Cancer Survivors Day comes with deeply conflicting emotions. There’s a lingering sense of injustice, grief, and even anger as we celebrate the unfathomable strength of those who have faced the storm of cancer. With so many of us having been touched by the cruelties of cancer these days, the need for support and resources to navigate the emotional, mental, and physical realities of cancer has only increased. This Cancer Survivors Day, we want to honor those who have endured cancer by shining a light on the work of cancer survivors who are sharing hope and educational tools to continue encouraging others in their darkest days.
Cancer isn’t a foreign concept to Yoli Origel—after losing her mom to cancer, Yoli found herself with her own cancer diagnoses in 2007. Seven years later, she also lost her sister to metastatic breast cancer.
Staring down those life events, no one would bat an eye if Yoli had chosen to become embittered by the tragedy of cancer. But she didn’t. In fact, she chose to use each painful lesson and the empathy forged from her own cancer survival to birth a mission of encouragement and compassion for others who would step into their own cancer stories. Her ministry, Cancer Kinship, is the culmination of her hope despite overwhelming odds.
Cancer Kinship works to empower cancer patients to confidently face their diagnosis through peer mentorship, individualized and group support, survivor education, and socialization provided by caring and compassionate volunteers and staff. While doctors and cancer specialists do the good work of physically caring for cancer patients, Cancer Kinship steps into the social, emotional, and mental battles that cancer presents to provide healing through human connection.
This is only a small portion of Yoli and Cancer Kinship’s story. We encourage you to honor Cancer Survivors Day in your own life by diving into the involvement resources Cancer Kinship has through their ministry, and by listening to the work Yoli and others are doing.
