BUFFALO, N.Y. — A cancer diagnosis can create all kinds of emotions.
Every patient wants hope. Reverend Dr. Melody Rutherford serves as a spiritual care director at Roswell Park.
"If there is any fear, if there is any trepidation or any dismay, it quickly is diminished by the conversation and conversation that centers on hope," Rev. Rutherford
Rev. Rutherford will lead a prayer during the candlelight ceremony at the Tree of Hope. It is a prayer that serves as a tribute to all lives touched by cancer.
Here is a portion from her prayer: "We know that cancer can mark us and change us forever, but challenge and adversity can also draw us toward hope and light."
"I think that light is there whenever we need it. We just have to have the spirit and the the desire to look for it. It's there," the reverend said.
She calls spiritual care necessary.
"It's a necessary piece to their overall well-being and health, and without spiritual care, we wouldn't be able to claim that Roswell is holistic in its treatment, so spiritual care has to be there," she said.
A diverse workforce is also important. Crystal Rodriguez-Dabney serves as Chief Diversity Officer and Senior Vice President at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.
"Cancer is the most inclusive disease that there is. It doesn't care about the background, so we have different patients. We have doctors and staff from different backgrounds. It's that diversity of experience and and backgrounds that really is our strength," she said.
Patients must feel like belong, according to Rodriguez-Dabney, but it's important for the employees who are the support for our patients on many different levels that they also feel like they belong.