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'The Bell' Fund

What is 'The Bell' Fund?

It started with a bell at the Royal Victoria Hospital. With every ring, a cancer patient signals their final chemotherapy or radiation treatment to the delight of staff, other patients and their loved ones.

What is the Comfort Kit?

More than 4,500 people diagnosed with cancer at the MUHC endure rounds of chemotherapy and other treatments. These visits to the hospital are difficult. Treatments are often long and exhausting. That’s where the Comfort Kit comes in.

Bell Fund Kit

Each Comfort Kit contains:

  • Soft Fleece Blanket: So patients can keep warm during treatment
  • Reusable Water Bottle: To take their medications and quench thirst
  • A Notepad and Pen: To take notes during doctors' visits
  • Soothing Mints: To soothe throats and remove metal taste that some patients have during treatment
  • A Magazine: To help pass the time
  • Adult colouring book

The Goal

To give every newly-diagnosed MUHC cancer patient a Comfort Kit. ‘The Bell’ Fund is raising funds to make this a reality.

‘The Bell’ Fund also provides a soft blanket for every newly diagnosed child on Sarah’s Floor at the Montreal Children’s Hospital for their Pediatric Comfort Kit initiative.

The Plan

The Bell’ Fund has launched on World Cancer Day, February 4, 2016 with a goal of raising $1 million.

About the Founder

On June 7, 2012, Judy Martin was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. For the next 455 days, she fought for her life—and won.

During her chemotherapy treatments, Judy realized something: no one celebrated the end of their chemotherapy treatments. This didn’t feel right to her.

Judy heard that Toronto’s Princess Margaret’s Hospital celebrated with a bell. She loved the idea and brought it to Montreal.

Judy bought a ship’s bell for $35 and had it engraved in English and French. It reads: “Lucky. Grateful. Hopeful.” She signed it with her patient number to remain anonymous. The bell was installed in the chemotherapy ward of the Royal Victoria Hospital.

Judy was the first patient to ring the bell on September 4, 2013. In April 2015, the bell was moved to its new home at the Cedars Cancer Centre at the MUHC’s Glen site. To this day, patients are keeping the tradition alive.

News & Media

Articles

To read Anne Sutherland's story about 'The Bell' Fund in the Montreal Gazette, click here!

To read Susan Schwartz's story about 'The Bell' Fund in the Montreal Gazette, click here!

To read the article from The Suburban, click here!

To read the article from Eastern Townships School Board, click here!

To read the article from the Tempo Newsletter on page 26, click here!

To read the article from the Westmount Magazine's Newsletter, click here!

To read the article from the newscaf, click here!

To read the article from The Globe and Mail, click here!