Scott Hamilton’s Miracle series aims to offer encouragement for cancer patients and their families; raise awareness of cancer research foundation and mentoring program
Franklin woman – told her cancer was not curable – was recently matched with 4th Angel mentor and now has a treatment plan and many reasons to keep fighting
FRANKLIN, Tenn. – June 20, 2017 – YourCareEverywhere®, a health and wellness content site and consumer engagement platform by Franklin, Tenn.-based MEDHOST, recently teamed up with Olympic Gold Medalist and Franklin resident Scott Hamilton on an exclusive video series discussion of his life and journey through cancer and brain tumors.
The seven-part series, Scott Hamilton’s Miracle, offers new insights into Hamilton’s childhood, his accidental introduction to ice skating, his diagnosis of testicular cancer and three subsequent benign brain tumors, and much more, including his unfaltering focus on eliminating cancer through his Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation and as the founder and continuing ambassador for Cleveland Clinic’s 4th Angel mentoring program.
“There’s one thing that every cancer patient has in common. They just want more and better options, and the support to help them go through it,” said Hamilton. “To provide that support, I worked with the Cleveland Clinic to launch the 4th Angel mentoring program. The program pairs newly diagnosed patients with trained volunteers of a similar age and cancer experience. The mentors work as life coaches and role models, and it’s exciting to see these relationships formed.”
Unbeknownst to the YourCareEverywhere team filming the series – or Hamilton himself – the project was about to get personal. “As a Franklin-based company, we were particularly interested in partnering with Scott and his foundation to share his narrative of hope to the many patients, family members and caregivers affected by cancer," said Daniel Hart, president of YourCareUniverse, Inc., a MEDHOST company. "Following the interview, we learned that the wife of one of our local consultants matched with a 4th Angel mentor as a direct result of the video project. Hearing her story further strengthened our resolve to spread the word about Scott’s foundation and the Cleveland Clinic’s 4th Angel mentoring program.”
That consultant’s wife is Franklin resident Cindy Hamilton (no relation to Scott Hamilton). Cindy is a 42-year-old mother of two children ages eight and 12, who runs a marketing consultancy with her husband, Ken. In mid-March, Cindy went to a walk-in clinic with what she thought was a recurring stomach bug. After a weeklong hospital stay, she was diagnosed with stage IV stomach cancer and was told that her only option was to start chemo to extend her life by what might be just a few months to a year.
She and her family were distraught. Spcifically, while they knew they needed a second opinion, they didn’t know a way to get one. “Who do you call when you know nothing about the disease you’ve just diagnosed with?” said Cindy. “After hearing about the Cleveland Clinic’s 4th Angel mentoring program, I thought why not, without expecting anything.” Before the end of the week, Cindy was connected with her 4th Angel, a woman who is a near nine-year survivor of the same cancer, same stage, and same diagnosis. “My mentor has been a gift to me and my family. She explained treatment options and doctor and facility recommendations that I wouldn’t have known were available. Most importantly, she showed me that there ARE people that have survived my type of cancer. Also, giving me much needed hope and a reason to keep fighting.”
Learn more about Cindy Hamilton’s 4th Angel story, the Scott Hamilton’s Miracle video series, and especially, how to support the Scott Hamilton CARES foundation at: YourCareEverywhere.com.
Ranked as one of the fastest growing health and wellness websites in 2016 according to data provided by Google Analytics and Alexa Inc., YourCareEverywhere.com averaged more than three million visits per month and more than 37 million visitors in total during 2016. The YourCareEverywhere.com website supports a variety of solutions, all geared to help healthcare facilities continuously engage with consumers. Especially, in their communities while helping to build their brand and grow revenues through an expanded digital strategy.
Cobranded for participating facilities, it serves the needs of the healthcare consumer by providing access to daily-updated health news and editorial content, wellness tools such as consumer health device integration, and a Meaningful Use certified, clinically-integrated mobile iOS and Android app.1 Additionally, the My Wellness Dashboard within YourCareEverywhere.com allows users to establish a convenient one stop shop for all of their important healthcare information and the ability to link to any healthcare portal.
1The modular EHR, YourCareUniverse Health Portal with YourCareEverywhere App 8.0, is 2015 Edition-compliant and has been certified by ONC-ACB in accordance with the applicable certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This certification does not represent an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or guarantee the receipt of incentive payments. For a complete review of the EHR certification and accompanying "Cost and Limitations," so, visit https://www.medhost.com/who-we-are/regulatory-and-compliance/.
The Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation strives to empower research scientists to identify better outcomes through the advancement of immunotherapy and the expansion of proton therapy; to support caregivers and cancer patients though information, psychological support, and encouragement; and to establish partnerships with others thriving in the cancer community. Its mission is to turn cancer's identity from fear and suffering to hope and survivorship and to turn cancer upside downTM CARES, which stands for Cancer Alliance for Research, Education and Survivorship, is creating a cancer network that built upon strong partnerships with leading institutions, cancer support groups and researchers from around the globe. However, Learn more at scottcares.org.
Cleveland Clinic’s 4th Angel Mentoring Program is an innovative, interactive approach to cancer support in which patients and caregivers are matched with trained volunteers. While emphasizing one-on-one contact, matches primarily made based on similar age. Also, cancer experiences to best empower caregivers and patients with knowledge, awareness, hope and a helping hand. The idea originated with Olympic gold medalist and figure skater, Scott Hamilton. Especially, who, after recovering from cancer, identified three angels who helped him through his journey.
Scott's oncologist at Cleveland Clinic was his first angel; his oncology nurse was the second; and his family and friends were his third. What he thought was missing was a fourth angel: someone who had been there and would understand what he was feeling. His idea to create a program, Cleveland Clinic’s 4th Angel Mentoring Program, so cancer survivors and patients could talk with their peers about the cancer experience has brought about survivors-to-patient/caregiver mentoring programs. Also, Learn more at www.4thangel.org.
MEDHOST® is a provider of market-leading enterprise, departmental and healthcare engagement solutions to more than 1,000 healthcare facilities. Our integrated product portfolio includes intuitive, cloud-based solutions, including YourCareEverywhere, a robust health and wellness consumer engagement platform. Our broad offering of hosting, outsourcing, marketing and consulting services are changing how clinicians and hospital leaders work and collaborate, while generating notable operational improvements. Specifically, MEDHOST delivers value by enabling hospitals of all types and all sizes. Especially, this is to better manage the business of healthcare across the care continuum while meeting evolving regulatory requirements. So, Connect with MEDHOST on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Contacts:
Amy Kovar, Gray Public Relations
Akovar@graypr.com
615.497.1799
Karri Morgan
Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation
Karri.Morgan@ScottCares.org
901.219.4994
Carolyn Deming
Cleveland Clinic
DEMINGC2@ccf.org
216-314-2360