Former lymphoma patient Amy Eini works to improve the lives of cancer patients and their families

It started with a cough. As a busy working mother of three, Amy Eini wasn’t too concerned. But the cough wouldn’t quit and finally, Amy went to have it checked. She wasn’t expecting the diagnosis she received. At 37, Amy had lymphoma, cancer of the lymphatic system. A bulky tumor had almost completely taken over her left lung, with nodules in the right lung and in the chest cavity.

That diagnosis turned Amy’s life upside down. To that moment, she’d been a nondrinking, nonsmoking, otherwise perfectly healthy woman. Overnight, she’d taken on another identity: that of cancer patient.

Amy’s battle with cancer involved a series of grueling treatments that stretched over many months. Treatments that exhausted and nauseated her, and made even the simplest activity or household task seem overwhelming. When aggressive chemotherapy failed to help, Amy underwent a bone marrow transplant. And that’s when it happened: stuck in her hospital room, coping with the tedium and isolation of the transplant, Amy had an idea.

“I distracted myself by thinking of creative ways to give back to the department that was working so hard to save my life,” said Amy. "Giving back," for Amy, meant helping patients who were undergoing difficult treatments, as she had. Amy had found her niche.

While recuperating, Amy conceived the Empathy Fund, which would improve the quality of lives of patients and their families during the treatment.  With the help of Ella Muller, Director of Nursing, Oncology and Hematology Division, and the backing by the Friends of Rambam, the fund opened in 2005. “Throughout”, says Amy, “Ella has been my loyal connection to the fund and my activities, helping to raise awareness within the system.”

Amy kicked off the fund’s activities with the gift of a mobile magazine unit to the outpatient clinic of Rambam’s Hematology Unit. “It takes only a small pebble to make a ripple effect,” says Amy, who delighted as patients enjoyed the library, and made their own magazine contributions.

The magazine library has since added DVDs, which patients in isolation watch on mobile computers. The metal chairs in the family room were replaced with cozy sofas, a television stand, coffee tables, and soft lighting. A washing machine and dryer was brought in families accompanying their loved ones in the Bone Marrow Transplant Department.

As part of the fund’s activities, Amy has introduced the Empathy Retreat, a two-day program for patients and their spouses. Retreat activities range from yoga classes and massages to jeep trips, as well as photography workshops and support groups.  All are designed to grant the patient maximum benefit.

“You can only fathom how important this is by talking to the participants,” says Amy. “All agreed how much they needed this retreat, and how much it revived their energies to deal with illness.”

“This absolutely must continue for other cancer patients at Rambam, but it depends upon consistent and generous donations to the Empathy Fund,” says Amy. To that end, she has organized crafts and flea markets, used book sales, and even a concert.

With all this on her plate, Amy found the time to write a book, Breathing Deep, which recounts her journey from illness to wellness. The book records the experiences of Amy and her family as they confront a terrifying reality, and deal with the practicalities of daily life. Breathing Deep is now being translated into Hebrew, the cost of which is being covered by Roche Pharmaceuticals. Ten percent of book sales go to the Empathy Fund.

Asked about her seemingly endless energy, Amy brushes if off. “It’s simple,” she says. “My desire to give back to the department seems to feed off itself and grow, giving a huge sense of meaning and satisfaction to my life.”

For more information about Amy and how to purchase her book, visit her website at: http://amyeini.com. Donations can be made directly to Friends of Rambam Medical Center, Empathy Fund, P O Box 9616, Haifa 310996, Israel.