Thank you Solaris... my lighthouse during the storm of cancer! I wasn’t ready for cancer... I pushed people away a lot because I just wasn’t ready to talk about it.

I couldn’t move, I had no energy, I lost my hair. Some days, even having a shower is a big thing. And the kids, they always want you to do things with them, but we couldn’t go to the gym or other things because they were high risk activities for me and my immune system can’t cope. So I couldn’t drive them around or do their homework with them.Asking for help isn’t easy.

My cancer surgeon told me to reach out to Solaris but it’s hard to move from being a giver to a receiver. I did not know how to receive. But when you trust the knife of a lady, why not trust her words? So my journey at Solaris started. Tuye received me with a ton of warmth and surrounded me with love and attention. I felt good immediately. It was a safe harbour, a lighthouse in the storm. I came here on good days, on bad days and Tuyen made me coffee. I will never forget her smile and help. So gentle and caring. I might be having a bad chemo week but I was happy because the next day, I was going to Solaris.

Having chemo... but Solaris made it bearable. When you do Dry July, it means Solaris can do more of the happy classes. Because you are already going through a bad time, you don't want always to dwell on the bad stuff happening to you. Solaris made everything brighter onthe bad daysSolaris became my second home away from home. I met the famous Pasquale who did the massage. She was and is my cancer support for a long time. I met Caroline who taught me what sport movements I could do when I wanted to do sport again and didn’t know where to start. And Donna doing reflexology and so many others I am grateful to as well. Now I regret I didn’t find Solaris earlier.

Because they also have programs now to help you from the time of cancer diagnosis and how to deal with everything from that moment... I think it would've helped me. Cancer for me has just been part of my journey. It's a page of my book. This is not my book completely. This doesn't define who I am. Maybe in my life I will go through cancer again. Maybe it will be my last page of my journey, but this doesn't define me now. But whatever happens, I know Solaris will be there for whenever and whatever I need.

When you do Dry July, it means Solaris can do more of the happy classes. Because you are already going through a bad time, you don't want always to dwell on the bad stuff happening to you.

Solaris helped me to stay positive and focus on the important things in life... you make a difference when you support Solaris by doing Dry July.

PS. Solaris is for everybody. Because if you get touched by cancer, then you just want to have a community around you. You want to just feel love and warmth. Solaris provides that warmth and love. Please take part in Dry July and support Solaris Cancer Care