April 22, 2025 • 26 mins
In this powerful and inspiring episode, host Janice Becker, sat down with Sarah Vojtek, CEO and President of Stewart’s Caring Place, a cancer wellness center offering free support services to individuals and families on their cancer journey. But before leading this mission-driven organization, Sarah faced her own unexpected battle with cancer.
What began as supporting a loved one through a breast cancer diagnosis quickly turned into Sarah’s own life-altering experience. She opens up about navigating her diagnosis, treatment, and recovery all while being a wife, raising her children and maintaining a career. Through vulnerability, resilience, and purpose, Sarah found a new path: becoming an advocate for others facing cancer.
Now, she helps ensure that no one has to face this journey alone.
If you’ve ever wondered how adversity can become purposeful, this story will stay with you. Don’t miss it.
Subscribe and turn on alerts to catch our next episode.
Learn more about Stewart’s caring place at Stewart's Caring Place Website
00:00 Introduction to Cancer Resilience and Personal Journey
03:01 Navigating Diagnosis and Treatment
05:52 Transitioning to Stewart's Caring Place
09:05 Services Offered by Stewart's Caring Place
12:01 The Emotional Impact of Cancer
15:00 Advice for Those Recently Diagnosed
17:04 The Role of Social Workers in Healthcare
19:09 The Importance of Wigs and Emotional Well-being
22:22 Personal Growth Through Cancer Experience
25:30 Empowerment and Advocacy in Cancer Care
Takeaways
- Advocating for yourself is crucial during a health crisis.
- Cancer affects not just the patient but the entire family.
- Stewart's Caring Place offers free services to those impacted by cancer.
- Emotional support is as important as medical treatment.
- Virtual services have expanded access to support.
- Hair loss can significantly impact emotional well-being.
- Community resources are vital for financial assistance.
- Sharing personal stories can help others feel understood.
- It's important to take control of your cancer journey.
- Volunteering and donations are essential for non-profits.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to Media Rebel Unplugged.
I'm your host Janice Becker and today I am joined with Sarah Vojtek Stewart's Caring Place and weare going to talk today about cancer, the services that they offer, and also the
survivorship of Sarah herself.
Sarah, thank you so much for being here today.
Thank you
(00:23):
everybody a little bit about your story and how you got involved with Stewart's CaringPlace.
My female cousin was diagnosed with breast cancer.
After doing a self-exam, my mom said to my sister and I, your cousin is diagnosed withbreast cancer.
She found out doing a self-exam.
If you two aren't already doing it, you probably should.
There is no history in our family of it, but just the fact that someone so close wasdiagnosed.
(00:46):
I did a self-exam, a few of them, late in 2019.
and felt something.
So I went to my doctor and at first was dismissed.
You know, I am a mom of two daughters.
I had breastfed, you know, all the things they tell us.
I was considered too young at the time, but I couldn't let it go.
And so I went back for a second opinion.
I will say to anyone listening, it is so important to advocate for yourself.
(01:10):
If you feel like something's wrong, keep pushing until it's figured out.
So I did.
the second opinion and they agreed that we should go in for a mammogram.
So I was scheduled for my first mammogram and you know I got my treatments here in Akronat the SUMA breast center which I can't say enough good things about.
(01:35):
I went in on a Monday for a mammogram.
The tech saw something, asked if I could stay and they immediately did an ultrasound andasked if I could stay for a biop.
So at the time I thought I was just going in for peace of mind and it all escalatedquickly But I'm so appreciative of that because I know some people their experience is
(01:55):
weeks between these tests So regardless of what the outcome was gonna be I at least knewthat I was gonna have some answers relatively quickly that was on a Monday and by that
Wednesday I got a call from my breast surgeon that said it was in fact breast cancer so
COVID.
Right before COVID, you know, I think the world started to talk about COVID, but no onethought it was going to be hit as close to home yet.
(02:19):
So I was just dealing with this sudden cancer diagnosis and went through a few weeks ofdifferent testing to make sure it hadn't spread, which it had not.
It was maybe in a few lymph nodes, but.
We started to lay out what my treatment plan was going to be.
And I opted for a double mastectomy.
It was only in my right breast, but I am a stats girl and I am give me the best percentagetype of person.
(02:43):
so with my amazing breast surgeon, she said that if I wanted a double mastectomy, she'd behappy to write it that way.
So that's what I opted for.
So my initial surgery date was March 18th of 2020.
I was actually working for a different company at the time and I was in charge of our bigevent, which was scheduled for March 18th.
So I said to my doctor,
can we push it back a week?
(03:03):
My husband's rolling his eyes at me and the doctor said sure.
So my surgery date was going to be March 25th, 2020 and March first hit and the worldstarted going into this tailspin if you remember because COVID was happening a lot faster
than anyone had anticipated.
March 14th my breast surgeon called and said hey we don't know what COVID is going to doto the hospital system.
(03:25):
We don't want to wait on your surgery can we move it up?
So I ended up going in on March 18th which was my original date anyhow.
testing of the tumor that was removed and determined a treatment plan with my oncologist.
And so in the months following, I did eight rounds of chemotherapy over 16 weeks.
So once every other week, that was from May to August, and then did 30 rounds of radiationonce a day, Monday through Friday, and was done in October of 2020.
(03:51):
And I'm happy to report that no evidence of disease currently.
on that.
you.
Thank you.
So how did you then pivot from where you were to where you are now with Stewart's CaringClinic?
Great question.
I came out of this diagnosis and this crazy time in our world and felt compelled to dosomething with my diagnosis to help others.
(04:14):
I didn't know what that looked like.
I didn't know what that was, but I had so much support around me.
