Gloria Elisa has this to say about the gift of cancer: When my twin was diagnosed with cancer, it was certainly a wake up call. I don't think I would ever refer to it as a gift -- even now. It was two years of so many ups and downs and unimaginable hard lessons, but in turn we finally received the good news of over 14 months of remission. However, I can tell you what I learned from my twin sister is positive -- her incredible strength, faith, grace and sense of humor even during the toughest time of her life. Yes, it made us all stronger and it showed us who our true friends are, but there were those moments of uncertainty and fear which I cannot call a gift that I wish to relive ever again. Having said that, I can say that there is a light at the end of the tunnel -- after cancer, but it certainly was not a gift to our family.
What she doesn't mention in this comment she left after reading On cancer as a gift is that her Hopes & Dreams Cancer Awareness Shop is itself a gift -- to her sister Anne, to those who find themselves visiting her website, and to the recipients of her charitable work.
Accompanying her sister on her twice-traveled cancer journey and becoming both Anne's stem cell donor and caregiver was a sobering experience, says Gloria. Inspired to do something special in honor of her sister and to give back to the cancer community, she created Hopes & Dreams.
"This store gives me the opportunity to create t-shirt designs to bring awareness to Hodgkin's Lymphoma and other cancers and in doing so, I can donate the proceeds of all of the cancer awareness items to charity and pay it forward," she says.
You'll find much more than t-shirts at this location. Take a stroll through the virtual aisles -- and find out for yourself what hopes and dreams are made of.
1. Thanks for the story. Just a reminder: September is Blood Cancer Awareness Month. We have a good selection of awareness ribbon t-shirts for Lymphoma and Leukemia. We are donating the proceeds to cancer research.
Visit us at
http://www.hopedreamsdesigns.com
Posted at 5:35PM on Sep 7th 2007 by Hope & Dreams