Tree of Hope Honors Those Affected By Cancer

 Launched in December 2021, the Buoy Up to Cancer campaign seeks to bring light and hope to our region's cancer community and to support the Downeast Cancer Patient Navigation Program.

On June 4, 2022, community members gathered at the Machias Public Landing for a Buoy Up to Cancer Tree of Hope dedication ceremony. Community members and program partners shared personal stories, tears were shed, and there was laughter, too. Together, attendees honored and remembered community members affected by cancer and lost to cancer, through buoys dedicated in their names decorating the Tree of Hope.

In the fishing community, buoys serve as identification. Each lobster-person paints their buoys in their own unique colors so they know which submerged traps are theirs. Similarly in this campaign, each buoy decorating the Tree of Hope has been painted in the color(s) corresponding to the type of cancer affecting the person to whom it is dedicated. The hand painted tribute buoys remind us that, together, we can Buoy Up to Cancer.

You can still participate in this beautiful campaign. Community members are invited and encouraged to dedicate buoys in honor and memory of loved ones affected by cancer, and in honor of healthcare heroes. Buoy sponsorship, and donations in any amount, are welcome and meaningfully help prevent cancer and improve access to treatment and care.

To dedicate a buoy, click HERE. To be a sponsor, click HERE. 

Thanks so much to those who have already participated, through dedications, by attending the Tree of Hope ceremony, and by sponsoring financially. Thanks also to Tree of Hope materials sponsor, Hammond Lumber, Machias.