Free home cleaning services for cancer patients
Cancer patients deal with enough stress while fighting their disease, so an East Tennessee cleaning company is offering help in a unique way.
Knoxville's Two Maids & A Mop has partnered with Cleaning For A Reason, a national non-profit foundation that has helped more than 2,000 women with cancer since it was established in 2006. Cleaning For A Reason partners with maid services throughout the United States and Canada to give the gift of free house cleanings to women undergoing treatment for any type of cancer.
Barbara Sears of Knoxville is an eight-year breast cancer survivor. She didn't take advantage of the free home cleaning service, but was thrilled when she heard about it.
"I think it's a wonderful thing for the cleaning company to do that because if you have no one to help you it makes a big difference," Sears said.
After being diagnosed with breast cancer, Sears immediately began chemotherapy and radiation.
"It was a rough road. It just zaps all of your energy," she said. "You have other symptoms that are going on with it, but for about a week you're just worn out, like you've been fighting."
Sears said during her treatment it was a major challenge to do simple things, like place plates in overhead cabinets.
"You want to do things and you see things that need to be done, but you have no energy," said Sears.
"[Cleaning For A Reason] is a way to help them so they can focus on their health and they don't have to worry about how their house looks," said Kathy Cohoon, assistant manager for Two Maids & A Mop.
Cancer patients receive two free hours of home cleaning.
Cohoon said the crews wiping away some of the stress for cancer patients truly understand just how important those services are to the women.
"My grandmother is getting over breast cancer. She's a breast cancer survivor. That was a long journey for her and I know she really could have used a service like this at her time," said Cohoon.
To find out more about Cleaning For A Reason and to sign-up for the free cleaning service, visit http://www.cleaningforareason.org/.