Group's mission to make cancer ‘bear-able’
By JIM HARRINGTON
Article published on Thursday, April 6, 2006  |
PINELLAS COUNTY – Doctors know their medicine, but it’s friends who make tough times “bear-able,” which is something a Seminole woman doesn’t need to study science for.
That’s the word from a UCLA study highlighted in the May 2005 issue of Prevention magazine. An article titled “Friends are Good Medicine” tells how women who belong to a support group are better equipped to deal with the struggles associated with life with breast cancer.
“In a recent study, ovarian cancer patients with higher levels of distress were found to have higher levels of vascular endothelial growth factor … ” which can help tumors to grow.
At the same time, the study found that women who made time for the friends had lower levels of that same substance.
The bottom line to women, indeed anyone who is facing a life altering diagnosis of cancer, is that their chances of getting better are improved if they join a support group.
Social support may not have been what she had in mind, but in 1995 when Jan Burlew was diagnosed with cancer she remembers how she took great consolation in her stuffed animals.
“My teddy bear collection was comforting and uplifting,” said Burlew, a Seminole resident who started Sojourn Bear Inc. Burlew came up with the word sojourn to convey the feeling and hope that cancer is meant to be around as “a temporary stay,” as the word is defined by Merriam-Webster Online.
The mission of the organization is to “make cancer bear-able.” To do that, the group sends its free stuffed bears to hospices, oncologists’ offices, hospitals and Veterans Affairs hospitals, among others.
Burlew said the group is staffed by volunteers and has donated some 60,000 bears around the world.
Now, she wants to start a Clearwater chapter and points to a colleague in south county who’s been running a group for about seven years.
Mary Palmer, Burlew’s friend who runs the Seminole group at her mobile home park, has made and given away with the help of her Seminole Seven about 1,500 bears. A winter snowbird from Ohio, Palmer was drawn to helping others after her mother, sisters and husband came down with cancer. She met Burlew at a celebration of life event at Heritage Village.
“It’s a good feeling reaching out and helping others,” said Palmer. “We get thank you notes and letters” from people who’ve received the group’s creations.
The bears are about 20 inches tall and have lots of colorful fabric with little vests. It takes a few hours to make a bear. The most expensive part of making the creations is the plastic stuffing, though. To meet costs, the group accepts donations.
Anyone interested in starting a Clearwater chapter can call Jan Burlew at 481 9782.
In the meantime, the Sojourn Bears Inc. will have a get-together at John Taylor Park in Largo on Saturday, April 7, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
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Article published on Thursday, April 6, 2006
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