Family, Friends Unite To Honor Loved Ones and The Caregivers Who Support Them
On Tuesday evening, October 13, from 5 to 8 p.m., families, friends, patients, caregivers, survivors, and community members gathered at Providence Saint John’s Health Center for a deeply moving evening of remembrance, hope, and solidarity.
The occasion was Lights of Hope, an annual tribute organized by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). Across the country, more than 80,000 Lights of Hope illuminate communities, each one representing a personal story touched by cancer—stories of courage, love, loss, survival, treatment, and unwavering support. At Providence Saint John’s, those stories came together in the Rose Gardens.
A Garden Filled With Stories
As families and friends arrived, children gathered around the crafts table, carefully writing and coloring small, prayerful messages on white paper bags. Each bag was different. Some were decorated with drawings and colors; others carried simple words of love, remembrance, or hope.
One by one, the bags were placed throughout the Rose Gardens, each containing a small artificial candle. As evening approached, the lights began to glow.
People walked quietly among them, pausing to read the messages and taking in the beauty of hundreds of individual lights shining together. There was a sense of reverence in the garden—a recognition that behind every light was a person, a family, and a story.
Some came to remember loved ones who had passed away. Some came to celebrate surviving cancer. Some came to support a friend or family member currently in treatment. And many came simply to stand in solidarity with everyone whose life has been changed by cancer. Together, they created something greater than a gathering. They created a space where grief, hope, love, and resilience could exist side by side.
Lights of Hope reminds us that we don’t walk this journey alone—community gives us strength, connection, and hope.
– Dr. Shanti Gowrinathan
A Place to Remember, A Place to Heal
Providence Saint John’s Health Center continues to be a place of healing not only for patients, but also for the caregivers and families who walk alongside them. Cancer can ask people to be strong for long periods of time. Patients endure treatments, uncertainty, difficult decisions, and physical challenges. Caregivers often carry their own fears while trying to provide strength for someone they love. Families learn to navigate emotions that can be difficult to name. Events like Lights of Hope offer a rare opportunity to pause. They give us permission to remember.
They allow us to grieve the losses we sometimes suppress and to celebrate the lives and moments that sustain us. They remind us that no one has to carry the weight of a cancer journey alone.
In the quiet glow of the Rose Gardens, the message felt simple:
Here, you may soften.
Here, you may surrender.
Here, you are safe.
That is part of what compassionate cancer care means at Providence Saint John’s. Our commitment is to support each patient throughout the entire cancer journey, guided by our mission:
Know me, Care for Me, Ease My Way
Every Light Represents a Life
Lights of Hope is also a reminder that compassion must be accompanied by action.
Behind every light is a story—and behind every story is a continued need for better treatments, earlier detection, improved outcomes, and ultimately a cure. Federal investment in cancer research has played a critical role in advancing our understanding of the disease. Over the past three decades, federally funded research has contributed to discoveries and innovations that have helped drive a 34% decline in cancer mortality rates.
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network continues to advocate for sustained and increased investment in cancer research, as well as affordable access to quality cancer care. There is a reason research matters so deeply to patients and families. Many of the major advances in the fight against cancer have roots in research supported through the federal government, including the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute.
Every breakthrough begins with a question. Every new treatment begins with research. And every advance offers another reason for hope.
Watch Highlights from Saint John’s Light’s of Hope!
Shining a Light for the Future
The Lights of Hope gathering at Providence Saint John’s was both intimate and part of something much larger.
Across the nation, thousands of communities were illuminated by individual lights representing lives touched by cancer. At Saint John’s, those lights brought the Santa Monica community together in a shared commitment to remembering those we have lost, supporting those still fighting, celebrating survivors, and honoring the caregivers who make such a profound difference.
The lights also represented a call to action: to continue supporting cancer research, to advocate for affordable and accessible care, and to ensure that future generations have more effective ways to prevent, detect, treat, and overcome cancer. For one evening, the Rose Gardens became a sea of small lights. But each light carried something much bigger than its flame.
A name. A memory. A prayer. A family. A story. A hope. And together, they reminded us that even in the presence of loss, there can be light.
At Providence Saint John’s, we are honored to walk beside our patients, families, survivors, and caregivers through every chapter of the cancer journey. Nights like this remind us why that work matters—and why hope, compassion, research, and community must continue to shine. For every life touched by cancer, there is a story worth remembering. And for every story, there is hope worth carrying forward.
Learn more about Cancer Support Services.