HOPE's mission inspires corporate support!

As we move through the summer and juggle staff vacation requests, we are reminded all too often that cancer never takes a vacation. For that reason we must keep our focus as clear now as we do any other time of the year.

We are excited to report, as we kick off our new fiscal year, that two generous companies have stepped forward to help us with that focus by giving donations to HOPE!

HARPS and Price Cutter have joined HOPE for the second year-in-a-row as the Presenting Sponsor of our fifth annual Bill Fleeman Gentlemen of Distinction Fashion Show event scheduled for October 10, 2008. Although they usually do not commit to consecutive sponsorships such as this, the work HOPE has done in the community that has affected HARPS and Price Cutter employees was valuable enough to inspire them to join us again this year. We are so grateful for their support and commitment to helping us help oncology patients excel in Northwest Arkansas!

Wal-Mart has fulfilled a grant request and will donate $10,000 to be used to expand our patient assistance program. HOPE’s patient assistance program strives to help local cancer patients with a combination of financial and emotional services aimed at reducing their distress during treatment. Through the services of licensed oncology social workers, patients are evaluated for psychosocial needs and a series of services are provided based on the individual concerns of that patient. Services include: prescription and emergency financial assistance, crisis intervention, resource mobilization, supportive and therapeutic counseling and education for coping, care giving and other mental health concerns.

Next time you are visiting with your friends or associates who work for HARPS, Price-Cutter or Wal-Mart please tell them how much it means to you for them to support HOPE, Inc.

Social Workers in Cancer Care

Did you know HOPE, Inc. is home to the only social workers dedicated specifically to oncology in our region? Pretty cool, right? But what exactly IS an "oncology social worker"? What do they do? How can they help a patient undergoing cancer treatment?

Oncology social workers help persons with cancer and their loved ones in many ways:

They help individuals ~
* Access information to help understand diagnoses and treatments
* Cope with diagnoses and the emotions experienced
* Plan for the logistics of cancer care
* Apply for programs that offer assistance
* Find temporary housing during treatment

We can offer ~
* Counseling for patients and their loved ones
* Assessments of distress and suggestions for coping
* Information about available support groups and educational programs
* Referrals to community resources
* Information about national resources
* Planning and facilitation of support groups

We can teach about ~
* Communicating with treatment team
* Reducing stress and relaxation skills
* Coping with emotions such as sadness, fear, anger and worry
* Talking with children, family, friends or co-workers
* The basics of hospice care
* Living with cancer
* Life as a cancer survivor

At HOPE we do all of this and more for local oncology patients. We are champions for interventions that enhance the quality of life and survivorship of those we work with. We are extremely fortunate that we also have our own patient services programs to directly assist patients with practical and emotional needs.

Our social workers are licensed in the state of Arkansas, which means they have degrees in social work from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, have successfully completed Board approved examinations, and have undergone a criminal background check. They are also members of the professional organization Association of Oncology Social Workers (AOSW). AOSW's 1100+ members embrace the mission "to advance excellence in the psychosocial care of persons with cancer, their families, and caregivers through networking, education, advocacy, research and resource development."

HOPE is a community leader in the psychosocial care of persons with cancer - and our social workers make it happen.

Who needs HOPE?

Studies have been done that measure the relationship between a person's attitude or level of optimism and their success in life. Over and over again they show that the more optimistic a person is, the more often they will find the silver lining in the thunderclouds that are filling their skies.

You can imagine, then, what an attitude of hopeful optimism can do for the many people in our community who are living with cancer. For too many, cancer is not only a serious illness to be fought through and survived, but the diagnosis also carries the very real threat of losing one's job due to the patient's inability to work during their treatments. That job loss can too quickly lead to a fear of losing their home, their car, custody of their children... Suddenly, being sick is almost the least of their worries. The immediate needs take up more of a patient's mental and physical energy and recovery becomes harder to focus on.

HOPE, Inc. was founded in 2001 by physicians and former cancer patients here in Northwest Arkansas. They saw a need for a source of information and assistance that can available to cancer patients while they are undergoing treatment. We work with oncology patients in Benton, Washington, Madison and Carroll counties to provide emotional support, emergency financial assistance, and referrals to other cancer support organizations when it is appropriate.

We also offer access to clinical trials that have not been available to many patients in Northwest Arkansas before now. Our staff includes a Registered Nurse who manages the paperwork and research involved with patients' applications and physicians' administration of the trials, thereby providing peace-of-mind and a reduction of frustration for those who need it most.

We have created this blog to allow us to provide up-to-date information and an online presence in order to reach as many people as possible with the message of HOPE. Come back often, refer your friends, and support us as you feel you can. We are all neighbors, and we can all use a little HOPE.