While fighting an arduous battle with breast cancer in 2001, local businesswoman Lydia Dody was led to reach out to many complementary care providers. She needed help to ease her chemotherapy side effects and endure the physical, psychological and emotional components of her treatments. These services improved her recovery and quality of life so much that it moved her to start ‘Hope Lives! The Lydia Dody Breast Cancer Support Center’ to help others in treatment. Hope Lives! companions with patients in active treatment for breast cancer in Larimer and Weld counties through providing care, guidance, and education. We provide free holistic health services such as acupuncture, lymphatic massage, counseling, physical therapy and more along with lifestyle support services such as house cleaning, mastectomy supplies, wigs, yoga and more. We serve as a partner as our clients heal in mind, body, and spirit. Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death in women, as one in eight women will be diagnosed with the disease in her lifetime. We are honored to be supportive of these courageous women and we are looking forward to celebrating our 20th anniversary next year to honor the thousands of women we have helped.
Our providers play an integral role in our clients’ path to wellness, as well. Our friends Holly and Michelle at Integrative Acupuncture Clinic said, “Acupuncture allows us to alleviate symptoms and side effects from treatments of cancer. We appreciate supporting the women in our community and helping them with their cancer journey through treatment, celebrating milestones with them and holding space along-side them during this challenging time.”
Biofeedback Therapist Jen Strating said, “I provide biofeedback therapy to Hope Lives! clients to help them manage their stress on their healing journey. My experience with Hope Lives! has always been rewarding and inspirational. I appreciate all the great services the organization provides their courageous and amazing clients."
As we all are painfully aware, 2020 has been an extremely challenging year for all of us. We are 100% reliant upon our very generous northern Colorado community for support, and world events have limited our normal in-person fundraising efforts. We welcome opportunities to partner with businesses or individuals on fundraising efforts, forming new provider connections, volunteering, or other avenues of support. We are currently encouraging local businesses to create fundraising events in their businesses in October to honor breast cancer awareness and raise funds for the women we serve at Hope Lives! We look forward to increasing awareness of our organization and continuing to form new relationships in our community.
Now more than ever our residents affected by breast cancer need us! As one client said, “Just the idea of Hope Lives! and how so many caring people could donate for someone like me lifted my spirits and actually gave me something to look forward to during treatment.” Another client said that our care has been “the bright light on a brutal path.”
For more information on services we provide, becoming a new client or provider, or to donate to our very important cause, please visit our website at hopelives.org. You can also donate by texting HOPELIVES!2020 to 443-21 or Venmo@hopelives. And don’t forget about us on Colorado Gives Day on Tuesday, December 8. Each $50 donation pays for one service for a client. But no donation is ever too small.
“Hope Lives has been the bridge between medical care and moving forward.”
“To all who support or have contributed in any way, please know that your generosity has been the bright light on a brutal path. You have made a difference. You are appreciated.”
“Finding Hope Lives, meeting the lovely people who work there, and using the services they provided was one of the best things that came out of this whole cancer journey.”
“Thank you for being a part of my healing journey. I am so grateful to have had to opportunity to receive and now the freedom to reinvest in life!”
“Women fighting this battle need access to modalities that enrich self-care, strength and other services during this time of struggle.”
“Just the idea of Hope Lives! and how so many caring people could donate for someone like me lifted my spirits and actually gave me something to look forward to during treatment.”