REDONDO BEACH, Calif. – Quarantine must be strict for people with weak immune systems because they could easily get sick, and if they get sick it could be devastating.
There is a group of people with weakened immune systems sharing a diagnosis and a virtual connection. They are helping each other not leave home.
Dawn Pfeifer was diagnosed with stage four cancer several years ago. Because of this she hasn’t left her home since January.
See video and read more at SpectrumNews1
While he was planning a 2016 ascent to the 22,841-feet Aconcagua in Argentina, the highest mountain outside of Asia, Mark Parella made a decision.
The climb would be so stupendous, he knew it needed to mean something.
“I wanted it to mean more, for not just me, but for a cause,” said the Hermosa Beach resident.
That same year, Parella’s then-fiancée was diagnosed with Stage 3 leukemia.They were afraid and didn’t know where to turn, he said.
The pair found hope and support by attending weekly meetings at Cancer Support Community of Redondo Beach. While the couple is no longer together, his former fiancée fought and won her cancer battle.
“I came to realize how beneficial and helpful the center was to so many people affected by cancer,” said Parella. “Because the services at CSCRB are free, I wanted to pay it forward and give back for what they had done for me.”
With that in mind, Parella began his campaign Climb Against Cancer.
A serious mountaineer, who reached Mount Everest’s summit in May, Parella wanted his passion to be seen as more than a selfish endeavor.
Read More: The Beach Reporter
Harvey Swartz recalled when he woke up from a 14-hour surgery August 2014, he felt like Darth Vader without his armor.
And like the Sith warrior from Star Wars, Swartz had no voice. Swartz lost 75 percent of his tongue to cancer. Cedars-Sinai surgeons rebuilt a tongue out of donor tissue from his right arm.
When he went under the anesthesia, he thought doctors would be taking out the tumor. Instead, when he awoke, he felt as if he lost his soul.
“I had tubes sticking out everywhere when I woke up, my new tongue was swollen out of my mouth, I could only communicate through an iPad. It was like being hit by a freight train, totally disorienting and traumatic,” said the former head of security for The Recording Academy.
“I was at square zero and I had to find my way up,” he said.
About 10 months later, after weeks of traditional, but frustrating speech therapy, the Long Beach resident finally found his voice.
And, it came from an unusual source: a street-performing ventriloquist in Santa Monica.
Read More: The Beach Reporter
The Cancer Support Community (CSCRB) celebrated survivorship during 17th annual Girls Night Out “Fun-Raiser” at The Comedy & Magic Club on the evenings of Oct. 1 through Oct. 3. The 600 guests who attended the just-for-ladies fundraiser raised $190,000. Proceeds will fund CSCRB’s many free support programs for cancer patients and their loved ones. Top sponsors included the Jaqueline Glass Family, Dr. Allen and Mrs. Charlotte Ginsburg, Christine Winkler, PhD and Torrance Memorial Medical Center.
Read More: EasyReaderNews
Fire Department Capt. Jasen Brown presented the check to two of the nonprofit’s officials: Interim Executive Director Joey Shanahan and Events Manager Kelly Zamarripa-De Tate.
“We are happy to support this great community network that provides resources and outreach programs for people affected by cancer,” Brown said. “It’s directly affecting our mayor right now and too many firefighters throughout the nation.”
The 32-year-old nonprofit serves more than 2,000 people per year through more than 250 programs. U.S. firefighters, meanwhile, get diagnosed with cancer at a rate 9% higher than the general public and die from the diseases 14% more often, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
“We are so grateful for the support of the Redondo Beach Fire Department,” Shanahan said in a statement after the Tuesday, Nov. 26, event. “It’s so wonderful that in addition to the important service that the firefighters provide to our community, they also care to make a difference in the lives of cancer patients and their loved ones.”
Source: DailyBreeze | David Rosenfeld
When Nohea Avery first took her daughter Kalea in for therapy sessions at the Cancer Support Community Redondo Beach, she said the 7-year-old was extremely shy, clinging to her and not opening up easily. All that changed when therapist Nancy Lomibao brought in her dog Harley, a Pomeranian-chihuahua mix.
“Harley kind of opened up Kalea so she felt comfortable around the dog,” Avery said during an interview this week. “She laughed and her personality came out more. She started being more comfortable with Nancy as well, so I no longer needed to be right there with her.”
Pet therapy, which is relatively new to Lomibao’s practice over the past 18 months, represents a growing field in therapy practices worldwide and just one of more than 270 programs offered by the Redondo Beach nonprofit, which provides everything from counselling sessions to yoga and movie nights.
The Torrance mother plans to share her experience with pet therapy and other services at the group’s fundraising event next week called Girls Night Out at the Comedy and Magic Club in Hermosa Beach.
Read More: The Beach Reporter
