The Crystals of Hope store is dedicated to supporting awareness for cancer and other diseases. Nancy McKee, owner, artist, and crafter, is a cervical cancer survivor who considers herself to be one of the "lucky ones". She has combined her love for crafts with her desire to give back to causes that affect so many people.
Nancy lives in Central Virginia with Jay, her husband of 42 years, Jay is also a cancer survivor, having been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2011. Jay is Nancy's partner in Crystals of Hope and helps with all aspects of the business. Together they are survivors fighting the cause.
Read Nancy's Story "My Journey With Cancer" below . . .
Over one million people are diagnosed with cancer each year. This means one out of every two American men and one out of every three American women will have some type of cancer at some point during their lifetime. But, “It’ll never happen to me!” Isn’t that what everyone thinks?
That’s exactly what I thought until I had a routine hysterectomy in January of 2002 and I was surprisingly diagnosed with cervical cancer. Reality sometimes has a funny way of catching you off guard. So, as I accepted the fact that I was a cancer patient, I tried to learn as much as I could about the disease and what I would need to go from patient to survivor.
The first thing I learned about was the two types of cervical cancer: squamous cell carcinomas, accounting for approximately 80-90% of all cervical cancers; and, adenocarcinomas accounting for 10-20%. I had an adenocarcinoma. Next, I learned about staging, which is the process of determining how far the cancer has spread. I was diagnosed a Stage 1, which meant the cancer was not widespread and was in its early stages. This was extremely good news as it meant my chance of survivorship increased.
After CAT scans, MRIs, blood tests and consultations with doctors in Lynchburg (Virginia) and Charlottesville (Virginia), my course of treatment was defined. I would have daily external radiation treatments for six weeks, simultaneously with one weekly chemotherapy treatment. After these treatments ended, I would have one internal radiation treatment each week for three consecutive weeks.
My treatments began in early March of 2002 and they were everything I expected them to be. It seemed I had every side effect that had been explained to me except one . . . . I didn’t lose my hair. Through this I learned that you are never given more than you can handle, and you can endure anything as long as there is an end in sight. My sights were set on early May. My final treatment happened on the same day as the Campbell County (Virginia) Relay for Life where my daughter read the poem “Every Candle Has A Name” at the Luminaria Ceremony. What a fitting end to this part of my cancer journey.
As I began to feel better, I knew there had to be a reason that my cancer was caught early. I felt that somehow I had to give back for being so blessed and lucky. I kept asking, “What can I do to help?” and my doctor kept telling me that when I was well enough the answer would come to me. Those who know me will attest to the fact that patience is not my strong suit!!
In February of 2003 I started experimenting with the idea of making cancer awareness bracelets. I wanted an item that would be of excellent quality, yet still be affordable, and really mean something to the person wearing the bracelet. But most of all, I wanted something that would allow me to raise money to be donated for cancer awareness, education, research and survivorship. By doing this I would be able to honor all of those who raised money before me and help those who would come after me.
In April, I created a bracelet design I liked and Crystals of Hope was born. The mission of Crystals of Hope isn’t about making money, but about giving back, and 20% of sales are donated to various cancer awareness initiatives.
As with any new venture, there is nervousness . . . will people like the product? Will they really want to buy? Was this a stupid idea? Within a day of placing the first bracelets in the gift shops at Lynchburg General and Virginia Baptist Hospitals, I realized that people loved the idea and I was surprised at how many sold so quickly. But, what has amazed me most is the emotional interest in the bracelets. People don’t seem to buy them because they are jewelry, but because of what they represent. And, they don’t just buy one . . . they buy a bracelet for themselves and ones to give to special people who have been affected by cancer and other diseases. Those people buy bracelets to give to others, and so on, and so on, and so on. When I receive an order from a “far away” place I love to find out how they heard about Crystals of Hope . . . and the journeys can be amazing. As an example, a bracelet was purchased in Lynchburg, Virginia and sent to a friend in the Richmond Virginia area, that person was in Arkansas for treatments and shared the information with another patient from New Hampshire who purchased bracelets for friends in New England. My goal? To have bracelet in all fifty states.
Since the beginning of Crystals of Hope I have had the opportunity to meet really incredible people and I continue to be amazed at how many are affected by cancer. This is a disease that not only impacts the person diagnosed, but it has a tremendous effect on family and friends, who very often become caretakers. It has been such a joy to give back and to date I have been able to donate in excess of $60,000 cash and $75,000 of merchandise to support awareness initiatives.
In May 2017, I celebrated my fifteen year survivor mark. I consider myself to be very lucky because my cancer was caught early and was treatable – my chance of recurrence is only 5%, and I think that’s pretty awesome! So, I will be making bracelets for many years . . . at least until a cure is found.