Unfortunately, cancer is almost everywhere.
And so when I started sharing my journey,
I was pretty vocal and transparent about it.
That's just how I am.
So in social media, family, friends, everybody knew.
But I would act it with people or friends of friends who were going through something orhad already been through it.
(04:36):
So I wanted to figure out how I could.
be there for somebody else and what did that look like?
My employer was great through my time, but I had been at that organization for 10 yearsand thought it's time for a change.
I was connected to Stewart's Caring Place.
Everyone asked me did I use their services?
I did not.
I was stubborn.
I didn't want to ask for help.
I thought I could do it on my own.
(04:56):
I didn't need anybody's help.
I'm going to head down, do this for myself.
But Stewart's Caring Place, who at the time was hiring a director of development and mybackground had been
in donor relations and events.
So it seemed like a good fit for me.
I kind of took a leap of faith.
I didn't know what being around cancer all day, every day was going to do to my emotionalstate.
(05:19):
I didn't know if it'd be triggering for me, but I went ahead and took the leap and I'm sohappy that I did.
So what year did you join?
I joined in August of 21, started as the Director of Development.
So that's a pretty short time span between diagnosis, surgery, chemotherapy, and now a newcareer.
(05:41):
And to manage it so graciously, it's really commendable.
You know, a lot of women do that.
We take care of other people.
Normally the last ones that we take care of, especially if you're a mom, especially ifyou're a single mom like I am, it's always kids first, know, employees first, spouse or
significant other.
(06:02):
I get where you would say, I don't need these services.
I can handle this on my own.
But do you look back and go, I wish I had known about this then.
absolutely.
And even not just for myself.
I had a husband and my two young daughters at home and they could have used some supporttoo.
And so Stuart's Caring Place, we wrap around the entire family, the entire network ofpeople who are affected by a cancer diagnosis.
(06:28):
do you offer and I know it's a lot so I'm going to preface this that it's a lot ofservices if you can't cover them all we are going to let everybody know where to find you
as well for more information but is it something that you also would have to be localbeing that we're in Akron for people to use or could you be virtually in?
Great questions.
(06:49):
I'll start a little bit about our mission and kind of dive into our programs and services.
you're right, we offer a lot, so I'm not going to give the whole laundry list here.
But we do provide programs and services at no cost to anyone impacted emotionally ormentally by a cancer diagnosis.
As I mentioned, we know that the patient
(07:09):
obviously feels that emotional burden of a cancer diagnosis, but so do the spouses,caregivers, children, friends, neighbors, even colleagues feel a certain way when they
find out a loved one or a friend has been diagnosed.
So anyone who has that kind of emotional.
a burden of a cancer diagnosis is welcome through our doors.
(07:30):
We really try and focus on anything that can help while we know the medical treatment isof the utmost importance.
There's so much more that goes into it, right?
We offer support groups and not just for the patient.
Again, we have caregiver support groups.
We have a grief support group.
And then we have some cancer specific, some general support groups.
(07:50):
and some counseling services.
We have a food pantry because sometimes the financial burden of a diagnosis takes itstoll.
And then we do some other things.
We have massage and Reiki, which are very popular services that are meant for that stressrelieving component.
We do a lot of family and children's programming, physical fitness classes, just anythingthat lightens the emotional burden.
(08:14):
And they don't have to be here, right?
You have some virtual counseling and other services,
Yeah, absolutely.
We all learned how to use Teams and Zoom and all the technologies.
Coming out of COVID, what we've found was sometimes people can't get to us because oftransportation issues or they live too far out.
They may not be able to be shoulder to shoulder with somebody else because they're goingthrough treatment and maybe immunocompromised.
(08:39):
Whatever the reason is, a majority of our programs and services that could remain virtualare still offered and you can either attend in person.
or virtually.
So things like our physical fitness classes, yoga, support groups all have an option toattend virtually.
We do have our location in Fairlawn.
We actually just merged late last year with a location in Canton.
(09:02):
So we have two physical locations, but we reach into, I think we're up to like 30 Ohiocounties.
And we even have some participants and families out of state now.
don't think there's a single person out there who hasn't known somebody diagnosed withcancer, sadly, and has been affected by it.
I couldn't even tell you the number of family members and friends that I've known eitherimpacted or sadly have passed away.
(09:28):
And most recently, a few months ago, a family member of mine passed and her sisters werehaving a really hard time.
Where do I go?
Who can I talk to?
And I wish I would have known of your services then and I'm still going to recommend you.
I definitely think it's something that would be super beneficial because even right beforethat, think less than a year before their sister passed away from cancer, they lost their
(09:51):
mom to Alzheimer's.
So sometimes you're having multiple losses and then dealing with a cancer diagnosis that'sout of nowhere.
So I love knowing now that there's something for them to have as a resource.
Absolutely, and I think something you said is important to point out too is oftentimespeople think I was only eligible for your services during the time of treatment or during
(10:12):
the time my loved one was going through it.
And we know that the mental and emotional impact of a diagnosis doesn't just go away.
There's no expiration date.
And so we say we serve anyone regardless of age, stage, or phase of the cancer journey.
That can mean six months.
It can mean six years from diagnosis.
and whatever in between or after comes, our doors are always open.
(10:36):
I I love that you have that very personal connection, but how do you try, aside from, youknow, being on our podcast and others, to get your story out there to help others?
I like to share my story with any of our participants or families that come through mydoor who want to hear it.
And we have a few survivors on staff and we have found that when we mentioned that, whenwe opened that up, that we are also survivors, you see the walls come down because people
(11:03):
automatically know that you understand what they're going through.
You have been there, you felt it.
And I think that it provides a little bit of hope for what comes afterwards.
