“The doctor thinks I have cancer.” I’ll never forget the day my mom said those words to me. We sat in the doctor’s office while I tried to think of a way to put a positive spin on things. I couldn’t. We left the doctor’s office to go straight to the hospital where surgery was scheduled for the next day. After surgery, I sat in the hospital room listening to the doctor attempt to cheer my mom. I followed him out into the hall as he left the room. “Tell me the truth,” I told him, “What is her prognosis?” “I’m sorry,” he said, grimly. “She has stage 4 cancer. At the most, she has 18 months to live.” She didn’t make it the full 18 months. She succumbed after a 17-month fight, while my grandmother lost her battle with cancer two weeks later. Watching their struggles, I vowed I would not give up their fight. I would help raise awareness about cancer to honor their memories.
This is a partnered post with Extended Stay America, but all opinions are my own.
Cancer runs in our family. Besides losing my mother and grandmother, I’ve lost aunts, uncles, and cousins. It’s hard to watch the adults in our family suffer, but it’s even harder to watch the children and the toll it takes on their families. Not only is there an emotional toll, there’s a financial toll. Many of my family members live in a rural area, with the nearest children’s cancer center three to four hours away. Sitting in a hospital room day in and day out can become unbearable. Sometimes the parents need to be persuaded to take a break, go to a hotel and get some much needed rest. Hotels can be expensive for parents who are already facing huge medical bills. That’s why since 2013, Extended Stay America has donated over 85,000 FREE or deeply discounted rooms to the American Cancer Society® for patients receiving treatment away from home.
How Can You Help Raise Awareness For Childhood Cancer?
Extended Stay America has launched a partnership with Build-A-Bear to develop Hope, the teddy bear. With a $10 contribution, you can help Extended Stay America provide a Hope Bear to a child who is battling cancer. They will be providing 5000 bears. Your donations are a great way to bring a little cheer to a frightened child and their families.
Want to get social with Extended Stay America?
You can find them on
- Facebook – @extendedstayamerica
- Twitter – @extendedstay
- Instagram – @extendedstayamerica
- Pinterest – @TheExtendedStay
Use the hashtag #givehope to connect with Extended Stay America and their Hope Bear project. You, too, can bring a smile to a child’s face this year!
* Thanks to Extended Stay America for donating 5 rooms nights in my name to cancer patients in need.
The Hope Bear is a great way to give while making a child smile with the bear. Love this!
My grandmother went through cancer twice before it finally took her. This looks like a great partnership to help people.
This is such a great project! My hear breaks for those families and their little ones affected by cancer. Knowing there is people and organizations there for them is a great thing!
Awe so sweet. Love projects like this, helping give back in simple ways.
This is one of those bittersweet things where everyone will be happy to help, but the cause gives you so much pause. No one wants to see a child down and out, especially when cancer is involved. 🙁 Hurrah for those who help.
I am so sorry to hear that cancer runs in your family. Thank you for sharing your personal experience and letting us know about this wonderful program.
This is super sweet. Great initative to bring smiles and awareness to children with cancer. I hate that there are even kids with cancer in this world.
My family has the gene marker for cancer so we have to be very mindful of our health. To be diagnosed with cancer is devastating not only for the patient but for the whole family as well. I am glad there is such a campaign that gives a Hope teddy bear to children suffering from cancer. That would really bring them so much happiness.
I am all too familair with cancer being a heavy burden to bear. I would love to help in any way possible.
This is such a wonderful cause to be a part of. Loving the companies involved especially!
This is such a great campaign. Thank you for sharing your story. My dad died of cancer too. What an awful disease any person has to go through. I cannot even imagine how difficult it is for a child to be stricken with cancer! A little bit of cheer this Hope Teddy Bear will bring would be so uplifting.
I’ve stayed at an Extended Stay America before and it was a great experience. I love that they’re doing so much to help children with cancer. It really warms my heart.
I LOVE this! I think anything we can do as a society to help (especially) kids who are suffering is so important. This is so great, I have to spread this around!
I have lost a few family members to cancer and it is the hardest thing to watch. I cant imagine having a child suffer. This is great that those two companies are coming together to help put a smile on their faces at such a trying time.
Cancer can be so tough no matter what stage of life you are in. Bringing hope like this is so awesome!
This is a really great initiative. Cancer is so hard. I have seen many suffer and I Love that you have stuff like this where it helps bring hope. What a lovely initiative to share. I hope it does bring hope to many families.
I’m so very sorry for all of the loss your family has been through. My goodness, if anyone knows the struggle of cancer, it’s you. Thank-you for bringing awareness to such a beautiful cause. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be a parent with a sick child, and on top of that having to worry about logistics like where you’re going to stay. x
Oh my gosh that’s really sweet of them to do that for kiddos. Little gifts like those bears can really encourage kids. I’m sorry about your family history – have you ever heard of the spit test called COLOR? You can take it and it gives you results on what cancers you should watch out for – like monitor earlier. I’m thinking about taking it bc I had a friend take it and realized she needed a double mastectomy instead of just a single.
I haven’t heard of this test before. Thanks for sharing. My mom’s doctor told me there is a blood test to see if I am at risk because it would tell if I had the gene. But then he said if I took it my insurance could cancel and say I am high risk. 🙁
I didn’t know they offered those rooms, that is very generous. Dealing with medical situations is trying enough as it is without worrying about where to stay.
Cancer runs in my husband’s family as well, he lost his Mom, Aunt, and brother to cancer. This is a great initiative.
This is such a great cause to support. Cancer runs in my family too, so anything we can do to help is beneficial.
Wow! What a great initiative for kids with cancer. They go through so much with treatment and just overall wellness. Kudos to you for this!
This is such an amazing project for kids and families. I cannot imagine what those poor families are going through. Hope this project gives them some support and hope.
Aw I am sorry to hear that your family has a history cancer, but I am glad to hear that there are great causes out there like this one that helps families going through hard times. The worst is when cancer happens in young children, so it’s great to hear that they are getting the support they need.
We spent 2015 at the hospital with cancer. Three surgeries, feeding tubes, chemo, radiation. Talk about a nightmare. Worse was seeing the young children and babies battling cancer.
Helping families of children with cancer is such a great cause that we all could appreciate. If this could help those families going through this I would support them fully.
This is such an amazing initiative. I cannot imagine facing such a horrible illness as a child or as the parents of a child with cancer. So much more needs to be done, and I’m glad this is a part of it.
I am happy I got to read your post. I too lost my loved one who battled cancer. I completely understand the pain. You have shared with us the amazing work being done by Extended Stay America for a noble cause. I am sure this will bring smile on those kids’ face.
Cancer is a difficult thing to go through. I have also lost family members in the battle. I think that the work that Extended Stay is doing is amazing!
I’m glad there are places like this that help bring suffering down for children that do not deserve this disease in the first place. It warms my heart to see it. And I am very glad to see that extended stay America will help those with kids in the hospital. I wish more places we do that.