BOSTON (WHDH) - Hundreds of people came out Friday night to raise money for a facility in Boston that acts as a home away from home for cancer patients.
The Hope Lodge was a life line for Llew Fambles, who lives in Texas but came to Boston to get treatment for his prostate cancer.
“Thanks to the doctors here, thanks to the Hope Lodge for all their support, I’m here, and I’m thankful,” he told 7NEWS. “The stay at Hope Lodge helped me focus on the healing and not on lodging, and not on transportation and not on food.”
While he was receiving treatment, Fambles said the lodge became his home — a place to stay for free and feel supported.
He got close with other patients and their families and got treated to a Sox game, too.
“And the red sox won that night!” he recalled. “That was great, whoever donated that, I am so grateful. It was box seats. It was a nice time with all of the people there.”
Fambles is just one of the people who have found new reasons to hope in the building on South Huntington Avenue that’s run by the American Cancer Society. Since opening its doors in 2008, the lodge has saved cancer patients and their families more than $400 million — providing more than 190,000 nights of free lodging near some of the best hospitals in the world.
This year, 653 guests have stayed there.
American Cancer Society Vice President of Development for New England Louise Santosuosso said the location provides a home away from home for people who are battling the disease.
“Hope Lodge is a great place for people undergoing cancer treatment to come, stay free of charge with a caregiver up to three months,” she said.
On Friday, the organization held a fundraising gala and honored volunteers and donors like Dennis Cataldo, the president of Cataldo Ambulance Services. For him, the mission of the lodge is personal.
“I was diagnosed with cancer my senior year of high school,” he said. ” It’s always a good and rewarding experience to be able to have a discussion with somebody when you can totally understand what they’ve been through.”
The Channel 7 Foundation is also a proud supporter of the American Cancer Society and the Hope Lodge.
As for Fambles, he is now cancer free, and he said he couldn’t have done it without the help he found at the lodge.
“I rang the bell on the 17th of September and in my three rings thanked the staff there at Brigham and Women’s. I thanked the staff at hope lodge, and I thanked the friends while staying there at hope lodge,” he said.
Learn more: https://www.cancer.org/support-programs-and-services/patient-lodging/hope-lodge/boston.html
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