Cancer survivors Ann Jones of Holy Trinity Church and Iwie Tamashiro of the diocesan Office for Social Ministry will be on hand at an Aug. 23 event at St. Stephen Diocesan Center to provide information on starting cancer support ministries at local parishes. (HCH photo | Darlene Dela Cruz)
Cancer survivors, caregivers and those currently facing the disease are invited to come together Aug. 23, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at St. Stephen Diocesan Center.
At this special event, Island Catholics will share reflections on compassionate healing and ways to start cancer ministries in local parishes.
The gathering is organized by the diocesan Office for Social Ministry, which has begun outreach to the growing number of parishioners and families affected by cancer.
According to the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, about 6,000 people in the Islands are diagnosed with invasive cancer annually. More than 100 different types of cancer are known. The disease affects people of all ages and ethnicities.
Iwie Tamashiro of the diocesan social ministry office is a cancer survivor. She has been working with local parishioners, healthcare experts and others to help people in need of support during their cancer journey.
Iwie’s story
Tamashiro, 53, has been a diocesan staffer for 16 years. She specializes in ministries for persons with disabilities, and handles parish outreach programs for seniors, homeless veterans and women with crisis pregnancies.
She also regularly brings her warm smile and bright personality to major diocesan liturgies, where she provides sign language interpretation of the Mass.
Tamashiro was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer in May 2012. For her, living with cancer has been an arduous, but faith-building ordeal.
Cancer runs in Tamashiro’s family. Her mother died of the disease 30 years ago.
“I came home from high school as a sophomore and she told us she had cancer,” Tamashiro said. “I watched my mom suffer, so I think that’s my fear.”
Tamashiro went to the doctor in 2012 after feeling an abnormal mass in her breast. Her physician at first wasn’t concerned, but an ultrasound later revealed that she had “invasive ductal carcinoma.” This malignant form of cancer spreads “like a spider,” Tamashiro explained.
“My husband was stunned” by the diagnosis, Tamashiro said. “I knew it was going to be a long journey.”
She was given six months of weekly chemotherapy, which helped shrink the cancer down to an operable size. In December 2012, she underwent surgery to remove the cancer remnants. Tamashiro afterward endured 36 days of radiation therapy.
“The oncologist took a real aggressive approach,” she said. “It wasn’t fun.”
During her illness, Tamashiro was bolstered by support from her husband, family, friends and co-workers. Little things, such as Disney gifts from a girlfriend in Florida and a prayer blanket sown by an aunty on the mainland, helped raise her spirits when she was weary.
She also sought refuge in prayer. Tamashiro joked that she timed her radiation treatments by meditating on the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be.
People wanted to talk
Perhaps most heartening on her journey were the stories told to her by others who had been affected by cancer. Tamashiro was surprised to find that people wanted to talk about what they or their loved ones had been through.
She also unfortunately found that most local cancer support groups do not encourage the discussion of God and religion in their meetings.
“Once people learned that I had cancer, they all want to tell their story,” she said. “Probably because of this place that I work in and who I am, people wanted to talk about it in the context of their spirituality.”
Now recovering well, Tamashiro has been applying her life lessons to her work with the Office for Social Ministry. With the help of the office, cancer ministries have been started at three local parishes: St. Damien of Molokai Church in Kaunakakai, Christ the King Church in Kahului and Holy Trinity Church in Kuliouou.
Ann’s story, Holy Trinity group
Holy Trinity parishioner Ann Jones, another cancer survivor, has been facilitating her parish’s cancer ministry. Jones had suffered from breast cancer when she was 55 and has been cancer-free for the past 20 years.
Her husband was diagnosed with cancer 10 years ago.
“I’ve seen it from both sides, as a survivor and as a caregiver,” Jones said.
Jones and Tamashiro met through volunteer work with the American Cancer Society. Like Tamashiro, Jones relied on her family and faith to survive her illness. She is now excited to provide that kind of support to her fellow parishioners.
“My faith has always been very important to me and it gave me great comfort,” Jones said. “When I was finished with treatment, I decided I needed to give back.”
The cancer ministry at Holy Trinity began with a brief questionnaire distributed to cancer survivors, caregivers and patients after Masses. They were asked to rank services or areas of support that would benefit them most.
The feedback and interest in a cancer ministry at Holy Trinity was overwhelmingly positive. The first meeting, held during the evening of a bad storm last year, drew about 35 people.
Since then, the cancer ministry group has been meeting on the second and fourth Mondays of each month. More than 20 people attend regularly.
The meetings start and end with prayer. Jones said the time in between is filled with discussion on any cancer-related topic parishioners wish to share.
Some meetings have covered simple treatment tips, such as handling the metallic taste that comes after chemotherapy. On other evenings, parishioners celebrate important milestones in their prognosis or seek spiritual uplift for challenging times. The group also maintains a “prayer chain” after meetings through email.
It is cathartic, Jones said, for the parishioners to open up about such a sensitive subject.
“It’s a safe space,” she said. “There were a lot of people who were hurting. I don’t think any of us were aware that there was that void until the opportunity was presented.”
Last month, the Holy Trinity cancer ministry connected with St. Francis Healthcare to provide a session on hospice programs. Trish Domingo-Walsh, a registered nurse and director of program development at St. Francis, visited the group to talk about medical care options for cancer patients and caregivers.
“We were touched by their spirit of support and could feel their genuine concern and love for each other,” Domingo-Walsh said. “St. Francis Healthcare System is reaching out to parishes to explore ways we can better serve those who are specifically seeking healthcare services from a Catholic perspective.”
This multidimensional ministry format has worked well for the parishioners at Holy Trinity. Jones, however, said there are different ways to create and structure a cancer ministry.
She and the Holy Trinity group will be on hand at the Aug. 23 event at St. Stephen Diocesan Center to encourage other parishioners to start their own cancer ministries based on their community’s needs.
“There’s no right way and there’s no wrong way,” she said.
Future for ministry
Tamashiro said the cancer ministries at St. Damien Church and Christ the King Church are still in nascent stages. She is inspired, however, that these ministries are developing into parish “families” ready to lend a hand.
“This is an opportunity to actually lift up people in the pews right next to us,” Tamashiro said. “We don’t do that enough.”
She and Jones hope that the Aug. 23 session for cancer survivors, caregivers and patients will spark other ideas for Catholic cancer-related programs and events to encourage awareness of the disease.
The social ministry office will continue to foster its partnership with St. Francis Healthcare to provide a comprehensive network of resources for parish cancer ministries in the future.
Tamashiro said parishioners have gratefully welcomed the start of “cancer outreach” efforts by the diocese. They are touched, she said, that their faith communities are now addressing a personal struggle that so many people share.
“People are just tickled that the church cares,” Tamashiro said. “It’s created a paradigm shift on so many different levels.”
For more information on the Aug. 23 cancer ministries event, call 203-6702.
