Hope is an interesting word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It can sound passive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like something you simply wait for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’ve come to see it differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hope can be an action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A resource.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A donation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A story shared at exactly the moment someone else needs to hear it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That’s what Paying Hope Forward<\/strong> means to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Along this journey, people helped us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doctors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nurses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Caregivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Organizations such as ZERO Prostate Cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n People who were willing to share what they had learned so we didn’t have to navigate every mile alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eventually, you realize something:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Someone else is coming down this road behind you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They may be standing at the same Mile Marker where you once felt completely lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Newly diagnosed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trying to choose a treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recovering from surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beginning radiation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starting hormone therapy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Waiting for the next PSA result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trying to figure out how to support the person they love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And perhaps something you’ve learned can help them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s why we created resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s why we tell the uncomfortable parts of the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s why we talk about caregivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s why we support ZERO Prostate Cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s why we keep repeating:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ask one more question.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Paying Hope Forward isn’t about having all the answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We certainly don’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s about turning around occasionally and extending your hand to the person walking behind you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe you tell them what helped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe you listen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe you point them toward a trusted resource.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe you remind them they aren’t alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And someday, perhaps they’ll do the same thing for someone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s how hope moves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Person to person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Family to family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Story to story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One Mile Marker at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our journey is still being written.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are treatments ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are questions ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There will undoubtedly be unexpected turns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But there is also purpose ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And if sharing our story helps even one family ask one more question, find one useful resource, or feel a little less alone during one frightening night, then something meaningful has come from a road we never chose to travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s what it means to us to Pay Hope Forward<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Real life. Real journeys. Real hope.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n And so\u2026 the adventure continues.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Helping Others Find Their Way Hope is an interesting word. It can sound passive. Like something you simply wait for. I’ve come to see it differently. Hope can\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":172,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"0","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[26,29,24,28],"class_list":["post-175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mile-marker-journal","tag-ask-one-more-question","tag-cancer-journey","tag-our-story","tag-paying-hope-forward"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":176,"href":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175\/revisions\/176"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}