Symbol of hope
Group dedicates pathway in Manito Park to people lost to or facing cancer
As the nonprofit Cancer Patient Care celebrates its 50th year of helping people in the Spokane region, the city of Spokane has dedicated a newly laid walkway at Manito Park as a “Walk of Hope” for people touched by cancer.
The idea has been to create a peaceful place where people can go to remember their loved ones or find the strength they need to confront the challenge of battling cancer.
“There is hope for anyone who has cancer,” said Gerald Leyba, executive chef at Holiday Inn Spokane Airport, a member of the Patient Advocacy Board of Cancer Patient Care and a cancer survivor. “It’s not a death sentence any more.”
The Walk of Hope was dedicated during a ceremony Saturday with clients and families watching. A large group of them had gathered earlier in the day for a celebration picnic.
The walkway runs along Grand Boulevard beneath two rows of trees on the east side of the park near the duck pond.
Ginny Barrett, a gardener at Manito, had asked about the possibility of a memorial for cancer patients at Manito, and the idea evolved into the Walk of Hope.
The walkway is a tribute to the people who have been lost to cancer as well as current patients, survivors, family members and community supporters, said Cliff Evans, executive director of Cancer Patient Care.
“It’s a very simple, beautiful idea,” he said of the walk. Cancer patients, he said, need to know “they are not alone in their battle.”
The city Parks Department spent $27,000 for the new sidewalk. The Friends of Manito donated $17,000, the city spent $10,000 in park funds and Providence Cancer Center gave $1,000, said Nancy Goodspeed, Parks Department spokeswoman.
A commemorative plaque identifying the walkway is going to be installed later as a gift from the board of directors of Cancer Patient Care, she said.
Cancer Patient Care, which serves between 200 and 300 clients a month, was organized in 1958 as the Spokane County Cancer Association through the work of Lorin and Janet Markham and others. The name was changed in 1986 to Cancer Patient Care of Spokane County. Throughout the years, the support organization has sought to improve the chances of survival for cancer patients.
The agency at 1507 E. Sprague Ave. has a corps of social workers and offers home health care supplies and equipment and other services primarily to low- and moderate-income patients. The agency has wigs, clothing and prostheses available to all cancer patients.
A United Way agency, Cancer Patient Care relies on various sources of funding, including grants as well as private donations and fundraising.