PRESQUE ISLE — A year ago, TAMC and four county media outlets began a yearlong collaborative effort to honor a dozen individuals from throughout northern Maine who displayed hope, strength and courage as they faced the fiercest battle of their lives. On Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 8 a.m., the 12 honorees of The County Cancer Hall of Courage will be recognized at a ceremony just outside of TAMC’s Aroostook Cancer Care, where all of their stories and photographs now hang to inspire those facing similar battles.
Coffee with the Courageous will mark the culmination of this phase of the joint project of TAMC, The Star-Herald, Aroostook Republican, Houlton Pioneer Times and Fiddlehead Focus. And just as the official launch and ceremony naming the first honoree served as a kickoff to Breast Cancer Awareness Month in 2012, this celebration will also usher in the special time set aside to raise awareness about the second most common cancer among women in the U.S.
The event, which is open to the public, will include moments of reflection by some of the honorees and officials from the partners involved in the project. Coffee and pastries will be served.
The County Cancer Hall of Courage is located at TAMC’s A.R. Gould Memorial Hospital in Presque Isle in the East Wing Annex building corridor that leads to TAMC’s Aroostook Cancer Care. Over the past year, survivors of various types of cancer have been featured monthly in large prints that bear their photo and inspirational story of survival.
The prints have been placed in frames made by TAMC’s maintenance staff and painted in the color that is used by the American Cancer Society and other organizations to represent that form of the disease. In addition, the stories and photos have been prominently featured monthly in the three weekly papers covering central and southern Aroostook and online with Fiddlehead Focus in the St. John Valley.
“Our patients, staff, volunteers and regular visitors to the hospital have watched the Hall of Courage grow by one hero each month. You cannot help but be inspired when walking through the corridor,” said Brenda Baker, manager of TAMC’s Aroostook Cancer Care. “It really has made quite the impact and serves as a great gateway to our service. With each of the frames painted a different color and the diversity of the honorees featured, the County Cancer Hall of Courage is not only visually pleasing, but is uplifting, as well.”
The honorees include men and women, senior citizens, business professionals, young adults and two children. They come from throughout Aroostook County.
“What this has reinforced for all of us here at TAMC is that cancer unfortunately impacts the lives of far too many of our County friends and neighbors,” said TAMC President and CEO Sylvia Getman. “As the most comprehensive cancer care provider in northern Maine, we see it each and every day. When we envisioned the County Cancer Hall of Courage, we hoped to create a place that would serve as both an inspiration and encouragement for those who fight cancer and for those who serve as their support network. Through the willingness of the courageous county residents who have shared their inspirational stories for the benefit of those who walk in their footsteps and for us all, I believe we have achieved this.”
Survivors recognized over the past year are Rosa Michaud, breast cancer (October 2012); Bridget Theriault, lung cancer (November 2012); Hadley McLean, brain cancer (December 2012); Susie Schloeman, cervical cancer (January 2013); Calvin Tutle, colon cancer (February 2013); Dana Boardman, renal cancer (March 2013); Alan Cleaves, testicular cancer (April 2013); Stephanie McLaughlin, malignant melanoma (May 2013); Sonia McKenney, breast cancer (June 2013); Steve Michaud, bladder cancer (July 2013); Adriana McCarty, Hodgkin’s lymphoma (August 2013); and Kylie Pelletier, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (September 2013).
In addition to celebrating the 12 County Cancer Hall of Courage honorees, the Coffee with the Courageous event will also serve as a premiere of the 2013 pink section of the Oct. 2 edition of three Aroostook weekly newspapers. The Star-Herald, Aroostook Republican and Houlton Pioneer Times will publish a special edition inserted in their papers and printed on pink paper in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The section will feature photographs and excerpts from the stories of each of the honorees, and copies will be made available to event attendees.
“After the great response we received to the ‘pink paper’ we produced last year, we are so pleased to again be working on this special edition,” said Gary Bowden, sales representative of The Star-Herald and its sister weekly newspapers in Caribou and Houlton. “It is most fitting that the first ‘pink paper’ we published in 2012 served as the launch for the County Cancer Hall of Courage project and that our 2013 edition marks the culmination of this phase of the project. The stories of hope, strength and courage that we have been able to share in the pages of our papers this past year have served as inspiration to many, and we are so pleased to have been partners in this most important initiative to recognize the heroes in our midst.”
The publisher of Fiddlehead Focus, Andrew Birden, who also has partnered on the County Cancer Hall of Courage this past year, agrees. Birden’s online publication has helped deliver the stories of Courage in The County around the globe.
“The stories of those who have faced this terrible disease and lived to tell the tale encourage our friends and neighbors to keep their resolve as they fight their own battles with cancer. The stories on the walls of the County Cancer Hall of Courage that have graced our local publications also reach out to persons across the country, bringing courage and fortitude to people when they most need it,” said Birden.
The county cancer numbers are quite startling. According to the State Cancer Profiles Incident Rates Report, Aroostook County averaged more than 470 new incidents of cancer annually between 2005 and 2009.
In 2011, the number of new cancer patients seen by TAMC’s Aroostook Cancer Care numbered 223. Of that number, 47 were diagnosed with breast cancer, 45 with lung cancer and 24 with colon cancer.
Moving forward, TAMC hopes to add to the County Cancer Hall of Courage a section dedicated to honoring those who lost their lives to the disease.
For more information, contact the TAMC communication and development office at 768-4044.
