Lima Memorial Medical Park rededicated its Hope Garden angel Thursday during a luncheon for breast cancer survivors.
Photo by Mackenzi Klemann | The Lima News
LIMA — Breast cancer survivors met at Lima Memorial Medical Park Thursday for an intimate luncheon commemorating their journeys, from diagnosis to remission and everything in between.
The health system’s annual Hope Garden celebration, now in its 26th year, brought dozens of breast cancer survivors together Thursday for an afternoon of fellowship — and shoe bedazzling — to ward off loneliness in what can otherwise be an alienating time for anyone who has received a cancer diagnosis.
“It’s nice to get together with people who’ve been through what you’ve been through,” said Kristy Vore, a breast cancer survivor of six years.
Thursday’s luncheon, which coincided with National Mammography Day and Breast Cancer Awareness month, was the first in-person Hope Garden celebration the health system has hosted since the pandemic started.
“It gives them hope to continue on with their journey,” said Dr. Darlene Weyer, medical director for the radiology and imaging center at Lima Memorial Medical Park.
“That’s so important because sometimes we do feel like we’re all alone when we get a diagnosis of cancer,” Weyer said. “We just want to be here to show our support, to show our love and encourage our patients to continue doing what they’ve been doing that’s gotten them to where they are today.”
