Cynthia George, Christine Diller, Patty Scott and Lori Thomas welcome volunteers to the ACS Kickoff Membership Coffee The Garden City Unit of the American Cancer Society’s annual Kickoff Membership Coffee was held on October 21 st, at the lovely home of Mrs. Christine Diller. The meeting was attended and enjoyed by members long-standing and brand-new. The unit wishes to extend their gratitude to the coffee’s chairwoman and gracious hostess Christine Diller, as well as to Cynthia George and Lori Thomas, the event’s advisory chairwomen.

Patty Scott, the Garden City Unit’s president, began the meeting by introducing her Executive Board; Beth Mercadante, First Vice President; Erin Nothel, Second Vice President; Cynthia George, Recording Secretary; Lori Thomas, Corresponding Secretary; and Katie Rogers, Publicity. Patty then went on to describe the exciting events upcoming in the 2005-2006 calendar. These events include the annual Holiday Announcement, which will benefit childhood cancers this year; The Phantom Ball, a hugely successful fundraiser that invites you to stay at home and save the cost of formal attire and babysitters and instead benefit Hope Lodge, a residence for those undergoing cancer treatments far from home; Daffodil Days, which spreads the flowers that symbolize hope; the always much-anticipated House tour; and the huge outdoor end-of-summer party called “Tastings.” These events are made up of many people working together on tasks both small and large, enjoying each other’s company and sharing a feeling of accomplishment.

Sadly, in Nassau County alone, there are 125 new diagnoses of cancer every week. The American Cancer Society’s goals are to reduce cancer fatalities by 50%, reduce the incidence of cancer by 25%, and to improve the quality of life for people afflicted with the disease. To accomplish these goals, the ACS works to legislate smoking bans, holds school program on cancer prevention through nutrition and sun safety, acts as an advocate for patients, provides education and family services, and funds research. Thirty-five Nobel Prize winners have been funded by the American Cancer Society.

The ACS provides hope for the future, and concrete help for today: for example, the “Road to recovery” program matches volunteers with patients who need help getting to or from cancer treatments. For people too sick to drive or unable to because of the nature of their treatments, this service is unimaginably helpful. The ACS’ patient navigation service helps people learn how to get more opinions, what questions to ask of their doctors, and provides community databases to help patients find everything from wigs to counseling to food pantries. The ACS also provides a “Look Good, Feel Better” program. This is a two-hour class in hair and makeup, designed to overcome the side effects of cancer. People are given a gift of cosmetics at the end and leave with a huge self-esteem boost. Finally, some of the money raised by the Garden City Unit benefits the ACS’ Camp Adventure, a week-long overnight camp for children with cancer and their siblings, ages 6 to 18. Held each August on Shelter Island, the camp provides an opportunity for kids to just be kids while receiving the medical attention they need from pediatric oncology professionals.

This is just some of the support and hope the Garden City unit of the American cancer society strives to provide. Please contact Christine Thomaides at 516-921-6082 x 3005 if you would like to join the team, have some fun, and help in the fight against cancer.

Top: Cynthia George, recording secretary; Patty Scott, president; Lori Thomas, corresponding secretary. Bottom: Erin Nothel, 2 nd VP, Beth Mercadante, 1 st VP