When a cancer patient finishes chemotherapy or radiation therapy, it has become a tradition to ring a bell to mark the end of one of their treatments. However, Penn Medicine believes cancer survivors should be celebrated every step of the way. That is why the Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine Cherry Hill (PMCH) set out to redefine the treatment bell.

The Bell of Hope

 

The new "Bell of Hope" at Penn Medicine Cherry Hill sits within a new mural completed by artist, Paula Breslin-Perry, in collaboration with the PMCH staff and Infusion Unit Council. Melanie Zisa, RN, BSN, OCN, Infusion Nurse Supervisor, led the effort to redefine the bell's meaning.

Melanie recognized that many of her patients require ongoing care, which often excluded them from the bell-ringing moment. She and her team saw this as an opportunity to re-imagine the infusion space and create meaningful and inclusive moments of treatment progression. Patients can now ring for a good scan, a good lab result, or even just a good day.

The newly painted mural includes a tree with colored ribbons tied in its branches, which represent the different cancer awareness colors. The "Bell of Hope" sits in the hollow of the tree and offers patients the opportunity to ring the bell for any milestone on their journey.

A More Inclusive Experience

Adding a mural also presented an opportunity to relocate the bell to the hallway adjacent to the infusion bays. The goal was to keep the bell within the infusion suite, but removed enough so any ceremony would not interfere with other patients' treatments. The new location now allows for family and/or friends to be present.

A few months ago, the Abramson Cancer Center at the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine reimagined their cancer treatment bell too. Patients at PCAM can ring the bell at any point of their treatment, but can also ring it to celebrate someone else, such as their nurse if they reach a personal milestone of their own. Expanding the reasons when the bell can be rung has contributed to the ways Penn Medicine continues to be inclusive.

Ringing in the New Bell

A special ribbon-cutting ceremony took place to reveal the new bell and its mural. At the ceremony, a five-year small cell lung cancer survivor, Liz Conception, was the first individual to ring the bell in the new space.

Hope Lives Here

The goal for the new space is that both patients and staff will find it an uplifting and pleasant addition to an otherwise stressful journey. The redefined treatment bell serves as a reminder that hope truly lives here at Penn Medicine.