MISSOULA — When a cancer diagnosis happens, it transforms a person into a patient and their family into caregivers.
Beau Bailey, husband to Danielle and father to Moira, was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. in January of 2019.
"It was completely unexpected and I did not think it would have a good outcome," Beau stated.
Moira added, “I felt like really scared and I thought he was gonna die.”
For most, after a diagnosis, then comes appointments, fear, and a search for understanding of the disease.
“Cancer is a scary word but the more you learn about it, the less scary it becomes,” said Cancer Support Community Montana Clinical Director of Programs Cody Meyer.
For anyone affected by cancer, in or out of treatment, there’s therapy, support groups, education, and camaraderie at Missoula’s Cancer Support Community.
“We have a couple of healthy excursions that come around like in the summertime, we do a lot of hikes, and then we have education classes. We have [a] Survivorship Series and then we have our mind and body stuff," Meyer explained.
"So, we have one-off art classes here and there. We have a family camp in June,” he continued.
While Beau was in the hospital for cancer treatment, his wife, Danielle was looking for support groups.
She came across a poster in the hospital of a camp in Gold Creek for people impacted by cancer.
“Cancer Support Community partners with Camp Māk-A-Dream and we can go to family camp," Danielle told MTN.
Being at camp, the Baileys got to make happy memories and felt understood by others dealing with cancer in their families.
“Coming to Cancer Support Community and going to family camp is helpful to talk to other people who've been in similar situations and to make those connections because I don't think you ever stop thinking about [cancer],” expressed Danielle.
For young Moira, talking about her dad's cancer journey is very helpful.
“I’ll talk with some of my classmates who have had a sibling or a parent have cancer... It helps to know that someone's been in a similar situation as me.”
Having people to talk to about all things cancer can be extremely helpful for caregivers and family members.
“Caregivers sometimes can get the feeling that they just need to take care of the cancer patient and sometimes can get lost in their own health, whether it's mental health or physical health,” Meyer said.
For people looking for an outlet, Cancer Support Community offers just that.
“Community is stronger than cancer is something that we advertise quite a bit," Meyer noted. "It's a huge piece to be around other people who are going through something similar.”
There are 50 to 60 programs a month happening at Cancer Support Community Montana with both in-person and virtual options.
Visit https://cancersupportmontana.org/ to learn more about the programs offered at Cancer Support Community Montana.
