我真希望珍妮特能看到病人的表情当我给他们一张加油卡告诉他们这是另一个癌症病人的.
Stephanie (Annie) Aquila, LICSW珍妮特·库姆斯(Janette Coombs)在得知自己患有乳腺癌六周后，才将注意力从癌症诊断带来的复杂情绪和感受转移到减轻其他患者的痛苦上.
在候诊室或输液室里与来访者坐在其他病人旁边, 珍妮特无意中听到他们谈论他们的挣扎. “每个人都在与不同类型的癌症作斗争，”她说. “And so I started thinking, 我们怎样才能将恐惧的能量转化为令人振奋的能量呢?”
Janette and her 28-year-old special needs son, Nicholas, 一直以社区为导向，积极参与为有需要的人烘焙吗. 她想出了一个主意，烘烤并出售狗骨头，并用所得利润为十大博彩推荐排名癌症中心的其他病人购买加油卡.
"以牙还牙"一开始是为了让尼克参与进来, 但这也是为了帮助其他癌症患者，为狗狗提供健康的食物. Janette and Nick sell a bag of 7 bones for 5 dollars. “我知道，在金钱方面，我不是一个非常精明的女商人, but I always thought 5 was a good easy number. 四袋是20美元，够我们买一张加油卡了. So, that's how it all started,” says Janette.
Soon, local vendors such as Tremont House of Pizza, Leo’s Market and Meriden Market started carrying the bones. 在治疗之前，珍妮特为尼克建立了一个Facebook页面 The Elf Shelf，都是关于他们过去为人们定制的篮子. “我把‘treat for Treatment’的故事告诉了尼克在Facebook上越来越多的粉丝, and before I knew it, I was mailing dog bones to Georgia and Florida, and I don’t even know these people!” laughs Janette.
The best of the best
As avid dog lovers, Janette and Nick make sure the treats are healthy for dogs, with only 6 ingredients: peanut butter, flour, honey, egg, water and baking powder. “为了狗狗的健康，我们使用了最好的东西:泰迪的天然花生酱, King Arthur flour and local organic raw honey,” she says. 这种纯天然食物的保质期约为5天，但可以冷冻长达6个月.
珍妮特与十大博彩推荐排名癌症中心的社会工作者一起寻找最需要加油卡援助的病人. 这些贺卡还有一个诚挚的信封，是珍妮特从Hobby Lobby购买的，信封上还写着珍妮特亲手写的字, “No one fights alone,上面有一个爪印，表明这张卡片都是用狗骨头做的. “当我给病人一张加油卡并告诉他们这是另一位癌症病人的时候，我希望珍妮特能看到他们的脸,” says Stephanie (Annie) Aquila, LICSW, 她是十大博彩推荐排名癌症中心乳腺综合项目的肿瘤学社会工作者.
四年来，珍妮特为加油卡筹集了5300多美元. “不仅仅是我，我们的社区都在说，‘我们将支持这项事业!'” she says. “甚至没有动物的人也会买给邻居或他们的孙子. Even my doctors and nurses are buying the bones!”
百分之百的利润直接用于购买加油卡. Janette doesn’t even take out money to buy the ingredients. 几年前，当亚瑟王得知这个项目时，他们慷慨地捐赠了8袋面粉. 否则，珍妮特就得自掏腰包支付食材的费用. “Like I said, I’m not a businesswoman. But it’s not about that. If it helps other people then that’s where my drive is.”
Passionate about giving back
第三次接受乳腺癌治疗并没有让珍妮特感到厌倦. “I’m very passionate about giving back,” she says. On top of Treats for Treatment Janette has participated in The Prouty 10年来，我经常为其他患有乳腺癌的朋友骑车. This year, for safety reasons, as she recovers from her second mastectomy, she was unable to cycle her normal route. “So this year I’m doing the 10K walk instead!” she laughs. With the annual match from The Byrne Foundation, Janette managed to raise $5,200 for cancer research and patient support services.
这需要一个村庄来实现，人们都在支持这项事业.
Janette Coombs
They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. 珍妮特的儿子尼克也为十大博彩推荐排名健康儿童医院筹集了大量资金. As captain of Team Nick for 4 years, 他把髋部骨折从癫痫大发作变成了破纪录, 组建了有554名成员的有史以来最大的团队，并筹集了令人印象深刻的6.8万美元. They even earned attention from local media. “He’s like the little mayor of Claremont,” laughs Janette. “People know him. 他们在汉纳福德买狗骨头的原料时认出了他.”
Janette’s giving doesn’t stop there. 除了手术，她还在接受化疗和免疫治疗. Her goal is to always have a window seat for her infusions. 当她发现有个护士在给输液室窗外的喂鸟器买鸟食时, Janette started donating bird seed as well. “Because it brings joy! We have to focus on the little things that bring joy. 有时这意味着当你接受化疗时，一只鸟落在你的喂食器上,” she says.
Giving and receiving
Janette does a lot of meditation, loves to cook, walk her dogs and spends time in nature, where she feels most at peace. “It might feel weird to take time for yourself, 但是你必须保持你的杯子满，否则你会耗尽,” she says. 在她自己的治疗中接受并学习了灵气, 她还完成了一门课程，成为灵气大师，这样她就可以把灵气传授给其他癌症中心的病人.
Janette is a giver, 但接受帮助是她在癌症之旅中学到的许多教训之一. “People ask if they can help, and I never want to impose. 但我知道为别人做点事的感觉有多好, and by saying ‘no,’ I’m depriving them of that feeling," she reflects. “对我来说，请求或接受帮助是不自然的，但我正在学习说‘是’。. 这需要一个村庄来实现，人们都在支持这项事业.”
珍妮特希望这项任务能激励其他人走出自我，并帮助病人知道他们并不孤单. She says anyone who would like to contribute, 甚至捐一张20美元的加油卡就能改变一个人的一天, can message her through Nick’s Facebook page called The Elf Shelf.