Online portal allows users to easily send messages of inspiration to women fighting cancer
BATON ROUGE, La. – A caring message can come from 10 or 10,000 miles away, but the hope and motivation it inspires remains a powerful tool in the healing process for cancer patients. This is the impetus behind Hope Notes, a new movement developed by Woman’s Hospital and Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center for patients at its Breast & GYN Cancer Pavilion.
Beginning today, anyone can visit breastandgyncancer.org/hope to send a free personalized message to a breast or gynecologic cancer patient, and the sender can choose to electronically sign their name or have it delivered anonymously. Users can select from a number of design options and include a prepared inspirational message or compose one of their own. Hope Notes will then be printed and hand-delivered to patients when they arrive for treatment.
“Positive interactions and communication with patients has shown to enhance clinical treatments, so we are excited to bring Hope Notes to our patients,” said Cynthia Rabalais, executive director of the Breast & GYN Cancer Pavilion. “It’s also a wonderful outlet for those who want to do something to help cancer patients, yet may not have other means to do so. It’s an easy, but powerful way to make a difference.”
The Breast & GYN Cancer Pavilion is kicking off Hope Notes in September to coincide with National Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month followed by National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.
“Taking the patient’s entire cancer experience into consideration is core to how we treat patients at the Pavilion,” said Linda Lee, vice president, Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center. “The Breast & GYN Pavilion is a special place for women with very specific cancers and I believe there are people out there who would like to reach out and offer them support. Many might have gone through a cancer journey of their own and want patients to know that there is life after cancer. Hope Notes provides the perfect platform for those meaningful connections.”
For more information on the Breast & GYN Cancer Pavilion, visit breastandgyncancer.org.