Just a little more than 11 years ago, my life was turned upside down when my doctor informed me that the lump in my neck was non-Hodgkins lymphoma (cancer). Over the next six months I experienced the sensation of chemotherapy that resulted in being sick and losing my hair. Then, to make sure that my cancer was gone, I faced six weeks of radiation treatment that left me physically drained and exhausted. But the most difficult part of my “cancer” experience was the emotional and financial drain of those months.

At the time, I was the pastor of the Central Kauai Christian Church. After my diagnosis, I was informed that the chemo and radiation treatment I needed was not available on Kauai and I would have to travel to Oahu. My clinical treatment was covered by the Veterans Administration, but travel and accommodations would be at my personal expense.

The American Cancer Society was able to provide me with some air travel assistance and an occasional discount at a hotel. But weekly chemo treatments and radiation treatments Monday through Friday for six weeks would require staying on Oahu for an extended period. The expense for transportation was difficult to fit into our budget, but the added expense of housing was beyond our means to handle alone. Fortunately, the church community found housing with very kind hospitable strangers who opened their home to me.

The greatest hardship was that my wife could not be with me through those weeks of treatment. I faced one of the most difficult times and experiences of my life without my greatest cheerleader and emotional supporter being there with me. And she was left alone at home on Kauai to worry. And it was magnified each week when I would come home sick and drained from the treatment.

When it was all over I wanted to do something to make the “cancer experience” better for others. I did not want others to have to make that trip alone or to be drained financially. I was determined to see a place where patients and their families could find a home-like nurturing environment, where they could find the hope they need, and encouragement from others as they struggle to survive the cancer experience.

But we are not wealthy, nor were we connected to the people or resources necessary to “fix” the situation we faced. So, I used the one talent that God has blessed me with: I opened my mouth and told someone. And I wrote the words in a commentary to The Honolulu Advertiser (“Help make cancer patient’s dream come true,” Dec. 7, 2006) describing the experience and asking for the community to step up and do something. I had discovered that facilities called Hope Lodges exist to support cancer patients and their families as they are going through treatment. So, I presented a challenge for the community of Hawaii to find a way to build a Hope Lodge on Oahu.

Dreams don’t always come true. This one did. The American Cancer Society established a goal, donors have responded, and 10 years later the Clarence T.C. Ching Hope Lodge in downtown Honolulu will celebrate its grand opening on Nov. 19. My wife and I will be there to see our dream become a reality.

Gene Redden is former pastor of Central Kauai Christian Church in Lihue and also served the Central Oahu Christian Church in Wahiawa. Now retired and cancer-free, he resides in Fairbanks, Alaska.