These days, it is very rare to meet someone whose life has not been touched by cancer in one way or another. With more than 15.5 million living as survivors, and another 1.7 million expected to be diagnosed this year – cancer is a significant national health problem.
When most people think of cancer, they often think about all the negative side effects associated with treatment. They think about the nausea, fatigue, pain, hair loss, skin burns, diminished strength, cardiac abnormalities, and decreased range of motion. They think of the medical encounters and co-pays that pile up. They think of missed time from work, social isolation, depression, and anxiety that often develops.
The list seems endless.
No matter how badly we may want to help, these problems seem so far beyond our abilities to address. We feel powerless.
But, what if I told you that you actually did have the power to make a difference?
What if I told you that your support really does matter?
At Maple Tree, we are gearing up for our first big fundraiser of the year. You may have seen us talking about it on social media. It is called Train Your Trainer, and it is a creative way to allow our patients to gain some sweet revenge on their trainers by making them go through some grueling workouts!
While this event was put together in good fun, the underlying goal is to bring a sense of joy into the lives of our patients. Our hope is to help them feel like they are a part of a special community – one in which they are the heroes of the story.
Every single day, we serve hundreds of cancer survivors. Each one of them experience many of the side effects listed above. Yet, they still show up. They still give us their all. Even when they don’t feel like it. Even when they are scared.
That never goes unnoticed.
This is our chance to show them how much we appreciate their grit. To show them that we are all in this together…by allowing them to train us!
If you are not a patient of ours, you may be wondering what this has to do with you. That is an honest question!
The truth is, NONE of this would be possible if not for the support of our donors!!
Because of the high cost of health care and missed time from work, cancer is expensive. The average patient can expect their monthly expenses to increase by at least $700!
More often than not, the first thing to get crossed off the budget when people are financially strapped is – you guessed it – exercise!
Knowing this, Maple Tree provides all of our in person exercise training FREE of charge.
We would never want money to be the reason why someone did not adopt a healthy lifestyle.
We would never want finances to be the reason why someone struggled through treatments and experienced side effects that sidelined them from thriving through their cancer recovery.
We know that our exercise oncology programs make a difference, and we want as many people to have access to it as possible.
When you financially support us, you are helping our patients receive this life-changing service. We could not do it without you!!
Currently, we are serving more than 500 patients every week.
Even still, we have patient waiting lists at each of our 9 exercise facilities.
Your support of Maple Tree will help eliminate these waiting lists and enable us to serve all of those patients who desperately need our help.
Your support matters!
We are in this fight together, and we are thankful for you!