Chemo Angels

Will my Angel live close to me?

We do not match up Angels and recipients according to their geographic locations. Since our service is provided via postal mail, the location of either party is unimportant. In fact, we try to match up people who are from different parts of the country. We do match recipients to Angels in the same country whenever possible. For example, we assign U.S. Angels to U.S. recipients, Canadian Angels to Canadian recipients, etc.

 

I have just finished my cancer treatment and want to become an Angel right away. Can I?

Thank you so much for wanting to become an Angel! We would love for you to join, but it has been our experience that recent treatment graduates tend to jump in before they are quite ready. They are usually just not back up to speed yet with their lives and health and energy levels, and that is perfectly understandable! We want you to be sure that you can REALLY commit to this. Remember, we are not going anywhere. There is plenty of time for you to become an Angel in a few months.

 

Do patient and angels ever talk on the phone or meet, or is this not allowed?

The Chemo Angels program is carried out strictly through the postal service. If you and your Angel mutually agree to take your relationship past the postal level, that is out of the realm of Chemo Angels and strictly up to the individuals themselves. Please be sensitive to the feelings of your Angel if you decide to broach the subject of exchanging emails, phone calls or meeting each other. This often causes people to feel quite uncomfortable, as it is not what our volunteers have signed up for.

 

Do you give out or sell your participant's personal information?

NEVER! We respect the privacy of all our participants and we do everything we can to protect their personal information.

 

How long am I allowed to stay in the program?

Most of our recipients are in the program for 3-6 months. You will graduate from our program at the end of your IV chemotherapy, immunotherapy or radiation therapy, or when you go on maintenance treatment. 18 months is the maximum length of time a cancer patient can stay with us, unless there are extenuating circumstances. Unfortunately, we are not equipped to accommodate long-term treatment.

 

Am I expected to write back to my Angel?

Absolutely not. You are under no obligation to respond directly to your Angels. They are here to encourage you, not to add another obligation to your life. Please remember, this is not a pen pal program. You are only required to check in with Chemo Angels administration once a month in order to stay in the program. Of course, if you want to send a letter or note to your Angel, they would be thrilled to hear from you, but it is not expected. 

 

Is e-mail a part of the program?

The Angel/buddy relationship is strictly postal. Angels send at least one card, letter or small gift weekly. E-mail is not a part of our program.

 

I know someone who could benefit from an Angel, but they don't have a computer. Can they still sign up for a Chemo Angel?

We do have some patients/seniors without e-mail capabilities. You can sign them up in one of two ways. If you know them very well, you can call them while you are logged onto our website at the appropriate patient/senior sign-up form. Then you can ask them each question, fill in the answers, and submit the form for them. Or you could go to our website's patient/senior sign-up page and print out the appropriate application and mail or give it to the patient/senior. When they have completed the form, you can use their printed application and sign them up online. Please do not sign up anyone for the program without their consent. For the contact person, you would need to put either yourself or someone close to the patient/senior who has e-mail capabilities.

 

I am not a religious person. Will I be sent religious items or material?

This organization is a program for cancer patients, not an evangelical ministry. We do our best to make matches based, in part, on the spiritual beliefs of our recipients. If you specified "nothing religious please" on your application, you should receive nothing of a spiritual nature.