Doing the daffodils
Daffodil month, close to the heart of a local cancer survivor
Rosaleen Mahoney, cancer survivor, wears her daffodil proudly on the 60th anniversary of the campaign. She also volunteers with the daffodil campaign on P.E.I. to support others battling the disease.
Rosaleen Mahoney, cancer survivor, wears her daffodil proudly on the 60th anniversary of the campaign.
She battled breast cancer 19 years ago, and beat it.
Half a century of her life has been devoted to volunteering with the Canadian Cancer Society. The cause holds a special place in her heart, and not just because she fought cancer. She has watched friends and family fall victim to the disease, in its many varieties. She wants to support the cause for them. Mahoney knows what it’s like to have a support system and to lose a piece of it.
A long-time friend who fought by her side through it all, died this past year.
“We did everything together, volunteering for the society, everything. She was my partner through it all.”
Where one woman went, the other followed. Mahoney misses her best friend.
“I sometimes go to reach for the phone to call her, but then realize I can’t.”
She thought they were in the clear, 18 years together cancerfree, but that wasn’t the case. The thought of losing her own battle is always there, she said. “You look at your children and grandchildren and wonder ‘am I going to see them graduate?’”
Through her fight, support was always there for her.
“There wasn’t a day I didn’t get a phone call, food to my door or letters in the mail,” said Mahoney.
Through the daffodil campaign, she wants to support those fighting today, and with money raised, she can.
She can’t do it alone though. It doesn’t take much of your time to volunteer, Mahoney said.
Donations fund research into all types of cancer, information and support programs and more, said Margaret Schwartz, executive director of the Canadian Cancer Society P.E.I.
Fresh daffodils will be sold Island-wide. The bouquets are $8 each and over 8,000 will be available. Pins will also be sold at various locations.
The daffodils are the Cancer Society’s symbol of hope.
“They are daily reminders to me of how important it is to keep improving survivor rates,” Schwartz said. Mahoney credits her survival to positivity, support from family and friends, and the good doctors she had around her.
“Listen to the doctors, eat healthy, exercise and stay positive,” she advises.
She urges people to get involved by giving some of their time as a volunteer.
And if nothing else, to wear the yellow flower proudly, like she does.
“Go buy a daffodil.”