The image shown is the cover of Our Why: Stories from the American Cancer Society’s Patient Support Team and contains a blue background with white text.
Each poem and origin story in this collection was created for team members of the American Cancer Society’s Patient Support Pillar as part of the “My Why” professional development program – a space to reflect on purpose, resilience, and connection to the ACS mission.
Through one-on-one sessions over Zoom, Listener Poets from The Good Listening Project asked each participant a simple, powerful question: “What would you like your poem to be about?” Then, they listened.
These conversations opened windows into personal stories, motivations, and the unique “why” that inspires each person’s work. This anthology brings together those poems and stories as a testament to the purpose-driven spirit of the ACS community.
Inside these pages are expressions of courage, connection, love, and humanity. We invite every person who opens this book to join Patient Support team members in their reflection – because we all have a story worth sharing.
“I’ve experienced a lot of big losses,” she said, referencing the passing of a grandfather and two uncles who did not survive their cancer diagnoses. “There were others too.”