Breast Cancer Survivor Reached Out

Marlene Parent (The Sun)

She gave hugs whether you wanted them or not, the obit reads. Her motto was a “Hug isn’t a hug unless you give it away.” Her family, especially nieces and nephews and her many friends will miss her hugs and her never failing to say, I love you, because she really did.

But Parent spread her love with more than hugs. She was also an American Cancer Society Reach to Recovery volunteer. The Reach to Recovery program helps people cope with the breast cancer experience.

Volunteers are breast cancer survivors who give patients and family members an opportunity to express feelings, talk about fears and concerns, and ask questions of someone who is knowledgeable and level-headed, according to the American Cancer Society website.

Most importantly, Reach to Recovery volunteers offer understanding, support, and hope because they themselves have survived breast cancer and gone on to live normal, productive lives.

No doubt, Marlene, who died Sept. 11 at age 78, contributed lots of hugs to the program.

Share your condolences on the online Guest Book in the Pioneer Press.

This post was contributed by Alana Baranick, a freelance obituary writer. She is the director of the Society of Professional Obituary Writers and chief author of Life on the Death Beat: A Handbook for Obituary Writers.