Moore Regional’s Cancer Survivors Day Scheduled for June 3
| Date Posted: 5/4/2012 | Author: Mandy McCue
PINEHURST – The survivors, relatives, friends and cancer care providers who participate in the 2012 National Cancer Survivors Day activities will leave a bit of themselves behind after their day of celebration.
Those attending the June 3 event will have the opportunity to put their fingerprint on a “Fingerprint Tree of Life” that will be placed in the Community Hospital FirstHealth Cancer Services .
“It will symbolize their survivorship, of living and flourishing,” says Margie Thomas, clinical director of Moore Regional’s Radiation Oncology department and chair of the hospital’s National Cancer Survivors Day Committee.
If they like, participating survivors can choose a color for their fingerprint that represents their diagnosed cancer such as pink for breast cancer, light blue for prostate cancer and green for lymphoma. After dipping a finger on the appropriately colored ink pad, the participant will press his/her finger somewhere on the sketched outline of a tree and then put their name and length of survivorship on their “leaf.”
Staff and family members can also participate and will be able to choose from among a variety of colors. The completed “Fingerprint Tree of Life” will eventually be framed and displayed in the Cancer Center.
Hosted by cancer care staff at Moore Regional Hospital, the 2012 Cancer Survivors Day program will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Fair Barn on Highway 5 in Pinehurst. The free afternoon of interactive games and activities will include Bingo, a cake walk and a photo booth.
A popular holdover from the past two National Cancer Survivors Day programs, the “Dunk Your Doctor” booth will allow participants to toss a softball in an effort to dunk physicians and other personnel from the cancer care staff in the pool of water below.
Nearby, a Wellness Area will feature healthy smoothies and massage therapy. Zumba instructor Christy Weaver will offer easy Zumba moves for people to enjoy as they arrive for the event.
“This is for fun and to get people engaged and moving,” Thomas says.
National Cancer Survivors Day is an annual, worldwide celebration of life that is held on the first Sunday of each June in hundreds of communities throughout the United States,Canada and other participating countries. Participants unite in a symbolic event to show the world that life after a cancer diagnosis can be meaningful and productive.
The National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation defines a “survivor” as anyone living with a history of cancer – from the moment of diagnosis through the remainder of life.
“On Cancer Survivors Day, we celebrate our patients’ survivorship over cancer,” says Thomas. “Cancer survivors face each day with courage and dignity, and we want them to know that they serve as an inspiration to us all.”
FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital’s National Cancer Survivors Day celebration is free and open to cancer survivors, their families and friends, and to the physicians and other health-care personnel who treat cancer patients. For more information about attending or for directions, call (800) 213-3284 toll-free.
