DIANE MAKAR MURPHY Glow Girls shine a light for others who are facing cancer

One day, as Karen Theis was about to leave for a meeting of cancer survivors -- women who had undergone radiation therapy -- her husband quipped, "When all of you are in one room, do you glow?"
That's how the Glow Girls found their name. But the truth is, the meaning they put behind the acronym GLOW -- Gracious, Loving, Optimistic, Women living with cancer -- is much closer to mark. The nonprofit support and charitable group is composed mostly of women who have, or have beaten, cancer.
Theis was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999 after a regular mammogram. Told she was "the luckiest woman alive" to have caught it so early, she had a lumpectomy and underwent chemo and radiation therapies.
In six months, Theis underwent eight chemotherapy IV drips at the Blood and Cancer Center, lost her hair and suffered through the accompanying nausea. She also endured 33 radiation sessions at St. Elizabeth's Cancer Outreach. Ironically, she said, she "had the best time."
The reason was she met three other women undergoing cancer treatment, and the love and support they lent each other made a huge difference in their treatments. In fact, after the treatments stopped, they continued meeting for occasional lunches.
The group grew
In the meantime, the cancer centers started to call Theis and ask that she offer words of encouragement to other cancer patients. Slowly, the group grew from four to eight, then 17 and went from being lunch meetings to dinner meetings, where the women shared "love, encouragement, and mentoring," Theis said. "We had so much fun we couldn't believe it."
By 2001, Theis and the Glow Girls expanded their roles to include making baskets for other women with cancer. They brought these to hospital cancer centers where nurses distributed them to newly diagnosed patients. Each basket had Theis' name and number in it.
"A year ago, we decided to do Love Baskets for children with cancer," she said. "One of our members is an oncology nurse at Tod's [Children's Hospital]. We just dropped off 30 Easter baskets at Tod's."
When the Glow Girls started to get donations, they made the move to incorporate and gain nonprofit status. Since then they have had fund-raisers, continue to distribute baskets, and participated in the Relay for Life. They were also named "True Valley Hero" in 2000 and received the "Community Builders Award" from the Masonic Temple in 2002. No Glow Girls get salaries from the group or benefit from the donations directly, Theis said.
"A lot of our members have inadequate insurance, but they dip into their own pockets to contribute something to the baskets," Theis said. "But most important is the mentoring we do. Every member has been a mentor to someone."
"We laughed so hard the last time we met that no one would have known we were a cancer support group," she said.
Age range
The Glow Girls number about 30 and range in ages from early 30s to late 70s. Theis said the vast majority are or were cancer patients, though some family and friends participate. They meet the third Monday of every month in various places depending on the planned activity. In addition to making baskets, they have a family picnic, Christmas party, dinner meetings, send cards and notes to other women with cancer upon request, and more.
"Also, when someone finishes chemo, we have a cake and presents and cheer; we call them Celebration of Life parties," Theis said. "And when somebody is having treatments or surgery, these girls get out the soup pots and bring meals to her and drive her to the doctor. Honestly, they'd clean the house if it needed it."
Only one member has died from her cancer, and Theis is counting down to her five year, cancer-free mark, after which time, she said, she will finally feel free from the disease. "My doctor will use the word 'cure' after August 15," she said.
Amazingly, Theis said, "I do not regret having breast cancer." It was, she said, the way she got to meet "all these wonderful ladies."
For more information about the Glow Girls, call Theis at (330) 726-8263.
murphy@vindy.com