Noel Sharpe is not one to readily reach out for help. But after his mother, Rose Goozovat, was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer last March, he found himself in a tough spot to go it alone.

“There were a lot of regularly scheduled appointments, which I could deal with, but there was always something that came up,” recalls Sharpe, a resident of Costa Mesa, Calif.

He swallowed his pride and got in touch with St. Joachim Cancer Ministry at St. Joachim Catholic Church in Costa Mesa.

“They were really good about taking her to those unexpected appointments,” says Sharpe. “They took her to get blood work done; they took her to chemotherapy. She was losing her hair and needed a wig. One lady actually took her to a wig store and took her out to lunch.”

The brainchild of St. Joachim parishioners, the cancer ministry first gathered in early 2007. Most members were either cancer survivors themselves or loved ones of people who had battled cancer.

Originally, ministry members thought to provide concrete, hands-on assistance to families dealing with cancer — not only driving patients to appointments, but also cooking their meals, doing their shopping, and pitching in in other ways.

Says founding ministry member Tom Johnsen, “Our first idea was real practical assistance. But then we thought, ‘Well, the spiritual assistance is important also.’”

“We realized, because it’s so personal, so private, people want to keep it in their families,” says Robert Zimmer, another founding ministry member whose wife is a cancer survivor. “A lot of people don’t even want others to know about their cancer.”

Spiritual Support

Perhaps it was that desire to keep cancer battles private that resulted in the need for spiritual support surpassing the need for hands-on assistance. St. Joachim’s cancer ministry has sponsored Masses that include the anointing of the sick; about 50 people attended the first one and 85 the second.

“If we only had one family show up, it would have been worth it,” says Johnsen.

“It was just incredibly powerful. I will remember that for my entire life — what that can mean to people, and the comfort [they gain from the anointing of the sick].”

The ministry’s flexible growth is one of its greatest strengths, says Father Stephen Doktorczyk, parochial vicar at St. Joachim. “A lot of times when you start something new, there’s a lot of fresh ideas,” he says. “There’s a lot of leeway to respond to the needs.”

“If any parish decided to take this on, they would have similar experiences,” adds the priest. His advice: “Have an idea of the goal you want to meet — your reason for existence — but be very flexible, because you’ll learn there are different needs, different demands that will open up over the years.”

The original ministry members simply hoped to provide resources and information for people coping with cancer. Now, they find themselves doing that — and distributing statues and prayer cards of St. Peregrine, patron saint of cancer patients.

They knew they’d be running errands and picking up prescriptions — but they didn’t foresee the blessings that have come with planning a pilgrimage to nearby Mission San Juan Capistrano, where the historic chapel has an alcove dedicated to St. Peregrine.

Though the focus of the ministry has shifted to meeting the spiritual needs of cancer patients, their earthly needs have not been forgotten. Certainly much of the assistance Sharpe and his family received was very practical — though he speaks of the comfort his mother received from her St. Peregrine statue, and he recalls warmly their experience at the anointing of the sick during a cancer ministry-sponsored Mass.

And a cancer patient whose first language was not English found support in a ministry member who could speak her language and was familiar with her type of cancer. The ministry member acted as an interpreter between patient and doctor.

Care for Caretakers

Today, the ministry is growing in new directions. The group plans to participate in cancer-awareness walks as a team, wearing T-shirts with insignias that they hope will inspire other religious organizations to establish similar ministries.

Even for Sharpe and his mother, the spiritual and emotional support of the ministry was just as important as the hands-on help they received.

“They sent cards to her, and she was really glad to receive those and know people were thinking of her,” says Sharpe. “There were phone calls; they would always tell me that they were mentioning her in their prayers and thought of her often. That meant a lot to her.”

“I went to a couple of the cancer-ministry meetings to give them updates, let them know what kind of help we needed,” adds Sharpe. “They were good about keeping in touch with us, letting my mom know they were praying for her, rooting for her.”

Though it never was easy for him to ask for assistance, Sharpe is still grateful to have had the support of ministry members right up to his mother’s death.

“Cancer is just so, so hard on the person who has it, but there are also the caretakers,” he says. “I never realized how much they have to do for the patient.”

“Just to have a little bit of the burden taken up by others — it means a lot to know that it’s not all you. You don’t have to do everything,” says the erstwhile do-it-yourselfer. “Sometimes it’s hard to ask, but they’re always willing. They didn’t blink an eye.”

Elisabeth Deffner writes from

Orange, California.

INFORMATION For tips on starting a cancer-support group in your parish, contact Kathy Lewis at (949) 574-7400, ext. 321.