‘My responsibility is to give back’: A Northfield resident’s commitment to supporting fellow cancer survivors

When Laura Hendricks took her children to a routine pediatrician appointment, she did not know she’d be leaving with a medical diagnosis of her own.

Now, each June — National Cancer Survivors Month — carries a deep personal meaning for Hendricks, whose journey inspired her and her husband to found Luminaries, a nonprofit that supports the wellbeing of cancer survivors.

At the time of her children’s appointment, the pediatrician noticed Hendricks looked pale and vehemently encouraged her to get blood work done. Forty-eight hours later, Hendricks found herself in the ER and in the hospital received an unexpected but clear diagnosis: acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive cancer of the blood and bone marrow.

“I had a less than 10% chance of survival,” said Hendricks, a Northfield resident. “Our kids were 5, 4 and 2 1/2, so as you can imagine, it was extremely harrowing to receive that diagnosis.”

Hendricks began the difficult treatment regimen of chemotherapy, full body radiation and stem cell treatment.

“We went through the next 18 months, battling, fighting and getting myself to where I am today,” she said. “And that’s when I had much more of an emotional breakdown, mental breakdown, and I started struggling with a lot of things that many survivors struggle with: that overall rebuilding of your life, making different connections between mind and body, and really thinking about how you can find a community of survivors trying to do the same things as you.”

For Hendricks, survivorship begins at the moment of diagnosis, which is why she wants people to feel guided, lifted up and a sense of hope from diagnosis, onward — and it’s why she founded Luminaries.

The nonprofit aims to enable survivors to be proactive in their wellness and recovery journeys through science-backed practices.

Part of the impetus behind Luminaries, Hendricks said, was to build programs that could bring guided and science-backed solutions to anyone, regardless of factors like geographic location and healthcare access, and “create a community of survivors that could rebuild from the inside out, together.”

According to Hendricks, Luminaries’ wellness programs focus on several practices: sleep, rest, gratitude, hydration, fuel, focus and movement.

“The program is based in science-led and science-backed solutions that are delivered in the format of a survivor to a survivor,” Hendricks explained of the program structure. “For example, in our sleep and rest practice, we talk about why sleep and rest is important, why it is really important for a cancer survivor and [strategies] to try to improve your sleep and rest that maybe you haven’t tried like doing yoga nidra (guided meditation) in the middle of the day.”

Every practice ends with a letter from Hendricks, so that survivors can feel a sense of community and connection with one another.

When asked about a Luminaries initiative she wants to highlight for National Cancer Survivors Month, Hendricks pointed to the nonprofit’s digital program.

The organization partners with hospitals and provides analog kits they can use to run supportive groups for survivorship. The goal? Personalized survivorship, Hendricks explained.

With more than 18 million cancer survivors in the United States right now and a projected 22 million survivors by 2035, according to the American Cancer Society, Hendricks said the future of survivorship is personalized.

This concept includes the use of AI and technology to organize patients’ symptoms, records and appointments in one place and allow for more guidance and proactive healthcare as people navigate survivorship.

“That is what this month is all about: honoring those survivors that are living with cancer, are living through a cancer journey, and also honoring those who lost their battle with cancer,” Hendricks said. “But it’s also about raising awareness of where the gaps are in different types of care like survivorship, and working towards finding people who are passionate about wanting to normalize and create a more personalized healthcare system and survivorship, and kind of take the chaos out of survivorship.”

Now, Hendricks is celebrating seven years of survivorship and four years of Luminaries.

She plans to continue to grow Luminaries and encourages those in and out of the North Shore to reach out and continue growing this community with her.

“I feel my responsibility as a cancer survivor is to give back to the survivorship community and to live my best life with purpose … in this second chance that I’ve been given,” she said.

The Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan community newsroom that relies on reader support to fuel its independent local journalism.

Become a member of The Record to fund responsible news coverage for your community.

Already a member? You can make a tax-deductible donation at any time.