I know everyone has a different outcome, but I am honored and blessed to be able to sharemy story and what my journey looked like and continues to look like now.
And I think you're right.
(11:24):
Some people are open about it and I think there's other people who want to be more privateabout it.
But it's great when you can share your story and help other people who are right now.
Again, I really commend you for doing that.
What advice would you give to someone recently diagnosed and at the same time trying tomanage the career that they're in?
(11:47):
Yeah, it's tough.
I mentioned I like being open, honest, and transparent.
I think it says a lot about your employer, how they manage it or how accommodating or notthey are to it.
Like I said, at the time my diagnosis was blessed to have an organization where myimmediate boss had unfortunately had a young family member that had been through it.
(12:09):
So she understood it on a more personal level than I could have ever asked for in terms of
understanding and the emotional toll that goes with a diagnosis.
But I think they say on average at time of diagnosis, you have about 100 doctors ortreatment appointments.
So trying to juggle all that with a career.
(12:29):
I would say if your employer is not accommodating, then it's not the right employer foryou.
That's my opinion.
I think that at the end of the day, we're all human and we're all people and
Money matters, but I think heart matters even more.
I agree and it's hard to believe that there could be an employer out there that could lookat somebody diagnosed with cancer and not be receptive to treatment that they have to have
(13:02):
or time off work.
I've heard horror stories of it and it does exist.
I have a friend who doesn't have insurance and she
my best friend actually and what I would say my sister because I don't have a sister.
She was just recently diagnosed with bladder cancer.
And that was a very unexpected thing for her to find out and then to kind of go, okay,well, what do I do now?
(13:26):
I don't have insurance and I have to have treatment.
I have to have surgery to remove these tumors.
They didn't even know who could do the surgery.
Thankfully, a week after diagnosis, as you had kind of said with your situation of gettingthat.
that surgery as fast as you could, right?
So that was great for her to have that done.
And then now this is, I think two or three weeks later in today, just ironically, thiswasn't scheduled before our podcast scheduling.
(13:53):
had to have her second surgery this morning to remove some more tumors that were still inexistence there.
So when you look at that financial burden, even though you're working, you may not haveinsurance.
What advice do you have for them in that situation?
The hospital systems should be set up in a way that they can advocate on your behalf, onthe patient's behalf.
(14:16):
We often say that social workers are wonderful resources in the hospital systems becausethey should be connected to opportunities for financial assistance.
They may know resources.
They may have nonprofits in the area that they know of that can provide some financialassistance.
You know, I will speak to here in Akron.
(14:37):
We have a wonderful network of resources that are specific to cancer that we are aware of.
We at Stewart's Caring Place can't be everything to everyone, but our hearts are brokenwhen we hear stories like that.
But we have partnerships with other nonprofits that we can refer people to that may beable to provide some financial assistance.
(15:01):
So I would say the first place to start is with the social workers in the hospitals.
Sometimes there's positions called nurse navigators that can help with some of that aswell that should know of resources that can help.
I love that you pointed that out because I don't think a lot of people would know to go tothe hospital that you're at.
I think some hospitals have been good about getting a social worker to a person that isuninsured, knowing that there's going to be a financial burden.
(15:27):
But I think there are others that don't do that.
I appreciate you sharing that.
know that that's something that you don't want to have to stress about.
And you shouldn't have to stress about when you're looking at this diagnosis and thistreatment and all the questions and feelings.
So go along with that.
mean, I know, you know, they've mentioned for her and there's different types of chemotreatments and for hers, it's, um, oral.
(15:49):
And she was kind of like, I don't want to lose my hair.
She's always had really thick hair.
Well, when COVID hit, she got COVID, she lost half her hair.
And now of course that's in the back of her mind and everybody's affected differently bythat.
But one of the things I had seen on your website was that you offer wigs for people.
So would you tell us more about that?
Yeah, thank you for bringing that up.
It is actually a huge part of what we do.
(16:11):
I didn't mention it earlier.
So we have a beautiful wig salon where we have it set up just like you would go get yourhair cut with some chairs and mirrors and just wall upon walls of
in drawers upon drawers of wigs.
We know that hair loss is the first visible sign of disease, especially for women.
It's our confidence.
(16:31):
It's part of our confidence.
And that plays into our emotional well-being.
And you know, to some people, it's just hair.
It's going to grow back.
Well, that's not what we think when we look in the mirror.
So our wig salon is there for people to either make an appointment or stop by and getfitted for a wig, again, at no cost.
Unfortunately, that is an added cost that goes along with chemotherapy and hair loss.
(16:57):
And not everybody has that disposable income.
mean, if you were to go purchase a somewhat high quality wig, you're looking at least$300, if not more, for a wig.
And we are so blessed that we are able to offer those at no cost.
so that people can leave feeling a little more confident than when they first came to us.
(17:23):
I don't know if I've ever heard of anybody doing that before.
So I think it's something that's definitely unique about all the things that you do, allthe resources that you have.
And that one is so important for women.
Like you said, we identify with our hair as a form of our beauty.
And when you don't have control over it, that is, I think, one of the most devastatingfeelings.
(17:46):
it's hard enough.
Again, you're dealing with a disease, your whole world's spinning.
and then you're losing something that you identify with.
Yeah, absolutely.
And something you said, it's out of your control, which is even more devastating.
I know a lot of women opt to do like the shave parties or something like that.
(18:07):
And I don't think doctors always get it.
And they're like, we don't need to shave your head.
Well, yes, I do because it's, can control it on my time.
I can decide when I'm ready instead of it just falling out piece by piece.
I can decide to take that into my own hands and it
feels like some control back, even though it's on the time of the chemotherapy drug andwhen it's gonna start producing that side effect.
