by Kristina Dahl

When I was thirty-five years old, the mother of a beautiful and beloved two year old daughter, I found a lump in my breast. When I got a breast cancer diagnosis, it was hard to breathe, and harder still to imagine that this could be happening to me. To stay alive I needed multiple surgeries, months of chemotherapy, and months of radiation, all with excruciating side effects. It was the hardest thing I had ever done, but I am one of the lucky ones.
Not all women are as fortunate as I was, with financial resources and a community of friends and family on call to help with childcare, meals, and rides to the hospital, and that is why Northwest Hope and Healing’s mission is so important to me. In addition to providing healing baskets to help women get through treatment, NWH&H provides financial assistance to women undergoing breast and gynecological cancer treatment at Swedish Cancer Institute, offering financial grants to women who need help with basic needs such as groceries, childcare, rent, utilities, transportation, and more.

Imagine facing an eviction because you cannot pay your rent because you cannot work during chemo. Every day, women in cancer treatment make impossible choices: pay for prescriptions, or for childcare? Quit treatment, or fall behind on the rent? Groceries, or pay utilities? NWH&H believes that fighting cancer is hard enough, and paying for necessities should not be. NWH&H’s financial grants offer assistance – and hope – to women who are fighting for their lives. This year we have already given over 300 grants to help women meet basic needs.

As the new Executive Director of Northwest Hope and Healing, I am committed to building upon the solid foundation created by founder Christine Smith and my predecessor Shari Sewell. NWH&H has served an extraordinary 10,000 women since its inception in 2000. Swedish anticipates the currently identified patient needs quadrupling over the next two years. This year we have given out more grants than in any other year, and yet the need keeps rising. We are committed to growth, because we cannot accept the idea that if we do not, women will not get the help they need to make it through cancer. We know that quadrupling our resources won’t be easy, but we are committed to doing so. As Executive Director, I will be reaching out to our community to volunteer, to fundraise with us, and to give generously. NWH&H will continue to hold fantastic fundraising events such as the fashion show (April 28), Alki Beach 5k (August 28), and wine tasting (November 18). We will seek new funding as well by asking our loyal supporters to help and inviting new supporters to join us in our mission.

We are grateful for the support that this community has given us, and hope that we can continue to count on that support as we grow to help even more women make it through cancer.

In Hope and Healing,
Kristina Dahl
Executive Director
Northwest Hope and Healing