When you’re going through cancer treatments, cleaning the house is the last thing you want to do. Not only do you lack the energy, but the fumes from common household cleansers may make you nauseated, say nothing of the potential harm from some of the toxic ingredients. One study showed that women who used typical cleaning products were up to 110 more likely to develop breast cancer than those who rarely used them!
On the other hand, having a clean house while you’re going through treatments is critical. After all, your immune system is down and you’ve probably never been more at risk from germs.
Friends and family may be willing to help, but most likely they’ll want to clean their way, which may mean using products you’re not comfortable with. What’s the solution?
Well, you could ask them to use non-toxic cleansers and they might oblige, but if you live in New Jersey, you may have a better option-an organization called CanswerLink that provides free monthly non-toxic house cleaning to all cancer patients.
Doesn’t matter if you’re a man, woman, or child, or if you are going through chemotherapy, radiation, recovering from surgery, or coming home for hospice due to cancer, CanswerLink will come in and take care of the cleaning. “When a patient is diagnosed with cancer and the priorities shift,” says their website, “housecleaning can often be the last thing on the mind. We believe that a clean home has an emotional affect that lifts the patient’s spirits and renews the patient’s mental health, crucial steps in total mind and body recovery.”
Founded by Vici Prodromitis and Donna Sandvig-both of whom have had people close to them hit by cancer-CanswerLink currently operates in several counties in New Jersey, including Warren, Hunterdon, Somerset, Mercer, Union, Morris, Middlesex, Monmouth, Essex, Sussex, and Bergen. The vision is for the organization to continue to expand until its services are available in every state in the nation, and the invitation is out for other cleaning organizations and even individuals to start CanswerLink chapters in their hometowns.
I was so excited to hear about this organization. It’s such a great idea, and can be of such help to so many individuals and their families. What’s extra fantastic is that they believe in using non-toxic cleaning products, to avoid introducing any additional damaging chemicals into the home environments of people who are especially susceptible to them.
“CanswerLink believes that only non-toxic cleaning products should be used in everyone’s homes,” says their website. “By using only non-toxic products we can help to protect other family members from being exposed to toxins that may contribute to the development of certain cancers.”
If you believe like I do that an organization like this deserves your support, please take a moment right now to make a donation to their cause. If you want to go further and start a chapter in your area, you’ll find instructions at the same link. And if you know someone in the Jersey area that could use their help, don’t hesitate to contact them!
Have you had an experience with CanswerLink? Please share your story.
Photo courtesy CanswerLink.org.
