There are lots of walks, runs and bake sales raising money for cancer research today. But this year, mothers and daughters, friends and family gather at the first annual "Hope is Our Cup of Tea," on May 9 at Salty’s on Alki for an afternoon tea celebrating hope, humor and the honoring of cancer survivors.
Event proceeds will benefit cancer research and survivor support services through the American Cancer Society.
Keynote speaker Debra Jarvis, cancer survivor, Chaplain at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and author of, "It’s Not About The Hair and Other Certainties of Life and Cancer," promises to uplift and inspire as she takes the gathering from tears to laughter while recounting being diagnosed with breast cancer five days apart from her mother.
Jarvis shares, “My mother’s focus was not on her own cancer – it was on me, her daughter. And that’s what mothers do.”
Known for her humor and honest take on reality, Jarvis is a living example of what cancer research has done to make cancer survivable. “A cancer diagnosis is not about death anymore. Today we have reason for hope. All the patients I’ve counseled over the years are those reasons.”
As Jarvis describes grappling with her own cancer and her mother’s (also a survivor), Jennifer Conus, a young mother of a son, is celebrating her own breast cancer survivor moment – she’s pregnant with a daughter after undergoing intensive chemotherapy during treatment. “It took a little longer than the one year waiting time, but now I’m pregnant with the daughter I always wanted,” Conus said. “My mother and grandmother both had cancer and died. I had cancer and survived. Now I hope that the advances in cancer research will mean that my daughter won’t have cancer at all or that treatment will be a lot easier. Just imagine where we’ll be in prevention and treatment in 30 years!”
Nancy Kulseth, co-chair, said that they are still accepting reservations, for the event.
“The response to this event has been incredible. Being the day before Mothers Day makes it a real tribute to all the mothers and daughters who’ve had cancer in their families. This is for them.”
For more reservations please call Kulseth at (206) 365-8252.
