A 26-YEAR-OLD cancer survivor has created Christmas hampers for the second year in a row to support young patients who are often “forgotten” in the festive period.
JEP reporter Antonia Rubio was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at the age of 24, and underwent treatment throughout Christmas.
After being cancer-free for nearly two years, she was inspired to help young Islanders going through treatment to “feel moments of joy, support, and hope”, as she remembers the kindness of others during her cancer journey, and felt she wanted to “give back”.
Ms Rubio, who is an advisory group member for Teenage Cancer Trust, donated gift hampers to nine patients this year all aged between 17 and 25. The hampers included gifts tailored to the individual such as luxury items, overnight stays, dinner vouchers, and self-care products.
Many of the items were donated by businesses, individuals, and even a local influencer. The fundraiser raised more than £1,600, to which Ms Rubio said she was “overwhelmed by the generosity” and that this “exceeded her expectations”.
Ms Rubio said: “I hope that the initiative highlights the importance of giving to others during this time, because it is quite a hard time of year.
“Families on a cancer journeys miss out on so much – just to be able to give them an overnight stay where they can just have fun really means a lot.”
“It’s not just about giving a gift; there’s a deeper meaning, and that’s the reason I do it.”
She added that working on this project has been “healing” and that “to be able to learn from what happened to me and to be able to give that to people who are on their own journey now; it makes me feel better, because I just want to make that journey that a little bit better than mine”.
One of the recipients of a hamper, Katie, said: “I can’t stress enough how happy I felt knowing someone out there was thinking of me in this caring way; battling cancer is an isolating experience and Toniie made it all the more bearable with her kind words and deeds.
“I can imagine how meaningful this initiative is to other individuals who have been affected by cancer.”
Ms Rubio said that Phoenix Construction had supported the initiative again this year, alongside Jennifer Seymour, and many other “kind donations”, to which she expressed her immense gratitude.
“I think that sometimes these hampers mean more to parents because they they see their child’s face like light up,” Ms Rubio said. “I asked the parents to send me a list of stuff of what they thought their child might want, or asked [the recipients] directly.
“I hope that, in some ways, these gifts alleviate some financial pressure from the parents.”
Ms Rubio intends to continue this initiative for years to come, adding: “It shows that there are so many amazing people, seeing everyone be so up for getting involved again – it’s something that they obviously think is very valuable for the community.”
