The FGCU Cancer Research Program is teaching students that they can make a difference in the lives of local cancer patients and their families, little by little.

A group of three students work in an FGCU classroom, filling the tops of desks with brightly colored plastic bags with star, dot, or stripe patterns. Some desks have short, open cardboard boxes with deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, mints or noteboxes. The students form an assembly line, placing some objects in a bag before passing it on to the next student to fill with different objects.

Students in CRP assemble care packages for cancer patients and their families that were brought to Golisano Children’s Hospital.

“I want to make a difference in my community,” The Vice-President of the FGCU Cancer Research Program, Kaelyn Julmeus, said. “I want to impact my community in ways that they couldn’t even imagine, or ways that maybe some people aren’t noticing. I want to be there, and I want to be in the middle of that.

Students in the FGCU Cancer Research Program were assembling care packages for families of cancer patients at Golisano Children’s Hospital. Julmeus and the president of CRP, Mirtha Fernandez, realized cancer patients have certain needs that can be met easily when initiative is taken.

“They just need a little bit of a kickstart, or somebody to say, ‘Yeah, we can do that!,’ or ‘let’s figure out how we can do that,’” Dr. Rhodes, the advisor for CRP said. “Seeing what they can come up with and everything they can accomplish is really exciting for me.”

The FGCU Cancer Research Program reached out to the American Cancer Association on February 19th to connect with people affected by cancer who might want to share their stories with students about the toll of cancer in their lives, and what steps students can take to meet needs of cancer patients and their families in the community. From there, the FGCU Cancer Research Program created a panel of families to talk to students via Zoom.

“Rather than assuming, like, ‘Oh! This is what patients need,’ or doing what other people have done, Kaelyn and Mirtha said, ‘Let’s ask the patients what they need,’” Dr. Rhodes said. “They created a panel, identified people in the community and asked them, ‘Hey, would you talk to our students?’ From that conversation, they identified a lot of ways that we as an organization can give back and help support that community.”

The family Zoom panel took place on March 23rd. Students observed that the families appeared to have the same thing in common: They would initially go into the hospital for an issue, such as a broken arm or a urinary tract infection. When the patients and their families talked with the doctors, they learned that wasn’t their only problem. The issue wasn’t going to be solved overnight… The patient had cancer.

Melissa Wallace has a daughter who had cancer for several years. Wallace attended the Zoom panel, and suggested that the students create care packages for families of cancer patients.

“My family did it for childhood awareness month last September,” Wallace said. “[We’d pack] different things that parents can use that initial diagnosis, when you go to the emergency room for the first time and don’t realize that you’re going to be admitted for an extended period of time.”

Some of the items Wallace suggested to the students to fill bags with were socks, water, bags of snacks, pens and notepads. These were items she said her family had wished they’d had.

Wallace’s daughter, Addy, was two years old when she was diagnosed with cancer October 31st, 2015. Wallace believed Addy had a urinary tract infection when she took Addy to the emergency room that morning. She said the doctor knew right away that Addy didn’t have a urinary tract infection.

“We were devastated,” Wallace said. “She was our baby, who wasn’t even three yet.”

After some testing, the hospital staff found a nine millimeter mass on Addy’s right kidney. Addy had to get the kidney removed and underwent rounds of chemotherapy and radiation. She was off treatment for six months before she relapsed in December, 2016, with lung cancer: Addy had three tumors in her lungs. She had a lung biopsy and underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatments again for another eight months, Wallace said.

Wallace’s whole family had to make sacrifices to support Addy through her cancer.

“It was hard on all of us,” Wallace said. “We all had to take time off work, we had to coordinate schedules to get her to treatment, and just… The everyday life of it, for two years, we lived it.”

Today, Addy is four-and-a-half years cancer-free. This December marks five years from Addy’s official cure date.

“I’m a nurse, I knew kids get cancer,” Wallace said. “I never realized that it could affect my family. I know now that cancer does not discriminate. It plays by its own rules.”

Addy has two scans left this year, spaced six months apart from each other, to assure that the cancer is gone; however, this still gives Wallace and her family anxiety. They go into the scans knowing Addy will be clear, but they have previously experienced the cancer coming back, which is frightening for them, Wallace said.

Addy is now eight years old. She’s starting to ask questions to her parents about what might happen if her cancer comes back. Wallace and her husband try to be honest with Addy; they don’t want to lie to her.

“We don’t want to not give her all the information,” Wallace said. “But we also want to tread lightly and be careful not to give her too much information, because she is still a kid. She doesn’t need all of that on her shoulders.”

Despite Addy’s being cancer free, her sickness still impacts Wallace. A few days ago, she was helping Addy to change her clothes when she saw the cancer scar. It took her by surprise. Sometimes she forgets, Wallace said.

“I think once you’re a cancer mom, you’re always a cancer mom,” Wallace said.

Wallace shared her story with the FGCU Cancer Research Program students on March 23rd, and the students learned they could take simple steps to help a family under the stress of a loved one with cancer.

