In the chromatic scale, cancer is somewhere under the rainbow.
“Beige chemo suites, pale skin, somber hearts. We see you, cancer, you’re ugly,” Shay Moraga wrote while chronicling her journey through breast cancer.
“You’ve clouded our minds, bodies, and souls for long enough,” she wrote. “And together … we choose to hope in color. Strong, soul-lifting, wondrous color.”
The phrase “we hope in color” is now a powerful — and empowering — mantra adopted by Shay’s Warriors: Life After Cancer, a Palm Desert nonprofit Moraga created to support cancer survivors and their families.
“It’s something my dad said when I was little,” Moraga says. “When there’s a storm, look for the rainbow the next day, the sign of hope. Wherever you are in the world, you can find a little bit of hope and spread it.”
According to oncology experts and people with cancer, finding and sharing hope makes a meaningful difference during and after diagnosis and treatment. One of the brightest lights in any cancer patient’s journey can be the community that lifts them up.
“The cancer community is a group one never wishes to be a part of,” says Melina Williams, who attended a Shay’s Warriors retreat for survivors. Yet within it she found “amazing individuals who, beyond everything they have gone through, are still willing to … set their pain aside, and take whatever energy they have left to reach out and let you know they are there. … They are your people.”
Kelly Mackay, lead oncology social worker at the Eisenhower Lucy Curci Cancer Center in Rancho Mirage, says patients seeking support should start with their health team’s social worker.
“Our role is to connect them with resources that are a good fit for them, from the date of diagnosis through the rest of their lives, if that’s what they need,” Mackay says. Many hospitals and organizations in California and across the U.S., she notes, offer free support groups (most of them diagnosis-specific), either online or in-person, led by a professional. There are also peer-to-peer mentors for those who prefer one-on-one connection, helplines, and interest groups.
The Lucy Curci Cancer Center, in addition to patient and caregiver support groups, helps people find community at classes in tai chi, sound meditation, strength training, and yoga.
The need for support doesn’t disappear in remission. That’s why Moraga started Shay’s Warriors. While living with cancer and going through treatment, Moraga says, “you hopefully have friends and family cheering you on, bringing you meals, going to chemo appointments with you, and the safety of doctors, nurses, and a medical team.” When you hear you are “NED” (no evidence of disease), you and others might think “it’s the greatest celebration in the world.” But as friends and family go back to their lives, she points out, “you realize your life is forever changed; you’re not the same person.”
Your eyelashes and hair grow back, but people don’t see the underlying scars, or know about the continuous checkups, scans, and medications you’re subject to. And that doesn’t include the emotional healing, she emphasizes, “which is a lifetime journey.”
Moraga doesn’t get lost in dazzling rays of hope. “We’re real about it,” she says. “Cancer is horrible; I would not wish it on my worst enemy. There’s a beauty sometimes, though, in going through a storm. Your viewpoints are changed; you see colors differently. But you still want to thrive, and the point is to live right now while we can.”
Resources
Finding Strength Together
Local nonprofits and hospital programs offer support programs for people with cancer and their loved ones.
The Pendleton Foundation
Provides financial assistance to Coachella Valley residents in treatment for everyday expenses such as rent, utilities, and groceries.
Desert Cancer Foundation
Covers costs of screening, diagnosis, and treatment for uninsured and underinsured Coachella Valley residents facing cancer.
Eisenhower Health
Offers patient and caregiver support groups plus classes in tai chi, meditation, yoga, and strength training through the Lucy Curci Cancer Center.
Desert Care Network
Facilitates in-person and virtual cancer support groups, educational workshops, and survivorship resources led by trained professionals.
Shay’s Warriors: Life After Cancer
The Palm Desert–based nonprofit founded by breast cancer survivor Shay Moraga hosts retreats, events, and peer support programs for survivors and their loved ones.
