Daughter Carries on Mother’s Mission

(Honesdale, June 1, 2020)…Kaitlyn Callan, Carbondale, believes in “Michelle’s Mission,” a project started by her mother, a cancer patient, to help other patients like herself. “About six months before she passed in September of last year, my mother started collecting items for patients undergoing chemotherapy for the first time,” said Kaitlyn, “because she knew what that was like and she wanted to help, to let them know they weren’t alone.”  Kaitlyn has taken up her mother’s mission, and to date has delivered more than 320 first-time chemo bags, including 50 to Wayne Memorial Hospital.  The bags are filled with donated items such as lozenges, blankets, socks, puzzle books, a baseball cap for men, hand sanitizer, a bottle-holder koozie and, most importantly sunscreen. Michelle Callan lost her life to advanced melanoma, a type of skin cancer. “I was very proud of my mom,” said Kaitlyn, “she was a very caring person, even at the end. I want to make her proud, keep her memory alive.” How long will Kaitlyn continue the mission? “I promised her forever,” she said.  Photo: Kaitlyn Callan with first-time chemo bags at Wayne Memorial Hospital’s Chemotherapy/Infusion Clinic.