancer
  • sunscreens
  • supplements
  • support groups
  • surgery
  • survivor
  • survivorship
  • tamoxifen
  • testicular-cancer
  • thyroid-cancer
  • tobacco
  • tonsil-cancer
  • TORS
  • Twitter
  • uterine-cancer
  • Valentine's Day Chocolate Recipe
  • Valentines Day
  • vitamins
  • Vivian Stringer
  • weight-loss
  • wish-upon-a-wedding
  • women's health
  • world cancer day
  • yoga
  • Young-Friends-of-ACC

Blog Archive

  • ▼  2014 (84)
    • ►  July (7)
    • ►  June (15)
    • ►  May (10)
    • ►  April (10)
    • ▼  March (23)
      • The Basser Center’s Homologous Hope in Times Square
      • Find Your Strength from Within at the 5th Focus On...
      • 5 GI Symptoms No Woman Should Ignore
      • From Desperation to Hope— One Man's Mission to Giv...
      • "I am here today thanks to research and breakthrou...
      • Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer: Community Ev...
      • Emily Ko, MD, Discusses Treatment for Endometrial ...
      • Are E-Cigarettes Safe?
      • AP Quotes Basser Center Director Susan Domchek on ...
      • Helping Your Children Memorialize Their Parent
      • New Art Installation Illustrates DNA Repair and Ce...
      • Should Drug Stores Stop Selling Tobacco?
      • Trailblazer in Women's Sports Becomes Inspiration ...
      • Lower Your Risk Of Endometrial Cancer
      • #ColonCancerACC Twitter Chat 3/20
      • Would You Shield Your Future Child From Cancer?
      • “If I can save one person from being where I was, ...
      • Live Online Video Colorectal Cancer Chat with Penn...
      • Equal Time
      • Surgery for Colorectal Cancer
      • Show Us Your Blue!
      • How a Pair of Genes Changed a Life
      • Julia’s Story: How a Pair of Genes Changed My Life
    • ►  February (10)
    • ►  January (9)
  • ►  2013 (230)
    • ►  December (16)
    • ►  November (19)
    • ►  October (24)
    • ►  September (19)
    • ►  August (8)
    • ►  July (13)
    • ►  June (14)
    • ►  May (24)
    • ►  April (27)
    • ►  March (26)
    • ►  February (22)
    • ►  January (18)
  • ►  2012 (186)
    • ►  December (22)
    • ►  November (21)
    • ►  October (20)
    • ►  September (17)
    • ►  August (10)
    • ►  July (16)
    • ►  June (19)
    • ►  May (21)
    • ►  April (21)
    • ►  March (19)
Powered by Blogger.

About Me

Unknown
View my complete profile