Christmas Without Cancer Uses Acts of Kindness to Honor Young Woman's Memory

In her 20-plus year career as an oncology nurse, there is one patient that still haunts Gerri Neylon.

A young mother and wife expecting her first child, who had just purchased a home with her husband, and with nothing but excitement for the future, was diagnosed with cancer.

“They were having a difficult time emotionally and physically,” said Neylon, an oncology nurse at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. “She started doing well and was declared cancer free.”

But the cancer came back, this time spreading to the young woman’s brain.

“It was the saddest moment I’ve had in my career,” Neylon said. “I saw her and her husband and the baby. It was before the holidays and I thought, ‘I have to do something for them.’”

Neylon and her colleagues delivered food and diapers to the family. The woman passed away the following June.

The next Christmas, the woman’s husband and brother reached out to Neylon.

“They called me and said, ‘let’s keep this going in her memory,’” Neylon recalled. “‘We could pick a family every year going through cancer and brighten their holiday season.’”

That was the start of Christmas Without Cancer, a volunteer organization comprised of nurses and doctors, neighbors and past family recipients and cancer survivors who’ve returned to “pay it forward.”

Since 2003, Neylon and her volunteers have performed hundreds of random acts of kindness for local cancer patients and their families, a gas card, groceries, winter coats -- whatever it takes to ease the growing financial and emotional burden of cancer.

Although the organization works quietly throughout the year, requests rise dramatically between October and December, when families whose worlds are already rocked by cancer, suddenly realize it may be a holiday without groceries or gifts for the kids because they have to pay the light bill.

“There is the physical patient themselves, a dad or mom with cancer. They’re not working or doing daily activities,” Neylon said. “They’re not the same. They all try hard, especially the moms, but the whole lifestyle of the family changes.”

With cancer, there is also always a loss of income, whether it’s a parent or a child, Neylon added. Last spring, the group helped several local families pay their children’s monthly parochial school tuition.

“We have families who don’t know whether to buy pain medications or put food on the table,” she said. “It takes a toll. I’ve been an oncology nurse for over 20 years and I’ve seen it all.”

In addition to the essentials, Christmas Without Cancer has also provided the flowers of life -- concert tickets, outings, a quiet dinner at a restaurant -- anything to help patients and their families forget about cancer for a few hours.

Brenna McNamara, an Oak Lawn Community High School student, endured brutal radiation and chemotherapy treatments for rare cancer called nasopharyngeal carcinoma, that affects the heart and neck. Her treatment included four rounds of 106 continuous hours of chemotherapy and then radiation.

When Neylon learned that Brenna had tickets to last summer’s Taylor Swift concert, Christmas Without Cancer paid for a limo to bring Brenna, her mom, her aunt and cousins to Soldier Field. Having recently completed her final radiation treatment, the group congratulated Brenna with an iTunes gift card.

“It meant the world to them. Brenna is a great girl,” Neylon said. “Her type of cancer is one of the most difficult treatments to go through. Brenna always smiled and had something funny to say. She was fearless. She came in and did what she had to do and moved on.”

Most of the families assisted by Christmas Without Cancer come through word of mouth, but they can also complete an application on the organization’s website.

This year, group has adopted Anthony Pappalas, a five-year-old Mt. Greenwood boy, who was diagnosed in July with DIPG, a brain cancer that strikes children at the heart of childhood.

“We talked to his mom. He’s a very sick little boy,” Neylon said.

On Oct. 3, Christmas Without Cancer will be holding its first 5K Run/Walk in Evergreen Park, which starts and ends at 9700 S. Homan Ave. The registration fee for individuals is $30, and $100 for a family of four; $35 and $110 after September 25 and on race day. Runners and walkers can register on group’s website, or make a donation.

Every dollar goes toward fulfilling the needs and wishes of Chicago-area families affected by cancer.

“We have zero overhead,” Neylon laughed. “It’s all done around my kitchen table.”

For more information about the Christmas Without Cancer 5K, visit the group’s Facebook page. Donations can also be mailed to P.O. Box 628, Oak Lawn, IL 60454-0628.