(18:33):
But once you decide, it is so empowering to just say, I'm gonna take control of this partat least.
love that you mentioned that is very empowering for women to say, okay, I know I can'tcontrol much in the situation, but I can do this.
And to take that back and have that power back.
And it's okay if some people don't understand why you're doing what you're doing.
It's what makes you feel good and not about what anybody else.
(18:59):
Somebody comes in to get fit or wig.
Do they leave that day with it?
really?
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah, we have our website and places to find us, but we have, I would wager hundreds ifnot up to a thousand wigs at our disposal.
We've been blessed by receiving significant donations in the forms of wigs.
(19:21):
And that's something to point out too.
A lot of people ask us, do you take donations of used wigs?
And we actually partner with a local salon to get any donated wig professionally cleanedand put back on the shelf.
Because of this kind of giving back or passing along, we have almost every color, cut andstyle wig available.
And if for some reason we don't, we have some wig companies that we can work with to tryand find it.
(19:45):
So are those human hair or synthetic or combination?
They are actually synthetic.
The human hair ones, while beautiful, they are harder to maintain.
So from a storage perspective, as well as not giving our participants one more thing tohave to worry about, being extra careful with this wig that they just got, ours are
(20:06):
currently all synthetic.
That's good to point out though because I've seen the effects of chemo people.
You're tired and the last thing you want to think about is how do I take care of this andit's something that would be an extra challenge.
Yes.
That makes complete sense.
What's a lesson that cancer has taught you personally?
(20:27):
It sounds so cliche, but you're stronger than you know.
And it's one of those things where you can say, I'm a strong person, but then you reflectback.
It's crazy.
It's to see what my body went through and that I'm still standing.
It's crazy to know what I went through emotionally.
(20:49):
Especially during that time, everyone has a hard time.
Just knowing that I did it, I got through it.
We say it all the time, but when you put it into practice and look back, it's just crazy.
know you mentioned the concern initially with joining this position at Stewart's CaringPlace and how that would impact you and maybe even trigger some feelings for you with your
(21:11):
own journey.
What would be the biggest takeaway for you in this role?
I was very concerned that it was going to trigger me in some way to be talking about acancer all day every day, but I have found that it's actually the opposite.
It's therapeutic.
It's therapeutic to share my story, to help in any way that I can, even sometimes bringhope.
(21:34):
We talked about hair loss, but what people don't talk about is hair loss is all hair loss.
So eyelashes, eyebrows, it all goes.
And so I made the decision once I was able to and medically cleared.
to do the microblading, the tattoos of your eyebrows.
And so I'm often the eyebrow model at Stewart's Carrying Place.
One of my colleagues will come get me and say, hey, she's really worried about what hereyebrows are gonna look like or what she's gonna do when she's able to.
(22:01):
So it's fun to show people like, you can totally get a face tattoo and no one will evenknow.
So that type of thing and relating it to leadership, I think it's just doing.
doing what your passion is, doing what pulls at your heart.
I didn't ever know that cancer was gonna be my passion until I went through it, and now itis.
I would just say for any leader, if you have the passion for it, the rest of it just comesalong.
(22:29):
think you're so inspiring.
Everything that you do and I think it's, it's sometimes really hard when we go throughsomething like that.
You probably had a million questions of what's next and to go through a situation whereyou could choose to say, woe is me.
And it's okay if some people do not, I'm not saying that, but to kind of take away fromthat and go, okay, I can overcome this.
(22:52):
and now be in a role where you get to help people daily.
That has to also make you feel good to go, okay, that wasn't for nothing.
Everything that you went through was to build you into the person that you were trulymeant to be.
Yeah, absolutely.
When I made the decision to take the leap of faith to join Stuart's Caring Place, I had todo something with this diagnosis and I didn't know what it was.
(23:13):
I just threw my hands up and said, let's see where this takes us.
So it was a beautiful story when I sit back and reflect on it, but not something I everset out intentionally to.
Once I got that diagnosis, I had no idea what that was going to do.
that you hope listeners take away from this.
I think one thing is be your own advocate and that can be in anything we hear it all thetime, especially as women.
(23:36):
think that is something that has bubbled up when I've been telling my journey is that yougotta, you gotta fight for yourself and do what feels right for you.
No one can tell you how you feel.
Just listen to your gut.
think everybody that listens to this is definitely going to take at least one thing away.
We've touched on many things that really help people and their families and friends tohave that resource of information available to them that they didn't even know, know,
(24:04):
especially from a virtual standpoint.
I love that you still offer that.
And if some people, when COVID started to go away, they were that availability.
So to still have that as a resource is very great.
And thank you again for being here.
For those that are in need and would want to learn more about you and about StewardsCaring Place, where should they go?
(24:25):
Sure, you can start on our website.
So, stewards, s-t-e-w-a-r-t-s, caringplace.org.
Our doors are open 9 to 5.
We have the Fairlawn location that's open Monday through Friday, and we now have a Cantonlocation that's open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.
Our website has all of our information, our address, our phone number.
(24:48):
If you're ready to get some services with us,
There's a link on the homepage for a registration or participation form.
Fill that out and one of our staff will be in contact.
You know, within two to three days, we try not to make it any longer than that and get youconnected to what services you may be needing.
(25:08):
What about those that might be interested in making a donation or volunteering?
We are funded by what we say is the generosity of this wonderful community.
We do not receive government funding and because we are non-medical, we do not billinsurance.
So we really rely on foundation grant support as well as individual and corporate giving.
(25:28):
And we do that through donations.
We have our large fundraisers every year.
So all of that can be found on our website as well.
