You Could Say Cancer Changed My Career

Has cancer changed my career? Um, yes.

Another layer to this question is when did it change my career?

Let me take you back in time to my dreams and aspirations as a young kid from Westlake, OH. All of my childhood years, there was nothing else I wanted to do except play football. There were, of course, other sports that I played along the way, but being a 6’2”, 275 pound kid in high school, it was pretty obvious what sport I was going to play.

Reflecting on 2022 and Looking Forward to 2023

The elephant in the room is cancer. Tea is the relief conversation provides. This is our motto, short and sweet. Storytelling is the heart and soul of what we do. It is the heartbeat of our organization. Everything that we do revolves around allowing people to share their stories in their own words.

Roe v. Wade: A Call to Stand with Our Herd

By now many of you are aware of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and the amount of backlash from the cancer community.

The Steven G. Cancer Foundation and Elephants and Tea initially took to social media asking people to listen to the stories of those individuals impacted by Roe v. Wade.

Was that enough? No. Can we do more? Definitely.

A Community Conversation: How Narrative Therapy Can Be a Healing Tool During A Cancer Experience

Hear from Nick Giallourakis, Executive Director of Elephants and Tea, and Lizzy Menges, creator of the I’m Not Done Yet Foundation, speak to how our writing workshops came to be, how they work, and how impactful they have been thus far. We will then hear from Whitney Hadley (MA, MSW, LSW AYA Support Specialist and Community Outreach Coordinator) on the therapeutic benefits of narrative. During our Healing Through Writing Workshops, we utilize writing and sharing stories to help cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers express emotions felt during their experience with cancer. We encourage participants to feel empowered to make changes in their thought patterns and behaviors regarding their cancer journey. We will also hear from Kayla Fulginiti (MSW, LCSW), Director of Programs of the Dear Jack Foundation and a vital member of our writing workshop team, who will lead an abbreviated panel where we will further explain how writing can help people make sense of their experiences. Together, we will share how you can use writing and storytelling in your own healing.

A Community Conversation | Wellness and Nutrition

Hear Angie and Nick Giallourakis speak to why these are such important focus areas for our organization and how we are giving back to the community. Then, hear our dear friend, Michele Rothstein, talk about how she is implementing smoothie days at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital as part of a nutrition program funded by our foundation. Michele will share the impact the smoothie program has had and continues to have on patients, families, and co-workers.

A Community Conversation | How Independent Health Care Advocates Support Cancer Patients and Survivors

Nicole Broadhurst, Talaya Dendy, Claire Thevenot, Rachel Westlake are professional and independent health care advocates. These women help their clients navigate the healthcare system. They are Board Certified Patient Advocates or on their way to being certified. Cancer is a part of their story and many of those they work with. They’ll tell you about their different specializations, where to find professional advocates for yourself and your loved ones, and what to look for in finding an advocate.

Independent health care advocacy is a growing field and a part of the movement to improve health care. They’ll tell you where to learn more about the profession and discuss opportunities and barriers to becoming and working with an independent health care advocate.

A Community Conversation | AYA Cancer and the Impact of the Pandemic

Drs. Marlyn Allicock and Aubree Shay, from the Department of Health Promotion & Behavioral Sciences at UTHealth School of Public Health, will present findings from a series of focus groups conducted with AYAs in Summer 2020. In these they explored the unique experiences and impact of the pandemic on AYAs including difficulties and delays in medical care, the added burden caused by cancer including compounding uncertainty, and the unexpected “advantages” of a history of cancer during the pandemic.

2021 Elephants and Tea Audience Survey Results

Elephants and Tea is inviting the AYA cancer community to come join us as we review the results of our annual survey conducted in the fall of 2021. This is the recorded version of the presentation. We want to share the feedback of how the AYA cancer community feels we are doing as an organization, plus, share insights we have learned that will benefit others in the AYA cancer community. As Elephants and Tea continues to grow, it is important to make sure we keep our Herd in the loop with why certain decisions are made. We received your honest feedback and now it is time to grow together and share!

Spilling Tea with the G’s | The Pharmacist | Sydney Beliles

In this episode, we are joined by Sydney Beliles from Walgreens. Sydney is a specialty pharmacists specializing in oncology. Pharmacists are often times a forgotten resource but an important part of the medical team for an AYA patient. We dive in with Sydney to understand the key role pharmacists play in helping an AYA in facing cancer.

The Return of the Dear Cancer Magazine

What would you say to cancer if you could write it a letter? That is what this new issue is all about. For those that do not remember and have not been a part of the Herd prior to 2020, we ran our first Dear Cancer issue in December 2019.