Southern Indiana Living SeptOct 2012

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Helen Smith holds the name tags of her group’s many members. “They have my records here at the center, so I’d go pull my chart and go to Helen Smith, cancer ... like, they don’t go together. It always happens to other people.” Five years, three surgeries and hundreds of doctor visits later, Smith is cancer-free and grateful for the experience that threatened her vitality. “God spoke to me when I was o of work for my surgeries, and he said ‘I gave you the gift of compassion, and these people know you love them and you care about them, but we’re going to kick it up a notch, and when you tell them you understand, they’re going to know you really understand’,” Smith said. “And that’s what brought me back here.” Young Insurance Agency Let us Save you $$$ on your AUTO • HOME LIFE • BUSINESS MARK A. YOUNG, AGENT Of¿ce: 812-725-7100 Cell 812-620-1659 Our New location is across from Outback WE HAVE MOVED! 1517 Broadway St., Unit 103, Clarksville, IN 47129 www.farmersagent.com/myoung5 Free No Obligation Quotes. Her gift of compassion is obviously working. When she took over the group she said there were about 10 members, and now she has almost 100 members. Part of it, she said, is that she sees many of the members on a regular basis when they come to the center for treatments. “They’ll tell you I harass them,” she laughed. “I’ll ask them, ‘Why haven’t you been at the support group, what’s your problem?’ When I tell them about the support group, I do emphasize that I am a survivor and I do understand.” Smith said if people say they have plenty of support at home then she encourages them to come to the group so their story can help someone else. And when it was her turn to battle cancer, Smith got the support right back from her group members. She said she also realized how fortunate she was that her cancer was not nearly as advanced or as aggressive as many of the folks that she encourages at Angels of Hope. “My strength was my patients, because I thought how lucky and blessed I was that I didn’t have to go through the treatments,” she said. Throughout the process she felt closer than ever to her patients at the support group and realized that “it’s a group you don’t want to get into, and it’s a group you don’t want to get out of.” So much so, she joked, that she has to push people out of the group once they are cancer free. “I have one lady who doesn’t even have cancer but she thinks she does,” Smith said. “I’ve had two marriages out of this group.” Angels of Hope meets twice a month. On the Àrst Thursday of the month are roundtable discussions for caregivers and survivors and on the third Thursday Smith brings in speakers, organizes games, plans activities and generally makes it a lighter evening for people to get their minds o cancer. Smith and members of the group also are very active in the community, particularly with Relay for Life. Since her diagnosis, Smith said she has connected with her biological mother (Smith grew up in an orphanage), discovered a brother, and lobbied on behalf of cancer centers in Washington, D.C. • September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 16
silivingmag.com • 13
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Southern Indiana Living SeptOct 2012

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