Following a breast cancer diagnosis at the age of 39, Jeanine Patten-Coble went on a trip to the beach when she stumbled upon a compound of abandoned homes. “I just literally was physically struck with, ‘Create a place like this for cancer patients to come’,” says Jeanine. That’s how her North Carolina-based nonprofit Little Houses of Hope was founded back in 2010. Little Houses of Hopes provides free retreats to the families of individuals who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. “We realized that when an individual is diagnosed, their whole family is affected, and so our programs are designed to really care for the entire family. And we do that through these week-long retreats,” says Jeanine, the founder and president of Little Pink Houses of Hope. Applicants who are undergoing treatment for breast cancer can apply on the nonprofit’s website. The organization receives thousands of applications. Priority is given to breast cancer patients who are currently in treatment. The nonprofit works to match families who have some similarities like patients with similar cancers or children of the same ages so that everyone has a peer. “Our goal is to have that cancer experience, that can be very isolating, to have people no longer feel like they’re alone in that journey,” she says.
Little Pink Houses of Hope supplies families with all of the meals, services and activities. The first retreats were held in 2011 and served five families. Today, 23 retreats will be held at a total of 25 locations (starting in 2025) throughout the country. One retreat is located in Sedona. In Sedona specifically, the families have gone to Slide Rock State Park, visited the Grand Canyon and taken Jeep tours. People living in Northern Arizona can apply to be a part of Little Pink Houses of Hope. “We really do look for small towns with great character,” she says. Each retreat typically serves about 12 to 15 families. Families each stay in their very own house. In the past 14 years, the organization has served 1,800 families. Homes are either donated for use by private owners or by property management companies. Travel assistance funding is provided by the nonprofit. The organization ultimately helps to foster connection and help others with cancer find a sense of community following a life-changing diagnosis. “The cancer bomb has gone off in their house, and it’s really difficult to even imagine planning a vacation with everything else that’s going on. So they come on this retreat and just feel this overwhelming sense of love and acceptance,” she says. “I can speak to this myself because I’m a cancer patient, but we hear it all the time as a cancer patient, you can have amazing family and super supportive and friends that are great, but it’s different than having somebody else who’s on the same journey and who really gets it.”
Sarah Johnson & Family
“During that week, we create great opportunities for people to connect,” says Jeanine. “Over and over again, we hear people say, ‘We came as strangers, and we’ve leaving as family.’ Our families typically stay in contact long after their retreats.” By banding together, the hope is that families can find some comfort in one another. “It makes you feel like you’re part of this community that really gets it and understands it. That connectedness is really missing,” she says. “And so to really have them feel like somebody’s loving on them and caring for them. It just makes all the difference in the world.” How is Little Pink Houses of Hope different from other organizations also serving cancer patients? The nonprofit’s approach focuses on the entire family. “We’re really proud of the fact that because we serve the entire family, we’re offering great support for caregivers and their children because they are in this battle. They’re in this fight together with their with a patient, and it’s so critical that they’re cared for,” she says. In her role, she has seen plenty of touching moments. When asked to share one with us, here’s what she said: “There was a woman named Sherrie who I was helping her learn how to paddle board, and she was very nervous. And, I said to her, ‘It’s OK, you don’t have to get up.’ And she looked at me and said, ‘No, I need to get up.’ And she goes, ‘I really want to do this.’ And as she stood up her two boys were standing on the shore screaming at her going, ‘Mom, you’re a rock star. You’re awesome.’ And she looked at me, and she said, ‘That’s exactly why I need to get up. Because that’s the memory I want my kids to have when I’m gone.’ She died a couple of months later. So I think about those kids, I think about that memory they have in their mind seeing her as a strong, wonderful woman. It’s going to stay with them.”
Jeanine Patten-Coble
She founded Little Pink Houses of Hope following her own cancer diagnosis. She has a running joke with her husband that she would have qualified for the first retreat she hosted. “We know the difference that it would have made for our family to be able to have an opportunity to hit the pause button and not worry about doctor’s appointments or treatments and just get a chance to just breathe,” she says. “I think that’s what our organization does: It just gives an opportunity for people to breathe.” – Teresa K. Traverse