“For me, it seems very silly now in hindsight, but all I wanted those first few nights when my daughter was diagnosed was a pair of socks,” Wallace said. “My feet were cold and it was cold in the hospital. I couldn’t sleep because my feet were cold.”

Mirtha Fernandez, the student president of CRP, knew she and the other students could take action and improve that situation for other families.

“That kind of struck me,” Fernandez said, “Because that’s something that we can solve!”

From suggestions given at the Zoom meeting, the CRP decided to make care packages for local cancer patients and their families at Golisano Children’s Hospital in Fort Myers. The students could put together bags with things such as socks, notepads, and other essentials for the first few nights the families stay at the hospital with their loved ones.

While the FGCU Cancer Research Program isn’t permitted inside the hospitals to visit cancer patients due to COVID-19, creating care packages was a simple way they could be involved in their community. Students could help families and meet a need efficiently.

“I was like yeah, we can make that happen, right now!” Fernandez said. “In a few weeks, we created the list, sent it out, started getting donations, and just ordered everything. It was just something that now we can do every year.”

Students in CRP contacted Golisano Children’s Hospital and asked them what types of items patients and their families might want to see in the care packages. They posted the needed items on their social media, @fgcu_cancer, and boxes were created and then placed around FGCU so students could donate supplies. The supplies, along with other donations, were used to make the care packages.

Arianna Smith, a junior majoring in biotechnology, helped organize the drop-off boxes placed around FGCU.

“A lot of things that the [patient’s families] were asking for were just like the essentials, the things that you almost forget,” Smith said. “You know, when your child is going through something so horrible, sometimes it’s hard to remember the little details.”

On Tuesday, April 6th, students from the FGCU Cancer Research Program met to assemble the care packages together. There was a bundle of brightly colored bags with designs. Some bags were pink with stars, others were navy blue with stripes, others were aqua-colored with white polka dots. The bags themselves appeared so cheery, I can’t help but imagine the grins on the faces of the people who will receive them.

Among other things, the bags were filled with pocket notebooks, mints, water bottles, tooth brushes, toothpaste, deodorant, and homemade cards which students made for cancer patients and their families. The students made an assembly-line, one student placed objects in a bag and passed it onto the next person in line to add more supplies.

The teamwork from the students in CRP not only reflects when they’re together, but it also proves to be true when students can’t commit to being at activities in-person. Some of the students of CRP who were unable to assemble bags with other members made their own care packages and dropped them off to a collection of bags.

“I think one of the best things about CRP is we have a good community of students who want to go out onto campus and the community to share their knowledge as well as just their resources,” Smith said. “Everyone in the organization has such beautiful, great hearts, and all they want to do is share, and raise awareness, and make sure that we’re able to kind of make that difference for those that are struggling against cancer.”

On Thursday, April 15th, three students from the FGCU Cancer Research Program dropped off the care packages at Golisano Children’s Hospital. They packed a fold-up wagon to put in the back of a car to load with the brightly colored bags that were previously assembled. The students also brought four big signs with encouraging messages for the cancer patients. The posters were bright colors: blue, green, orange and pink.

CRP students carry encouraging posters and care packages for cancer patients and their families at Golisano Children’s Hospital. The students met the Director of Development for the Children’s Miracle Network, Toni Primeaux, and Amy Frith, Director of Barbara’s Friends, an organization of Golisano Children’s Hospital.

When the students arrived at the hospital, they were greeted by the Director of Development for the Children’s Miracle Network, Toni Primeaux. Primeaux has short, grey hair and wore a dark blue mask with a design of flowers in different shades of blue, and green leaves. She looked elegant with her black rimmed glasses and black-and-white dress.

“People have a special place in their hearts for kids with cancer,” Primeux said. “The community wants to do so much, but there’s only so much they can do… Because of COVID.”

Primeaux welcomed the students to the hospital’s lobby to drop off the packages in a blue bin where they were to be quarantined for seven days before being received by patients. The welcome lobby had yellow ceilings and yellow and white walls. There was a sculpture to the right of the long front desk of two suns stacked on top of each other. The suns had faces with grins, raised eyebrows, and sunglasses; one sun had bedazzled pink sunglasses and the other had blue sunglasses. The suns had arms that were stretched towards the sky, as if they were ready to welcome new visitors to a place where children can find a happiness similar to theirs, perhaps hope, reflected in their grins.

Golisano’s Children’s Hospital has approximately 90 kids in active pediatric treatment, according to Primeaux. Since 2020, the number of patients has increased; however, the national average for great outcomes with pediatric cancer is approximately at an 80% rate, while Golisano’s is at an 84%-85% remissions rate, according to Primeaux.

They’ve had to adapt since the beginning of COVID-19 significantly, particularly since they had to let go of their volunteers temporarily. Golisano’s had over 400 volunteers before COVID-19 to help entertain patients and relieve their families of the stress of being one of the only people spending time with their children while in care. Volunteers would sit bedside with patients, working on puzzles, or games to spend time with the patients. Now, the hospital doesn’t have that extra help.

