Our Mission
Chemo Companions’ mission is to provide support to individuals undergoing chemotherapy, helping them feel compassion and connection throughout their cancer journey.
Who We Are
Chemo Companions is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing love, compassion, understanding, and hope to individuals undergoing chemotherapy. Through caring visits to chemo lounges, thoughtfully curated Chemo Comfort Bags, financial assistance programs, and community-driven events, we strive to ease the emotional and physical burdens of cancer treatment. By fostering meaningful connections and providing tangible resources, we ensure that no one faces their cancer journey alone.
Our Vision
We envision a world where every cancer patient is embraced by a compassionate community, with access to the emotional, practical, and financial support they need to navigate their journey. Through our efforts, we strive to ensure that every individual facing cancer feels seen, heard, valued, and empowered with love, compassion, understanding, and hope.
Our Story
Chemo Companions comes from the heart of its founder, Alyssa Gofonia-Dinowitz, and was born from her own family’s experiences with cancer. Alyssa’s mother, Marriann Gofonia, passed away in September 2009 after beating breast cancer four times. During her many rounds of chemotherapy treatments, the Gofonia girls (there are five, each as spunky and spirited as their mother) would all but turn the chemo lounge into a party hall with laughter, jokes, hugs, and love – and something interesting would happen there. Smiles would suddenly fill this typically gloomy room with warmth, joy and light. Realizing that not everyone has this kind of resource, Alyssa created Chemo Companions.
Messenger of Hope and Jubilee
In the minutes shortly after my Mother passed away at Hospice on a Saturday in the early fall of 2009, after I kissed her for what seemed like a million times, I walked outside to make the “phone call”. You know the one I mean, the one you pray that you’ll never receive, and the one that you beg God that you’ll never have to make.
In one split second, I looked up into the sky searching for a sign that my Mom had made it safely and swiftly to Heaven. In that same moment, I thought to myself, “Alyssa, are you a total moron? What do you think you’re going to see? Her name written in the clouds, her face, the rustling of the wind singing…I’m home!?” Well, I looked anyway, intently, staring like a jerk into the sky…nothing.
Disappointed in myself and slightly at God, I sat down by a fountain and through an ocean of tears; I tried to make out the numbers on my cell phone. As I placed the phone to my ear, I raised my head and a tiny, beautiful hummingbird buzzed beautifully just inches from my face. She hung in mid air for a few seconds and then buzzed off into the heavens. “Thank you, Mama!”, I cried. She’s home, she’s at peace and she continues to bless me every day with her presence.