Caring For Our Community
…it was seemingly a dark time, yet also hopeful, life-affirming, and ultimately enlightening…Noel was given her diagnosis in a room stuffed with white-coated doctors who were straight forwardly predicting an abbreviated life…what she heard was something to the effect of “…get your affairs in order…”…she smiled, thanked the good doctors for their help, and went out of the room as though graciously leaving a social event…her and I had held ourselves in check perhaps more from shock than any notion of keeping a stiff upper lip…once the emotion hit, the wave of what she faced nearly drowned us both…Noel had friends and family who were intimately involved in medicine, health & healing, and spiritual matters…she had faith, strength beyond measure, and an iron will…yet, for all that , she initially chose to hide and deny reality…the staff at Noëlle was sworn to secrecy, her family only told the bare essentials, and she refused to let the news flow to her fledgling relationship with Gillette Corporation, fearing the consequences of such a disclosure…
…that changed when her chemo sessions were no longer in New York City and came to Stamford, her community…those initial fears somehow distilled into actions…that broadcasting her situation would help her community weather similar storms…her rallying cry became “…show them how to have cancer…”…her ability to publicize her plight created an inspirational sphere that would touch and help hundreds of women in similar straits…each of them received advice or admonishment or a pep talk or a scolding, whatever the situation called for and whatever the particular person needed to hear…
…in doing those encounters and living completely and tending to her own well-being, totally, she added fourteen years to her initial prognosis…
…throughout her personal battle, the Bennett Center figured prominently in Noel’s life…Dr Lo patiently explaining his choice of treatments…she altering his predictions or countering with her latest findings about her health…the nurses always finding solutions to the collapsed veins that refused to accept needles…the Bennett Center was as familiar to us as our home…it welcomed us and provided for us both deeply…
…those experiences have prompted me to join the current effort to enhance the Bennett Center…inside my story lies the reason for its telling…
…in our community, it is unfortunately doubtful that cancer has not struck a friend or a family member…in fact it is very much a part of our lives and we all need to share in the responsibility to support and contribute to those who care so very much for the needs of us all…
…the Bennett Center Stars will be symbols of them and of us and will represent our deepest commitment and love for what the Center is to us all…
…I look forward to seeing a wall alive with the spirit and dedication I know is within our community for one of our treasured resources, the Bennett Cancer Center…
…thank you for your participation in this effort…
peter de caprio