To the Editor:

Since my husband Frank’s Feb. 19 column, Thinking About Things, “Making something positive out of cancer,” drew attention to In His Presence, I felt I should respond. The first weekly meeting occurred in Guilderland on Sept. 24, 2015 and, while it was designed for ladies with a personal cancer diagnosis of any type, the component of growing in a Christian faith was integral to the calling I received.

COVID was downright awful when it first impacted our lives in 2020, but it opened the door to allow women to participate in meetings virtually when unable to in person. Meetings were expanded in the fall of 2024 to additionally include a monthly meeting at the Hope Club (American Cancer Society) in Latham for ladies impacted by cancer, be it as a caretaker or losing a loved one.

Cancer causes a calendar to fill up with numerous appointments, sometimes more than one in a day and side effects can remain long after treatment may be over. For some, it never is and members know, from experience, how uplifting cards and prayers can be.

In His Presence, referred to by members as IHP, has sent out over 1,400 cards to date and, because of a member’s suggestion, we include how many years of survivorship we each have experienced. This gives hope to those who may not realize this may be a strong possibility for them, too. It still surprises me that I can write “13-year survivor” after my name as I sign cards.

While writing this, I fondly think of Bryce Butler, a dear friend and former writer and editor at The Enterprise who kept readers of this newspaper abreast of his cancer treatment years ago through his column titled “Dead Man Writing.”

It shed light to us, the ignorant readers, though through no fault of our own, what that entailed, even including a picture of the scan of his brain metastasis. It was a privilege to have him sing bass in a choir I directed and not six feet from where I sit is a wooden plaque presented to me by him when I left employment at that church.

I said goodbye to Bryce at the Hospice Inn of St. Peter’s and sang, with others, at his funeral. Because of our mutual faith, I do expect to see him again one day and in eternity; gratefully, cancer will not exist and my card-writing days will be over!

Numerous resources for those with cancer have come to my attention and I welcome opportunities to share with others. Moreover, I encourage those with a diagnosis to investigate this link: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/dont-waste-your-cancer. It is from a publication I shared with IHP years ago.

Charlotte Palmeri

Guilderland