YOU HAVE CANCER!!
I don’t think there are any other words that will frighten a person more than these three words will. Your brain freezes and you don’t really hear or understand anything that follows those words. Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, oncologist, surgeon, stages, prognosis – you are totally overwhelmed and literally in a state of shock. I have unfortunately heard these words three different times over the last 11 years.
Shortly after I was first diagnosed with stage 3b lung cancer in early 2012 a friend (and fellow geocacher) brought me to this very Cancer Survivor Park and we spent quite a bit of time here. I found everything here very helpful and encouraging. I left here feeling for the first time that I could actually survive the death sentence that I had been given. I have survived and continue to survive! I have been diagnosed with cancer twice since then – once in 2016 and again in 2022.
CANCER SURVIVORS PARK HISTORY
Richard and Annette Bloch are the founders of the Cancer Survivors Parks, located in many cities throughout the United States.
In 1978, Richard Bloch, CEO of H&R Block, was diagnosed with lung cancer, which he survived. In 1990, he again was diagnosed with cancer, this time colon cancer, which he also survived. From those experiences, he vowed to help others with cancer fight the disease.
In 1980, the R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation was formed. Richard and Annette Bloch, through the R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation, have created Cancer Survivors Parks as a message of hope and inspiration.
ABOUT THIS PARK
The Rancho Mirage Cancer Survivors’ Park is located on the southeast side of City Hall at Frank Sinatra Drive and Highway 111. This beautiful one-acre park features a pyramid kiosk, tiled benches, ponds, a hillside waterfall, and sculptures. The sculpture garden was designed as a celebration of life and to encourage current cancer patients to have the will to fight. It is a beautiful, touching garden, a real oasis of peace in the desert.
There are three factors present in this Park. First is a positive mental attitude walk with 14 bronze plaques, four inspirational and 10 instructional. Second is a sculpture of eight life-size bronze figures passing through a maze representing cancer treatment. The five before the maze show fear, hope and determination in their faces while the three after are laughing and happy, representing successful treatment. Third is a “Road to Recovery” consisting of seven plaques explaining what cancer is and basic actions to successfully overcome the disease.
I hope you enjoy your visit to this wonderful park.
This is a Virtual Geocache that requires you to visit the location and complete the logging tasks described below. Found logs will be deleted if photos are not posted with your logs. Additionally there are three questions that need to be answered. Either email me or send the answers to me via the geocaching message center.
- In the pyramid you will find 4 plaques. One of them is in appreciation of contractors and suppliers. How many contractors and suppliers donated labour or materials? Who are the first and last ones named on this plaque?
- You will find two road to recovery plaques with an identical word in the titles. What is that word and what are the numbers of those plaques?
- Who created the three colorful tiled benches? You will find the answer on the last tiled bench at the far end of the park.
- Post a picture of yourself holding a piece of paper with the date on it at the pond with the obelisk in view. If you do not want your face in the picture write your name as well on that piece of paper or use a personal item that will identify yourself.
- If you so desire you may describe your cancer experiences in your log. This is not a requirement but these logs might encourage others who are fighting this disease.
Many thanks to FullTimeRVers for all of their assistance with this cache!
Congratulations to t@bbywmn and treefoil for the FTF!!
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.