Meet our Members

This year has brought uncertainty and challenges to many families, including our own. Across the nation, individuals and families already in the fight of their lives due to a cancer diagnosis, now face a worsening economy, potential loss of a job and health insurance, and growing gaps in care adding a crushing weight to an already overwhelming burden caused by a cancer.

In fact, every minute, cancer disrupts someone’s life and family. What follows is fear, anxiety, worry, uncertainty, and complex and costly treatment options and care. It is in these times that we are reminded just how vital community is — and how essential it is to stand together, especially in support of those facing life-threatening illnesses like cancer.

Crossroads4Hope remains committed to ensuring that no one faces cancer alone, especially now. Our promise is that no matter who you are or where you live, we are there for you and your loved ones, however long your cancer journey is or where it leads.

We continue to live up to our promise because of you. Right now, as the needs of patients and families grow, so does our determination to help all those in need with compassion and empathy, support, information, resources and professionals, all of which are fundamental to living through and beyond cancer with strength, resilience and hope.

The stories of our work and impact are reflected in people like Elle. She was a sophomore at Bridgewater Raritan High School when we met her. She was just like any other teenager—juggling friends, activities, and schoolwork. But everything changed when she suddenly became very sick.

A trip to the emergency room led to a life-altering diagnosis: Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. “Well, there goes everything I know,” Elle recalled. While it was a relief to understand why she had been so sick, nothing could prepare her for the journey ahead.

After a summer of intense chemotherapy, Elle was cancer-free. But she wasn’t the same. “I didn’t feel 16 anymore. From the moment I heard the word cancer, I was different.”

Returning to school with a beanie covering her newly bald head, Elle wanted nothing more than to feel normal again. The overwhelming support of her friends and fellow classmates helped, but nothing felt the same.

That’s when she found Crossroads4Hope.

Through a support group recommended by her guidance counselor, Elle met others who understood the emotional toll of cancer—people who, like her, were looking for stability in an uncertain time. “That group gave me a place to feel normal again. It was a great experience.”

Now, 11 years later, Elle is still cancer-free—and she’s back at Bridgewater Raritan High School. But this time, she’s the guidance counselor. She remains connected to the counselor who once supported her and is now attending the Crossroads4Hope Annual Conference on Cancer with a mission: to bring back the very support group that changed her life. Now more than ever, her work is essential in ensuring teens have access to vital support that enhances their mental wellbeing, especially as families in the school district are struggling.

What makes Crossroads4Hope unique is that when others see cancer, we see you. We believe that true cancer care goes beyond medicine—it must include emotional and social support for the whole person and their family. That’s why, thanks to generous donors like you, our services are available at no cost to anyone who needs them.

Elle is just one of the thousands of people we help every day. Our dedicated team—including licensed oncology social workers, child life specialists, and oncology certified dietitians—is here for as long as people need us.

But we can’t do this alone.

Your support makes stories like Elle’s possible. Will you make a generous gift today to ensure that no one faces cancer alone?

Together, we can bring hope and healing to even more families.