• Health COSTUME WAREHOUSE ELITE LINE OF INDOOR AND OUTDOOR DECORATIONS, FAVORS AND PARTY SUPPLIES Feeling Special LARGE SELECTION OF ADULT AND CHILD COSTUME FAVORITES Charachs' Just for You program offers support ACCESSORIZE WITH: WIGS, MASKS, MAKEUP AND MUCH MORE! for cancer survivors. HUGE SELECTION AT GREAT LOW PRICES! RONELLE GRIER Special to the Jewish News r i.:,.., Asoff .: L ANY PURCHASE OF $20 OR MORE! : r Must present coupon at time of I purchase. Some restrictions may apply. I Expires 10/31/04 PLU#4343 CELEBRATE ALL OF YOUR UPCOMING EVENTS WITH US a /4"41 CHANUKAH I NEW YEARS I BIRTHDAY I BRIDAL I BABY FARMINGTON HILLS 13 MILE AND ORCHARD LAKE 1-248-848-0203 LATHRUP VILLAGE 12 MILE AND SOUTHFIELD 1-248-423-9400 ROYAL OAK 13 MILE AND WOODWARD 1-248-280-2700 FOR MORE DETROIT LOCATIONS CALL: 1-800-477-4841 901240 MOVING SALE! (Just across the hall) DESIGN BOUTIQUE • • • • • • • • Designer Pants Sweaters Jeans Suits Jewelry Coats Select Gowns Zanella Suits Inside Orchard Mall Orchard Lake Rd. at Maple West Bloomfield 248.626.0886 10/22 2004 76 9016 9 0 or Amy Berris of White Lake Township, who was diag- nosed with breast cancer four years ago, sharing information and support with other cancer survivors is as important as any other aspect of her treatment. That's why Berris, along with more than 100 other women whose lives have been touched by cancer, attend- ed the second annual "Just for You," program, provided by the Natalie and Manny Charach Cancer Treatment Center of Huron Valley- Sinai Hospital on Oct. 1 at the Edgewood Country Club in Commerce Township. The event, which was free of charge, included speakers and exhibitors on nutrition, medication management, treatment and preven- tion, wigs and makeup, support sys- tems and other resources. "These functions are very impor- tant, whether you're newly diagnosed or a 10-year survivor," said Berris, 46, who volunteers as a peer mentor for the Detroit-based Karmanos Cancer Institute. "Nobody should have to feel alone when there's so much support out there." Just for You was developed by Natalie Charach, Judy Granader of Judy's WigWorks, and Chrisie Deming, events coordinator for the Charach Cancer Treatment Center. "We wanted to do something to make cancer patients feel good about themselves," said Mrs. Charach, "to give them a day where they could come and forget their tzuris for while." After losing their daughter, Janice Charach Epstein, to cancer in 1989, Natalie and Manny Charach of West Bloomfield wanted to help other families who were going through the same ordeal. They arrived at Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital in Commerce on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. Despite the horrifying backdrop of the terrorist attacks, the Charachs kept their appointment with Cheryl Purdie Youd, director of develop- ment, and made a commitment to fund the Natalie and Manny Charach Cancer Treatment Center, part of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute at Huron Valley- Sinai. "A lot of philanthropists give money from their hearts," said Youd. "Natalie and Manny not only gave us their money, they gave us their hearts. They wanted to make a dif- ference to other cancer patients and their families; they wanted to touch people's lives in a personal way." Helping Hands The importance of support programs like Just for You"was stressed by Michael Radner of Southfield, who spoke to the group on behalf of Gilda's Club, a non-profit cancer support community in Royal Oak for people whose lives have been touched by the disease. "People spend very little time actu- ally being treated for cancer and a great deal of time living with it," said Radner, brother of the late Gilda Radner, the Detroit-born comedi- enne who died of ovarian cancer in 1989. Making cancer patients feel special is a labor of love for Judy Grant Granader of Bloomfield Hills, who founded Judy's WigWorks after los- ing her own hair during chemothera- py for ovarian cancer. She provides wigs and other accessories to help women look and feel better while they are undergoing cancer treat- ment. "One of the most important things I do for patients is instill a positive and hopeful feeling," said Granader. "I tell them they must never give up hope. I stress the importance of a sense of humor and a positive atti- tude, and I share with them the ups and downs of my own experiences. I defied the odds, and I'm still here." Keynote speaker Elaine Greenberg, professional singer and ovarian can- cer survivor, found comfort in two statements made by her rabbis at Temple Israel, where she is a member and former cantorial soloist.