“It is especially in challenging times such as this that we most appreciate people like Randa Armoush and Hadi Darwish," said Dr. Hazem Assi, director for Specialty Clinics and Clinical Services for the Naef K. Basile Cancer Institute (NKBCI).
Assi explained that he met Armoush when she came to his clinic for oncology treatment. After finalizing a treatment plan, she went abroad for treatment where she became familiar with the “Hope Bell" – a bell that cancer patients ring after they have successfully completed treatment for cancer. When she returned to Beirut, Armoush discussed the idea with Assi, who had become familiar with the Hope Bell when he lived in Canada. As a doctor, he understood how important it was to cancer patients to receive encouragement during their recovery journey. Assi was grateful to Armoush for her efforts to follow up and establish a Hope Bell at NKBCI.
During a ceremony to inaugurate the Hope Bell on August 3, NKBCI Director Dr. Ali Taher spoke about how important it was that patients receive comprehensive patient support – medical, financial, emotional, and psychosocial. He spoke also about the support that Armoush and her husband, Hadi Darwish, had already provided for NKBCI. “They have been strong supporters of NKBCI and also the Cancer Support Fund that provides financial assistant for cancer patients who would not otherwise be able to afford treatment," he explained. “With the Hope Bell, they are tending to the emotional and psychological needs of patients and their families as well."
In her remarks, Armoush explained that the idea of the Hope Bell began with a cancer patient who was a rear admiral in the US Navy. It is a custom in the US Navy to ring a bell when a task has been completed, so when this admiral completed radiation therapy treatment, he rang a bell to mark the occasion. The idea caught on. Armoush said that even during the worst times of her treatment, the sound of other patients ringing the bell always lifted her spirits. It was this experience that led her to want to do something at NKBCI so that other cancer patients could also “share the joy."
Armoush rang the Hope Bell at the end of the ceremony, uncovering the dedication plaque for which she chose the quote: “He who is sick of pain, is blessed with hope."