We are a small but mighty and we could not do what we do without our amazing army ofvolunteers and are always looking for more.
So on the website as well there will be everything should be in the give back which is thedonate and then a volunteer form.
(25:50):
So your time, talent and treasure can all be found there on our website as well.
Thank you.
I really hope that people will take advantage of your resources and if they don't needthem at this current state, they will give donations or volunteer with your organization.
Personally, think that what you do is absolutely amazing and I hope that it continues togrow and flourish as it is and I think it will as you continue to help.
(26:16):
Thank you so much for having me.
It's been truly an honor to sit here and speak with you and so appreciative of thisopportunity.
Thank you.
Thank for listening to MediaRebel Unplugged.
Again, I'm your host Janice Becker, joined with Sarah Boyetech today from Stewart'sCarrying Place.
We hope that you will like and subscribe and follow along with us.
And if you know somebody that could be a great guest on our show, please click the link inthe description.
(26:40):
We'd love to hear from you and we'll see you soon.
Welcome to Media Rebel Unplugged.
I'm your host Janice Becker and today I am joined with Sarah Vojtek Stewart's Caring Place and weare going to talk today about cancer, the services that they offer, and also the
survivorship of Sarah herself.
Sarah, thank you so much for being here today.
Thank you
(00:23):
everybody a little bit about your story and how you got involved with Stewart's CaringPlace.
My female cousin was diagnosed with breast cancer.
After doing a self-exam, my mom said to my sister and I, your cousin is diagnosed withbreast cancer.
She found out doing a self-exam.
If you two aren't already doing it, you probably should.
There is no history in our family of it, but just the fact that someone so close wasdiagnosed.
(00:46):
I did a self-exam, a few of them, late in 2019.
and felt something.
So I went to my doctor and at first was dismissed.
You know, I am a mom of two daughters.
I had breastfed, you know, all the things they tell us.
I was considered too young at the time, but I couldn't let it go.
And so I went back for a second opinion.
I will say to anyone listening, it is so important to advocate for yourself.
(01:10):
If you feel like something's wrong, keep pushing until it's figured out.
So I did.
the second opinion and they agreed that we should go in for a mammogram.
So I was scheduled for my first mammogram and you know I got my treatments here in Akronat the SUMA breast center which I can't say enough good things about.
(01:35):
I went in on a Monday for a mammogram.
The tech saw something, asked if I could stay and they immediately did an ultrasound andasked if I could stay for a biop.
So at the time I thought I was just going in for peace of mind and it all escalatedquickly But I'm so appreciative of that because I know some people their experience is
(01:55):
weeks between these tests So regardless of what the outcome was gonna be I at least knewthat I was gonna have some answers relatively quickly that was on a Monday and by that
Wednesday I got a call from my breast surgeon that said it was in fact breast cancer so
COVID.
Right before COVID, you know, I think the world started to talk about COVID, but no onethought it was going to be hit as close to home yet.
(02:19):
So I was just dealing with this sudden cancer diagnosis and went through a few weeks ofdifferent testing to make sure it hadn't spread, which it had not.
It was maybe in a few lymph nodes, but.
We started to lay out what my treatment plan was going to be.
And I opted for a double mastectomy.
It was only in my right breast, but I am a stats girl and I am give me the best percentagetype of person.
(02:43):
so with my amazing breast surgeon, she said that if I wanted a double mastectomy, she'd behappy to write it that way.
So that's what I opted for.
So my initial surgery date was March 18th of 2020.
I was actually working for a different company at the time and I was in charge of our bigevent, which was scheduled for March 18th.
So I said to my doctor,
can we push it back a week?
(03:03):
My husband's rolling his eyes at me and the doctor said sure.
So my surgery date was going to be March 25th, 2020 and March first hit and the worldstarted going into this tailspin if you remember because COVID was happening a lot faster
than anyone had anticipated.
March 14th my breast surgeon called and said hey we don't know what COVID is going to doto the hospital system.
(03:25):
We don't want to wait on your surgery can we move it up?
So I ended up going in on March 18th which was my original date anyhow.
testing of the tumor that was removed and determined a treatment plan with my oncologist.
And so in the months following, I did eight rounds of chemotherapy over 16 weeks.
So once every other week, that was from May to August, and then did 30 rounds of radiationonce a day, Monday through Friday, and was done in October of 2020.
(03:51):
And I'm happy to report that no evidence of disease currently.
on that.
you.
Thank you.
So how did you then pivot from where you were to where you are now with Stewart's CaringClinic?
Great question.
I came out of this diagnosis and this crazy time in our world and felt compelled to dosomething with my diagnosis to help others.
(04:14):
I didn't know what that looked like.
I didn't know what that was, but I had so much support around me.
Unfortunately, cancer is almost everywhere.
And so when I started sharing my journey,
I was pretty vocal and transparent about it.
That's just how I am.
So in social media, family, friends, everybody knew.
But I would act it with people or friends of friends who were going through something orhad already been through it.
(04:36):
So I wanted to figure out how I could.
be there for somebody else and what did that look like?
My employer was great through my time, but I had been at that organization for 10 yearsand thought it's time for a change.
I was connected to Stewart's Caring Place.
Everyone asked me did I use their services?
I did not.
I was stubborn.
I didn't want to ask for help.
I thought I could do it on my own.
(04:56):
I didn't need anybody's help.
I'm going to head down, do this for myself.
But Stewart's Caring Place, who at the time was hiring a director of development and mybackground had been
in donor relations and events.
So it seemed like a good fit for me.
I kind of took a leap of faith.
I didn't know what being around cancer all day, every day was going to do to my emotionalstate.
