Management Staff & Volunteers
Who We Are
The Stevie JoEllie's Cancer Care Fund is a Thyroid Cancer, Awareness, Education and Supportive Services Network program incorporated under The Happy Angels Project Inc., October 2008 as a New Jersey based and registered nonprofit. The initial mission for The Happy Angels Project, a ramdon acts of kindness volunteer group, was expanded to include this program initiative as a result of our personal experience with thyroid cancer, specifically the lack of access to relevant medical information and supportive services including; misdiagnosis disclosure, common diagnositc procedures that fail to provide accurate early diagnosis, supportive psychosocial treatment options and evaluation, actual treatment complications follow-up care guidance which lacked comprehensive long term nutritional support or integrative therapy accesss solutions conducive to sound emotional recovery and maintenance during and post treatment.
We realized that accessible solutions to our concerns were not specifically targeted to easily meet thyroid cancer patients needs in our state and we decided, as a family, to create a program that would find solutions for these issues that could be readily shared and/or duplicated nationwide through bi-lingual programs that meet the demand for informative and supportive services in the growing latin american, bi-racial and multicultural community we live in and inclusive of anywhere thyroid cancer awareness and education is needed.
We are in the process of developing partnerships and hope to develop long term relationships with existing organizations and programs to assist us in the development and creation of a Spanish Language and "bi-lingual" Thyroid Cancer community awareness and educations campaign targeting minority and empoverished communities accross New Jersey before they are touched by Thyroid Cancer in any way.
Our goal is to establish multiple statewide "bi-lingual" educational programs and Thyroid Cancer Support Groups in the community and online. Our focus will be developing programs that address the ethnic and cultural differences that exist in the collaborative effort of a whole body approach to wellness. See Cancer Facts for Latinos
Our vison and hope is to be able to expand our developing educational and awareness campaigns to include supportive financial assistance grants for patients and their families recovering from thyroid excision surgery, who experience chronic or acute difficulties adjusting to fluctuating thyroid hormone levels and/or medication side effects, including in the long range psychosocial needs of those affected with fertility loss and difficulties due to thyroid cancer treatment complications and lifelong fluctuating hormonal changes.
Programs Wish List:
Complimentary and Alternative Medicine Access Grants
Family Care & Thyroid Cancer News
The Family Care and Special Thyroids News will be a newsletter or e-bulletin designed to provide current information and enlist the entire family as a resource to help them learn together how to live with thyroid cancer and secondary treatment complications, co-existing disorders, medical concerns and long term wellness information.
It will seek to identify and discuss family beliefs about cancer, specific thyroid function disorders associated with cancer treatment and critical family issues during a health crisis, caregiving tips and immediate practical problems as well as solutions. See Cancer Facts for Latinos
Pilot Project on Latino Thyroid Cancer Education:
- Identify knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and barriers to care regarding health and screening for thyroid, breast and cervical cancer among Latin women.
- Review and make recommendations to the office of Education and Special Initiatives (ESI) to refine current materials on thyroid, breast and cervical cancer risks, diagnosis and treatment.
- Assist in the dissemination of appropriate educational materials on thyroid cancer.
Lectures and Workshops
These activities will provide opportunities for acquiring new skills, tools, information and techniques to learn "how to live" with cancer.
Typical lecture topics, will be selected based on members interests, and will include topics on stress reduction, advances in the treatment of thyroid cancer, nutrition, talking to our children about cancer, financial, legal and insurance information as well as managing pain.
To that end we will seek major workshop grants or sponsorship in the following areas; painting, ceramics and other creative forms of self-expression, meditation, Qi Gong, gentle yoga, pilates, healthy cooking and nutrition just to name a few ideas and possibilities. See Introduction
Social Activities
Hopefully, these will be popular activities for our service clients and sponsors, which will vary from potluck suppers with entertainment, bingo nights and comedy nights to special celebrations around holidays and seasonal events.
Having sponsorship and board members come together for fun with our client families will create personal bonds that will enhance other individual and group experiences as well as our community ties.
Support and Networking Groups
Quaterly "special" Networking Groups will address a particular kind of thyroid cancer or topic of common interest for patients, survivors, family and friends. Wellness Focus Groups will be targeted for those living with cancer and Family Groups will be targeted for family members and friends, although they both will be all inclusive for either targeted audience.
***Note this program has been suspended but you may still contact Gilda's Club for Support Group Services***
The results of the collaborative partnership process will be use to build capacity and design successful educational intervention programs that span the thyroid cancer continuum
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Optimize the use of educational tools to meet the information needs of Latinos while building strategies to enhance the important interaction between patients and their health professionals, and to communicate effectively with the public.
- Establish a collaborative partnership that aims to enhance outreach efforts in key geographically vulnerable areas of the State of New Jersey.
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Establish a cadre of Latino community leaders who understand and can speak to priority issues in cancer control.
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Support the development of cancer education program materials in a manner that assures relevance and appropriateness for Latino communities.
