Cancer support group celebrates third anniversary

With the alarming incidence of cancer in our society, the SCORCH Cancer Support Foundation was established in August 2014, to assist persons diagnosed with any form of cancer.

We are a family, and our aim is to empower and impact the lives of persons we interact with on a daily basis. Our Acronym SCORCH stands for Surviving Strong Courageous Optimistic Resilient Confident & Hopeful in spite of…

Despite challenges that a diagnosed person may face, we encourage that person to be resilient and to remain positive throughout their journey. SCORCH’s primary purpose is to provide holistic care to persons diagnosed with cancer; as an organization we try our best to help members cope with the thought of a cancer diagnosis, by creating an environment that is fun and stress free, with activities such as “swallowship” at year end, an occasional movie evening, as well as motivational speakers at our group sessions.

Emotionally, we provide counselling sessions for the person who may be in need of this type of support. Counselling is offered to the patients, as well as their family members when we meet on the third Tuesday of each month at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital Outpatient Department. Meetings are at 4:30 p.m., and in these meetings, members of the group are allowed to share their testimonies and receive support from their fellow members and well-wishers.

As an organization, we also deem it necessary to sit with patients during their chemotherapy sessions. We recognize the importance of such support because of the psychological impact this disease can have on those who are diagnosed with or affected in one way or the other.

As an organization, SCORCH supports patients financially to seek additional treatment overseas. We appreciate that being diagnosed with this disease can be a financial burden, since treatment and the purchase of medications is very costly. As such, we give of our best to create and execute a series of fund-raising activities, ranging from food/bake sales to tea parties and cancer awareness walks. These funds are then directed to assist and support our patients. Over the years, we were able to contribute over $20,000 to patients and we are committed to raise even more finances, so that the support continues for years to come.

We cater to the needs of persons of diverse background; anyone in need of help is welcome to join the SCORCH family.

As we celebrate our anniversary under the theme, “Support the Cause, Hope is alive”, we want to thank the Almighty God for allowing us the strength and will power to perform our task to the best of our ability. Though we may face great challenges and have lost a few of our founding members, we continue to tread and remain resolute in our efforts to support our fellow Vincentians. We also want to thank corporate SVG for always giving their financial support to us. We are aware that these are significantly hard economic times, yet you make it your obligation to support us in more ways than one. To our survivors and fighters we understand your battles and we encourage you to keep fighting; we love you and as an organization, just know that we stand with you and are steadfast in our efforts support and encourage you. So as we touch and inspire lives, we will remain SCORCHERS.

(Contributed by Dr Jozelle Miller)