“You have one parent, and I mean, honestly, they’re exhausted,” Primeaux said. “So I don’t know how much entertainment they’re going to be able to do, you know, with their own child.”

However; within those months or years of treatment, parents and their children look forward to a special moment at Golisano’s. When patients are in remission, there’s a big brass bell that they and their families get to ring. Primeaux said immediate family and all of the hospital staff is allowed to attend these parties, even during the age of COVID. There’s confetti, cake, and a thundering of applause as families ring the bell with their children, announcing the end of chemotherapy.

From right to left: Mirtha Fernandez, President of CRP; Kaelyn Julmeus, Vice President of CRP; Toni Primeaux, Director of Development for the Children’s Miracle Network. Fernandez and Julmeus hear stories from Primeaux about past cancer patients and what Golisano’s is currently doing for cancer patients and their families.

“If you can imagine being on chemo for two years; losing your hair, being sick… We have little, tiny kids who are on chemo,” Primeaux said. “You are happy. It’s a big, big deal.”

For many students involved in CRP, having a background in which a loved one had or has cancer can make all the difference in their participation, such as being involved in the lives of patients and their families at Golisano’s.

Fernandez observed that these students tend to have more questions, and they want to help out more than students who aren’t directly impacted by cancer. All of the students involved in CRP realize the tremendous impact cancer has on individuals. Fernandez understands from experience when her grandfather had cancer.

Gilberto Fernandez was diagnosed with myeloma cancer, cancer that forms in a type of white blood cell called a plasma cell, in 2012. Gilberto died two years ago when the cancer spread to his liver and kidneys. When he was initially diagnosed, the doctors gave him one year to live… Because of critical clinical trials and other resources available to him, Fernandez’s grandfather lived five extra years, rather than just one.

“He’s actually a diabetic, and he was one of those people who cannot live without sweets,” Fernandez said.

Her grandfather would turn around sometimes from a discussion and get something sweet from the fridge. He was weak, and his hands trembled when he opened the handle of the refrigerator to get the food. He often left a trail of chocolate, or cookies, in his tracks… Fernandez would sometimes have to approach him and ask, “What did you do?”

“He was like, ‘I’m getting treatment, it’s fine,’” Fernandez said, laughing.

Fernandez said she and her family had years of extra time with her grandfather because of the work of cancer researchers, such as the advisor for CRP, Dr. Rhodes. When Gilberto had five extra years, rather than one, made a dramatic difference for Fernandez’s family.

Fernandez’s grandfather is always in the back of her mind when she works with CRP. She wants to be able to help people who are going through circumstances similar to her grandfather. Involvement with CRP and helping cancer patients and their families is important to Fernandez.

“That’s where my heart is, at the moment,” Fernandez said.

Julmeus said hearing the stories of families on the Zoom panel, and other stories of those affected by cancer, gives her motivation to pursue a career in the medical field.

“Seeing family members talk about their stories… shows how resilient the patient is and their support system and how they believe that they’re gonna get better,” Julmeus said. “As a future clinician, that just pushes me to do better, to find these different therapeutics, or find these different treatment plans that will potentially help the patient.”

2Most students in the FGCU Cancer Research Program are pursuing the medical field. Aside from supporting cancer patients and their families in their community, the students involved in CRP are able to do research that explores the medical field further. While not all of their research focuses on cancer, a large part of their research focuses on researching and finding compounds that could be used and developed into something more. They look at what a molecule or what a drug actually does in the cells, and they question the mechanism that causes the cell to die.

“Not a single discovery in our lab is going to lead to a tangible drug, but the research that we do and present and publish adds to the broader knowledge of cancer as a field that, by sharing that information, other researchers can pick up where we left off and can continue to develop that product,” Dr. Rhodes said.

With CRP, students learn that they can make a difference in their community. They can take small actions, like writing a card for a cancer patient, and that could give them the encouragement to keep fighting.

“So if we can make the kids cards, like, why haven’t we been doing that before?” Fernandez said. “That’s such a small thing to do, and they’re gonna love getting something from grownups.”

Fernandez said that even through simple, homemade cards; kids with cancer get excited. They might aspire to do things similarly to the college students, to give back to other people who are diagnosed with cancer. It’s scary, the things cancer patients have to go through, Fernandez said. How can you explain to a child about the extent of treatments they have coming up, for the purpose of eradicating that cancer?

CRP made cards for cancer patients and their families. These were put into the care packages that were sent to Golisano Children’s Hospital.

“It’s something to like, cheer them up,” Fernandez said. “I feel like if you have the right attitude, no matter the treatment that you’re going to, that’s half the battle.

The group of students in CRP are passionate about helping others and doing what they can, either in research or direct involvement with a patient and their family, to ameliorate their situation. Dr. Rhodes said that cancer is a difficult disease to treat. It evolves and mutates all the time. Cancer is different from individual to individual; there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. However; with students as driven as those in the FGCU Cancer Research Program, there is much hope for further development of possible solutions to cancer in the future.

“Our hope is that one day, no kids will have to face a childhood cancer diagnosis,” Wallace said.