(05:19):
I didn't know if it'd be triggering for me, but I went ahead and took the leap and I'm sohappy that I did.
So what year did you join?
I joined in August of 21, started as the Director of Development.
So that's a pretty short time span between diagnosis, surgery, chemotherapy, and now a newcareer.
(05:41):
And to manage it so graciously, it's really commendable.
You know, a lot of women do that.
We take care of other people.
Normally the last ones that we take care of, especially if you're a mom, especially ifyou're a single mom like I am, it's always kids first, know, employees first, spouse or
significant other.
(06:02):
I get where you would say, I don't need these services.
I can handle this on my own.
But do you look back and go, I wish I had known about this then.
absolutely.
And even not just for myself.
I had a husband and my two young daughters at home and they could have used some supporttoo.
And so Stuart's Caring Place, we wrap around the entire family, the entire network ofpeople who are affected by a cancer diagnosis.
(06:28):
do you offer and I know it's a lot so I'm going to preface this that it's a lot ofservices if you can't cover them all we are going to let everybody know where to find you
as well for more information but is it something that you also would have to be localbeing that we're in Akron for people to use or could you be virtually in?
Great questions.
(06:49):
I'll start a little bit about our mission and kind of dive into our programs and services.
you're right, we offer a lot, so I'm not going to give the whole laundry list here.
But we do provide programs and services at no cost to anyone impacted emotionally ormentally by a cancer diagnosis.
As I mentioned, we know that the patient
(07:09):
obviously feels that emotional burden of a cancer diagnosis, but so do the spouses,caregivers, children, friends, neighbors, even colleagues feel a certain way when they
find out a loved one or a friend has been diagnosed.
So anyone who has that kind of emotional.
a burden of a cancer diagnosis is welcome through our doors.
(07:30):
We really try and focus on anything that can help while we know the medical treatment isof the utmost importance.
There's so much more that goes into it, right?
We offer support groups and not just for the patient.
Again, we have caregiver support groups.
We have a grief support group.
And then we have some cancer specific, some general support groups.
(07:50):
and some counseling services.
We have a food pantry because sometimes the financial burden of a diagnosis takes itstoll.
And then we do some other things.
We have massage and Reiki, which are very popular services that are meant for that stressrelieving component.
We do a lot of family and children's programming, physical fitness classes, just anythingthat lightens the emotional burden.
(08:14):
And they don't have to be here, right?
You have some virtual counseling and other services,
Yeah, absolutely.
We all learned how to use Teams and Zoom and all the technologies.
Coming out of COVID, what we've found was sometimes people can't get to us because oftransportation issues or they live too far out.
They may not be able to be shoulder to shoulder with somebody else because they're goingthrough treatment and maybe immunocompromised.
(08:39):
Whatever the reason is, a majority of our programs and services that could remain virtualare still offered and you can either attend in person.
or virtually.
So things like our physical fitness classes, yoga, support groups all have an option toattend virtually.
We do have our location in Fairlawn.
We actually just merged late last year with a location in Canton.
(09:02):
So we have two physical locations, but we reach into, I think we're up to like 30 Ohiocounties.
And we even have some participants and families out of state now.
don't think there's a single person out there who hasn't known somebody diagnosed withcancer, sadly, and has been affected by it.
I couldn't even tell you the number of family members and friends that I've known eitherimpacted or sadly have passed away.
(09:28):
And most recently, a few months ago, a family member of mine passed and her sisters werehaving a really hard time.
Where do I go?
Who can I talk to?
And I wish I would have known of your services then and I'm still going to recommend you.
I definitely think it's something that would be super beneficial because even right beforethat, think less than a year before their sister passed away from cancer, they lost their
(09:51):
mom to Alzheimer's.
So sometimes you're having multiple losses and then dealing with a cancer diagnosis that'sout of nowhere.
So I love knowing now that there's something for them to have as a resource.
Absolutely, and I think something you said is important to point out too is oftentimespeople think I was only eligible for your services during the time of treatment or during
(10:12):
the time my loved one was going through it.
And we know that the mental and emotional impact of a diagnosis doesn't just go away.
There's no expiration date.
And so we say we serve anyone regardless of age, stage, or phase of the cancer journey.
That can mean six months.
It can mean six years from diagnosis.
and whatever in between or after comes, our doors are always open.
(10:36):
I I love that you have that very personal connection, but how do you try, aside from, youknow, being on our podcast and others, to get your story out there to help others?
I like to share my story with any of our participants or families that come through mydoor who want to hear it.
And we have a few survivors on staff and we have found that when we mentioned that, whenwe opened that up, that we are also survivors, you see the walls come down because people
(11:03):
automatically know that you understand what they're going through.
You have been there, you felt it.
And I think that it provides a little bit of hope for what comes afterwards.
I know everyone has a different outcome, but I am honored and blessed to be able to sharemy story and what my journey looked like and continues to look like now.
And I think you're right.
(11:24):
Some people are open about it and I think there's other people who want to be more privateabout it.
But it's great when you can share your story and help other people who are right now.
Again, I really commend you for doing that.
What advice would you give to someone recently diagnosed and at the same time trying tomanage the career that they're in?
(11:47):
Yeah, it's tough.
I mentioned I like being open, honest, and transparent.
I think it says a lot about your employer, how they manage it or how accommodating or notthey are to it.
Like I said, at the time my diagnosis was blessed to have an organization where myimmediate boss had unfortunately had a young family member that had been through it.
(12:09):
So she understood it on a more personal level than I could have ever asked for in terms of
understanding and the emotional toll that goes with a diagnosis.
But I think they say on average at time of diagnosis, you have about 100 doctors ortreatment appointments.
So trying to juggle all that with a career.
