Fox Chase Honors Those Touched by Cancer with 2024 Tree of Life Celebration

Tree of Life Collage
Every holiday season, Fox Chase Cancer Center’s Tree of Life Celebration brings together patients, families, donors, researchers, and medical staff to pay tribute to all who have been touched by cancer.

Every holiday season, Fox Chase Cancer Center’s Tree of Life Celebration brings together patients, families, donors, researchers, and medical staff to pay tribute to all who have been touched by cancer. At this treasured annual event, the community remembers those who have passed, supports those who are living with cancer, and celebrates caregivers and survivors. The celebration features seasonal musical performances, inspirational personal stories, and culminates with the lighting of a beautiful tree in the Fox Chase courtyard.

The 2024 celebration was held on December 11, and featured remarks from Josephine Villalobos, CRNP, Advanced Practice Clinician in the Supportive Oncology & Palliative Care Program, and patient Felicita Beideman, who began working at Fox Chase as a Guest Service Ambassador after her successful treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Fox Chase Chaplain Andrew G. Smith, MA served as emcee and shared his own moving message, and members of Abington’s Stage Company Theater Arts performed several musical selections.

“The candles on the tree next to me and the leaves on the permanent Tree of Life in the West Lobby bear the names of survivors, caregivers, those we’ve lost, and so many others who have been touched by cancer. Their names and the many messages of encouragement provide hope to all of us,” Smith said.

Josephine Villalobos shared a deeply personal story about her family’s loss, and how her grief has informed her approach to caring for patients and loved ones. Then Felicita Beideman, whose husband and three sons came to support and celebrate her, shared her remarkable journey from patient to Fox Chase volunteer, and ultimately to a full-time employee. She also had the honor of turning on the festive tree lights.

“I walked into Fox Chase as a scared patient, unsure of what the future held. Today, I walk those same halls as someone who can offer comfort and support to others, just as I was supported,” she told the crowd of about 100.

Funds raised from the event support Fox Chase’s mission of cancer care and research.

Fox Chase Cancer Center (Fox Chase), which includes the Institute for Cancer Research and the American Oncologic Hospital and is a part of Temple Health, is one of the leading comprehensive cancer centers in the United States. Founded in 1904 in Philadelphia as one of the nation’s first cancer hospitals, Fox Chase was also among the first institutions to be designated a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center in 1974. Fox Chase is also one of just 10 members of the Alliance of Dedicated Cancer Centers. Fox Chase researchers have won the highest awards in their fields, including two Nobel Prizes. Fox Chase physicians are also routinely recognized in national rankings, and the Center’s nursing program has received the Magnet recognition for excellence six consecutive times. Today, Fox Chase conducts a broad array of nationally competitive basic, translational, and clinical research, with special programs in cancer prevention, detection, survivorship, and community outreach. It is the policy of Fox Chase Cancer Center that there shall be no exclusion from, or participation in, and no one denied the benefits of, the delivery of quality medical care on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, disability, age, ancestry, color, national origin, physical ability, level of education, or source of payment.

For more information, call 888-369-2427

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