Roy Riley, Men in Pink Participant pictured with Jennifer Riley, Breast Cancer Survivor
MURRAY, KY – The Foundation at Murray-Calloway County Hospital recently received a donation from Roy and Jennifer Riley of Murray, KY to support fundraising efforts for the Enduring Hope Campaign and toward the meditation garden at the new Regional Cancer Center that is currently under construction and expected to be complete late spring 2023.
The Rileys have been generous supporters of helping in the fight against cancer through various efforts including: Roy’s current participation in the Men in Pink campaign, helping share their story in Jennifer’s fight against breast cancer, and most recently by donating funds toward a new meditation garden for patients undergoing treatment.
Jennifer says being able to donate to the program is incredibly special. Jennifer’s journey began when she was diagnosed in November of 2020 after a routine mammogram followed by an ultrasound. She then had to undergo a biopsy and results showed it was Stage 3 breast cancer. Jennifer did not have the gene for breast cancer and she had zero family history. However, she was 1 in 8 women diagnosed with breast cancer. Jennifer began her journey with a lumpectomy and then had an additional surgery because there was cancer still showing in the margins. She underwent chemotherapy known as the “red devil” and then 12 weeks of another chemo called Taxol. Due to an autoimmune disease, Jennifer experienced complications and became hospitalized on three different occasions. In addition, she completed radiation treatments and continues today with hormone treatment due to having a hormone positive cancer.
One of the difficult things she experienced during her journey was having to attend her treatments and appointments alone due to the pandemic and Covid restrictions. Jennifer was thankful for the cancer center which allowed her to do treatments close to home. The comfort of seeing familiar faces and people she knew gave her some peace during such a scary time.
Living on the lake and being surrounded by nature and water helped create a peaceful and therapeutic environment for her. When she heard about the meditation garden, she knew that was a perfect fit to help provide some comfort for patients undergoing treatment. Infusions can last anywhere from an hour to multiple hours, so having a view of a beautiful garden creates feelings of peace, calm and well-being.