(12:29):
I would say if your employer is not accommodating, then it's not the right employer foryou.
That's my opinion.
I think that at the end of the day, we're all human and we're all people and
Money matters, but I think heart matters even more.
I agree and it's hard to believe that there could be an employer out there that could lookat somebody diagnosed with cancer and not be receptive to treatment that they have to have
(13:02):
or time off work.
I've heard horror stories of it and it does exist.
I have a friend who doesn't have insurance and she
my best friend actually and what I would say my sister because I don't have a sister.
She was just recently diagnosed with bladder cancer.
And that was a very unexpected thing for her to find out and then to kind of go, okay,well, what do I do now?
(13:26):
I don't have insurance and I have to have treatment.
I have to have surgery to remove these tumors.
They didn't even know who could do the surgery.
Thankfully, a week after diagnosis, as you had kind of said with your situation of gettingthat.
that surgery as fast as you could, right?
So that was great for her to have that done.
And then now this is, I think two or three weeks later in today, just ironically, thiswasn't scheduled before our podcast scheduling.
(13:53):
had to have her second surgery this morning to remove some more tumors that were still inexistence there.
So when you look at that financial burden, even though you're working, you may not haveinsurance.
What advice do you have for them in that situation?
The hospital systems should be set up in a way that they can advocate on your behalf, onthe patient's behalf.
(14:16):
We often say that social workers are wonderful resources in the hospital systems becausethey should be connected to opportunities for financial assistance.
They may know resources.
They may have nonprofits in the area that they know of that can provide some financialassistance.
You know, I will speak to here in Akron.
(14:37):
We have a wonderful network of resources that are specific to cancer that we are aware of.
We at Stewart's Caring Place can't be everything to everyone, but our hearts are brokenwhen we hear stories like that.
But we have partnerships with other nonprofits that we can refer people to that may beable to provide some financial assistance.
(15:01):
So I would say the first place to start is with the social workers in the hospitals.
Sometimes there's positions called nurse navigators that can help with some of that aswell that should know of resources that can help.
I love that you pointed that out because I don't think a lot of people would know to go tothe hospital that you're at.
I think some hospitals have been good about getting a social worker to a person that isuninsured, knowing that there's going to be a financial burden.
(15:27):
But I think there are others that don't do that.
I appreciate you sharing that.
know that that's something that you don't want to have to stress about.
And you shouldn't have to stress about when you're looking at this diagnosis and thistreatment and all the questions and feelings.
So go along with that.
mean, I know, you know, they've mentioned for her and there's different types of chemotreatments and for hers, it's, um, oral.
(15:49):
And she was kind of like, I don't want to lose my hair.
She's always had really thick hair.
Well, when COVID hit, she got COVID, she lost half her hair.
And now of course that's in the back of her mind and everybody's affected differently bythat.
But one of the things I had seen on your website was that you offer wigs for people.
So would you tell us more about that?
Yeah, thank you for bringing that up.
It is actually a huge part of what we do.
(16:11):
I didn't mention it earlier.
So we have a beautiful wig salon where we have it set up just like you would go get yourhair cut with some chairs and mirrors and just wall upon walls of
in drawers upon drawers of wigs.
We know that hair loss is the first visible sign of disease, especially for women.
It's our confidence.
(16:31):
It's part of our confidence.
And that plays into our emotional well-being.
And you know, to some people, it's just hair.
It's going to grow back.
Well, that's not what we think when we look in the mirror.
So our wig salon is there for people to either make an appointment or stop by and getfitted for a wig, again, at no cost.
Unfortunately, that is an added cost that goes along with chemotherapy and hair loss.
(16:57):
And not everybody has that disposable income.
mean, if you were to go purchase a somewhat high quality wig, you're looking at least$300, if not more, for a wig.
And we are so blessed that we are able to offer those at no cost.
so that people can leave feeling a little more confident than when they first came to us.
(17:23):
I don't know if I've ever heard of anybody doing that before.
So I think it's something that's definitely unique about all the things that you do, allthe resources that you have.
And that one is so important for women.
Like you said, we identify with our hair as a form of our beauty.
And when you don't have control over it, that is, I think, one of the most devastatingfeelings.
(17:46):
it's hard enough.
Again, you're dealing with a disease, your whole world's spinning.
and then you're losing something that you identify with.
Yeah, absolutely.
And something you said, it's out of your control, which is even more devastating.
I know a lot of women opt to do like the shave parties or something like that.
(18:07):
And I don't think doctors always get it.
And they're like, we don't need to shave your head.
Well, yes, I do because it's, can control it on my time.
I can decide when I'm ready instead of it just falling out piece by piece.
I can decide to take that into my own hands and it
feels like some control back, even though it's on the time of the chemotherapy drug andwhen it's gonna start producing that side effect.
(18:33):
But once you decide, it is so empowering to just say, I'm gonna take control of this partat least.
love that you mentioned that is very empowering for women to say, okay, I know I can'tcontrol much in the situation, but I can do this.
And to take that back and have that power back.
And it's okay if some people don't understand why you're doing what you're doing.
It's what makes you feel good and not about what anybody else.
(18:59):
Somebody comes in to get fit or wig.
Do they leave that day with it?
really?
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah, we have our website and places to find us, but we have, I would wager hundreds ifnot up to a thousand wigs at our disposal.
We've been blessed by receiving significant donations in the forms of wigs.
(19:21):
And that's something to point out too.
A lot of people ask us, do you take donations of used wigs?
And we actually partner with a local salon to get any donated wig professionally cleanedand put back on the shelf.
Because of this kind of giving back or passing along, we have almost every color, cut andstyle wig available.
