We invite you to gather with us to mark one of the oldest traditions at Duke Cancer Institute: the lighting of a living holly tree, the Tree of Hope. At the ceremony, a breast cancer survivor, Chaundrea Mason, will briefly address the crowd.
The ceremony, hosted by the Duke Cancer Patient Support Program, is free and open to the public. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 4 inside the Duke Cancer Center on Duke’s campus before moving outside to the Garden of Tranquility. The Duke University Chorale, a student choir, will perform holiday classics.
If you come, expect to see physicians, nurses, therapists, survivors, staff and families—all searching for the luminaries bearing their names. Each symbolizes a gift of hope for a loved one, a token of gratitude for that person’s care team, or a reminder of someone who will never be forgotten.
Mason was sitting in church with her seven-year-old twins when her pastor prayed for people in the audience who might have a cancerous tumor forming. At the time, Mason had been ignoring an unusual lump in her breast, mentioning it to no one.
“It really triggered my mind. I thought, ‘Okay, I need to try to call the doctor's office again and make this appointment,’” she said.
That epiphany began Mason’s journey through a diagnosis and successful treatment plan for triple-negative breast cancer. Early on, she decided to seek support for herself and her children.
“I saw the Cancer Care Calendar that comes out every month describing all the services that I could get through the Duke Cancer Patient Support Program,” she said. “Then I went to the website and just started clicking.”
Among her clicks, she signed her kids up for KidsCAN! so they could meet other children whose parents had cancer. She signed herself up for yoga and a virtual support group. She connected her teenaged sister with a child and adolescent life specialist who works with teens and children to understand what happens during cancer treatment.
Mason said she has a lot to live for. Besides her twins, she recently completed a graduate program in clinical mental health counseling at North Carolina Central University. Thirty days before her diagnosis of cancer, she started a career advising underserved young people who want to pursue higher education.
Luminary lights and tribute cards help to pay for services like the ones that Mason chose. Each displays a name or phrase or your choice. Throughout the month of December, luminaries will light the paths leading to the Duke Cancer Center in Durham and Raleigh.
To purchase luminaries or register to attend the ceremony at no cost, visit duke.is/TreeOfHope
