‘Our Journey of Hope’

The cancer diagnosis was changing nearly every aspect of her life.

Jenny Beck would come into church late and sit in a back pew to minimize the people who saw her hair loss because of her breast cancer treatment.

And she knew how cancer had touched other congregants at Grace United Methodist Church. Church members were diagnosed with cancer and were supporting loved ones who had the disease.

An initial cancer diagnosis comes with fear and often hiding, Beck said. 

Beck, congregational care coordinator of the church, wanted a way to change that for the community and give church and community members a place where they can tell stories about their diagnosis and treatment, get prayed for, get coping tips from people who have gone through what cancer patients are experiencing and most of all, find hope. 

"Everyone is impacted by it, why not shine a light on it," Beck said.

The church launched a new support group earlier this year for people grappling with the disease or caring for someone with the disease. The group is called Our Journey of Hope.

Beck attended and completed a Biblical-based training program with the same name through Cancer Treatment Centers of America. The Our Journey of Hope training provides participants with an in-depth look at the cancer experience and a small group curriculum to build a care ministry.

Nine church members have completed the training so they can help provide one-on-one support to people struggling with all facets of the disease.

Family and friends are often well-meaning when you tell them about a cancer diagnosis and most will connect the diagnosis back to themselves, such as sharing that they know someone who died from the cancer, said Rick Moss, a one-on-one support trainer.

That tactic reinforces the fear the patient is already experiencing and they do not truly know what a person with cancer is going through and they cannot until they experience the same situation, Moss said.

All of the church members trained in the Our Journey of Hope curriculum are cancer survivors, are currently in treatment for cancer or are the main caregivers for a close relative. Each church member trained in the curriculum will pair up with someone attending the monthly support group to offer them support and help, Beck said.

"Until you talk about it to other people who have been through it, you are totally alone," Moss said. 

Part of the goal of the new support group is to help bring the disease out in the open for people at all stages of their treatments and caregiving experiences, said Sally Jennings, a one-on-one support member.

Patients who are active in treatment are welcome, as are survivors and people who are just diagnosed or finishing their treatment, Jennings said.

"We are all in different stages and it’s helpful to people just diagnosed," she said. "It was helpful when I was diagnosed to talk to survivors."

Each group meeting starts with those attending sharing with each other about what they are going through. Beck and other church members will then deliver a lesson from the Our Journey of Hope curriculum. 

Survivors and those who have been through treatments will often give tips to the newly diagnosed, such as which lotion is best to use on skin that is burned from radiation or how to cope emotionally with the diagnosis. Members trained to be mentors will then often break off with other people to hear their stories and offer support.

"I always come from a meeting feeling so much better," said Pat Good, a cancer caregiver.

No topic is off limits, Moss said.

They pray for each other and let members cry. Most of all, the support group is meant to offer hope to people grappling with the disease.

"If you don’t have hope, why bother," Moss said. "I just don’t want to survive cancer, I want to live."

Those trained in the Our Journey of Hope curriculum often try to attend doctor’s appointments and seek to support people in the group in other tangible ways, Beck said.

Church members who have gone through the training wanted to use what they learned through treatments and share it with people who could use the knowledge, trained church members said.

They share the tips on what got them feeling better emotionally and what propelled them through the most difficult times.

"Shame on me if I am doing so good and I don’t help someone accomplish that same goal," Moss said.

Millions of people are currently living with cancer in the United States and more than a million more are expected to be diagnosed this year. Cancer is a disease that affects millions upon millions of Americans ever year. Talking about it helps, Beck said.

There has been a shift in recent generations to go from secrecy surrounding the disease to getting the disease out in the open so people can grapple with it, Beck said.

For example, a generation or two ago, people were not sharing that they had the disease and were not seeking help in dealing with non-medical issues that come with the disease. Support groups such as Our Journey of Hope are changing that, she said.

"Cancer gives us an opportunity to share with people you would have never connected with," Beck said.

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What: Our Journey of Hope cancer support group

When: 6 p.m. second Monday of the month.

Where: Grace United Methodist Church, 1300 E. Adams Drive, Franklin.

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