(NECN: Eileen Curran, Walpole, Mass.) – Peonies, hydrangeas and roses–signs of the season, and for breast cancer patient Nicole Cataloni of Walpole, Ma, they are signs of hope.
“I think of a garden– as it dies off in winter and comes back to life– that’s kind of the process of cancer,” she said. “You kind of think this current life you are living is dying away but you know you are blooming into a new life.”
To help her in this new life is a small army of volunteers from the group Hope in Bloom.
The group converges on the home of a breast cancer patient undergoing treatment and in one day creates a beautiful garden. It’s back breaking work–removing the old–and planting the new.
Their hope is to help in the healing.
“The plan to have a brand new front landscape for Nicky and her family to enjoy, said Roberta Hershon, founder and executive director of Hope in Bloom. “When they drive up to the house, they’ll see something positive, they’ll see something pretty.”
Because battling cancer is not pretty–or easy.
Cataloni has undergone surgery and chemo.
“By the end of the 6th cycle, I was really beaten,” said Cataloni. “My body had just taken a beating.”
She now faces radiation.
Cataloni is mother to Madelyn, Dominic and TJ, and wife to Tom. She was diagnosed last November. It was a shock. She had no family history and was only 33 years old.
“It is scary,” she said. “The first thing I thought of was my children. It was scary to think of them being without their mom for the big things in life.”
–And the small, like planting a single flower.
“Where’s a good place to plant this flower?” asked Madelyn.
Hope in Bloom volunteers often times are breast cancer survivors themselves, or have lost a loved one to cancer–like landscape designer Brenda Irving.
“I had two parents who passed away from cancer,” said Irving, owner of Gardens with Spirit. “I know it’s a time that’s very busy and it’s hard to get to your landscape (done). I walk away from here knowing the family doesn’t have to worry about the landscaping– it’s tidy, it’s fresh and that makes me feel great.”
Hope in Bloom was started by Roberta Hershon in 2007, after her best friend Beverly died of breast cancer.
“What I was able to do was make sure she always had flowers in her house and her garden looked great,” said Hershon. “I saw that through her treatment, she looked forward to a new bouquet. She felt better when something was around her with color and she really perked up.”
Cataloni gets choked up when she thinks of the effort by all these volunteers.
“It’s just so touching, for somebody to come and provide this garden– it’s just very touching,” she said. “I just want to thank them. I’m so grateful for the work they are doing.”
Work that has transformed her yard, and touched her heart.
“This is the time of the year that I love to sit on those big front stairs over there and I will sit and enjoy the beauty of the garden. It really is giving hope and new life to cancer patients.”
For more information on Hope in Bloom, go to hopeinbloom.org
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