And if for some reason we don't, we have some wig companies that we can work with to tryand find it.
(19:45):
So are those human hair or synthetic or combination?
They are actually synthetic.
The human hair ones, while beautiful, they are harder to maintain.
So from a storage perspective, as well as not giving our participants one more thing tohave to worry about, being extra careful with this wig that they just got, ours are
(20:06):
currently all synthetic.
That's good to point out though because I've seen the effects of chemo people.
You're tired and the last thing you want to think about is how do I take care of this andit's something that would be an extra challenge.
Yes.
That makes complete sense.
What's a lesson that cancer has taught you personally?
(20:27):
It sounds so cliche, but you're stronger than you know.
And it's one of those things where you can say, I'm a strong person, but then you reflectback.
It's crazy.
It's to see what my body went through and that I'm still standing.
It's crazy to know what I went through emotionally.
(20:49):
Especially during that time, everyone has a hard time.
Just knowing that I did it, I got through it.
We say it all the time, but when you put it into practice and look back, it's just crazy.
know you mentioned the concern initially with joining this position at Stewart's CaringPlace and how that would impact you and maybe even trigger some feelings for you with your
(21:11):
own journey.
What would be the biggest takeaway for you in this role?
I was very concerned that it was going to trigger me in some way to be talking about acancer all day every day, but I have found that it's actually the opposite.
It's therapeutic.
It's therapeutic to share my story, to help in any way that I can, even sometimes bringhope.
(21:34):
We talked about hair loss, but what people don't talk about is hair loss is all hair loss.
So eyelashes, eyebrows, it all goes.
And so I made the decision once I was able to and medically cleared.
to do the microblading, the tattoos of your eyebrows.
And so I'm often the eyebrow model at Stewart's Carrying Place.
One of my colleagues will come get me and say, hey, she's really worried about what hereyebrows are gonna look like or what she's gonna do when she's able to.
(22:01):
So it's fun to show people like, you can totally get a face tattoo and no one will evenknow.
So that type of thing and relating it to leadership, I think it's just doing.
doing what your passion is, doing what pulls at your heart.
I didn't ever know that cancer was gonna be my passion until I went through it, and now itis.
I would just say for any leader, if you have the passion for it, the rest of it just comesalong.
(22:29):
think you're so inspiring.
Everything that you do and I think it's, it's sometimes really hard when we go throughsomething like that.
You probably had a million questions of what's next and to go through a situation whereyou could choose to say, woe is me.
And it's okay if some people do not, I'm not saying that, but to kind of take away fromthat and go, okay, I can overcome this.
(22:52):
and now be in a role where you get to help people daily.
That has to also make you feel good to go, okay, that wasn't for nothing.
Everything that you went through was to build you into the person that you were trulymeant to be.
Yeah, absolutely.
When I made the decision to take the leap of faith to join Stuart's Caring Place, I had todo something with this diagnosis and I didn't know what it was.
(23:13):
I just threw my hands up and said, let's see where this takes us.
So it was a beautiful story when I sit back and reflect on it, but not something I everset out intentionally to.
Once I got that diagnosis, I had no idea what that was going to do.
that you hope listeners take away from this.
I think one thing is be your own advocate and that can be in anything we hear it all thetime, especially as women.
(23:36):
think that is something that has bubbled up when I've been telling my journey is that yougotta, you gotta fight for yourself and do what feels right for you.
No one can tell you how you feel.
Just listen to your gut.
think everybody that listens to this is definitely going to take at least one thing away.
We've touched on many things that really help people and their families and friends tohave that resource of information available to them that they didn't even know, know,
(24:04):
especially from a virtual standpoint.
I love that you still offer that.
And if some people, when COVID started to go away, they were that availability.
So to still have that as a resource is very great.
And thank you again for being here.
For those that are in need and would want to learn more about you and about StewardsCaring Place, where should they go?
(24:25):
Sure, you can start on our website.
So, stewards, s-t-e-w-a-r-t-s, caringplace.org.
Our doors are open 9 to 5.
We have the Fairlawn location that's open Monday through Friday, and we now have a Cantonlocation that's open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.
Our website has all of our information, our address, our phone number.
(24:48):
If you're ready to get some services with us,
There's a link on the homepage for a registration or participation form.
Fill that out and one of our staff will be in contact.
You know, within two to three days, we try not to make it any longer than that and get youconnected to what services you may be needing.
(25:08):
What about those that might be interested in making a donation or volunteering?
We are funded by what we say is the generosity of this wonderful community.
We do not receive government funding and because we are non-medical, we do not billinsurance.
So we really rely on foundation grant support as well as individual and corporate giving.
(25:28):
And we do that through donations.
We have our large fundraisers every year.
So all of that can be found on our website as well.
We are a small but mighty and we could not do what we do without our amazing army ofvolunteers and are always looking for more.
So on the website as well there will be everything should be in the give back which is thedonate and then a volunteer form.
(25:50):
So your time, talent and treasure can all be found there on our website as well.
Thank you.
I really hope that people will take advantage of your resources and if they don't needthem at this current state, they will give donations or volunteer with your organization.
Personally, think that what you do is absolutely amazing and I hope that it continues togrow and flourish as it is and I think it will as you continue to help.
(26:16):
Thank you so much for having me.
It's been truly an honor to sit here and speak with you and so appreciative of thisopportunity.
Thank you.
Thank for listening to MediaRebel Unplugged.
Again, I'm your host Janice Becker, joined with Sarah Boyetech today from Stewart'sCarrying Place.
We hope that you will like and subscribe and follow along with us.
And if you know somebody that could be a great guest on our show, please click the link inthe description.
(26:40):
We'd love to hear from you and we'll see you soon.
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