Lexington group, Shannon’s Angels provides Christmas to women battling ovarian cancer

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - For someone dealing with cancer, the holidays can be an added stress on top of what they are already going through.

A group of Lexington women started an organization to try and ease that burden in honor of a friend who lost her battle to ovarian cancer.

That group of friends has now become known as Shannon’s Angels and, over the last seven years, they have been a link to hope to women in their own fight with ovarian cancer.

If you ask anyone who knew Shannon Lisk, one of the first things they would tell you is how much she loved the holidays, the other would be how much she loved life.

“She said you know I’m just really good at living life, if I could sum it up because she was so good at it and she was just like I’m going to miss that,” said Dawn Hughes.”

In 2008, Lisk, a Lexington wife and mother, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and right up until her final Christmas in 2012 she was always thinking of others, very aware that many women undergoing treatment were struggling to figure out how to make Christmas happen for their own families.

Before she passed, Shannon wanted to help those women, so she enlisted friends like Dawn Hughes.

“We bought presents, wrapped and delivered and she was just nonstop. I would be exhausted, and she would just keep going,” said Hughes.

After Shannon passed her friends found a way to keep her memory alive during the holidays with Shannon’s Angels. Her closest friends get together every year to shop, wrap and provide Christmas for women battling cancer.

Shannon’s Angels partners with social workers at Markey Cancer Center to identify women in need and now years later it’s about more than presents, money is a big gift.

“You know some people are behind in their mortgage, or in several cases they have been able to pay off their car and kind of just get through the next several months that are going to be difficult,” said Hughes.

In seven years, Shannon’s Angels has raised nearly $100,000 through fundraisers and the sale of these angel ornaments to help fulfill Christmas wishes.

In the season of giving, Shannon Lisk continues to change lives thanks to her friends who know they have an angel on their side for every woman they help.

“I would say there is hope out there and there are people that care and that is definitely what Shannon would want,” said Hughes.

Ovarian cancer can be a silent killer in women, with symptoms often overlooked. Some of the most common symptoms include bloating, eating complications, pain, and urinary symptoms.

If you would like to learn more about Shannon’s Angels look for them on Facebook and Instagram and if you would like to donate click here.

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