The Phoebe Foundation will kick off the holiday season with its annual Lights of Love tree lighting ceremony, a beloved fundraiser for cancer patients and families in southwest Georgia. Jodi Peacock, a cancer survivor from Albany, has been named the honorary tree lighter for the December 5 ceremony to be held outside the Phoebe Cancer Center in Albany.
 
While on a family beach vacation in June 2018, Jodi received a call with results from a biopsy confirming she had breast cancer. When she arrived back home, she immediately began the fight. Jodi’s treatment plan wasn’t easy. She had chemotherapy and a bilateral mastectomy, followed by radiation and hormone therapy. The treatment took more than a year, and the chemo was especially difficult. “I was sick after each round. I would have a treatment one day and then be home almost two weeks,” added Jodi.
 
Throughout her journey, Jodi had concerns, but each step ended up bringing her comfort. In the beginning, she was worried how her daughters would be affected. “I thought I would miss out on a lot with them. They were so strong for me. What I thought was going to be the hardest part, turned out to be a blessing,” says Jodi. There were times during treatment when she was scared, but her team of doctors developed a game plan that helped put her mind at ease, and those difficult treatments became part of a comfortable routine. “By the end, I was crying because I would not see those people every day. They were such a joy. We’ve just bonded with everybody at the hospital. I feel like we’re all family,” Jodi said.
 
Jodi is grateful she didn’t have to leave home and her support system for her cancer care. “I’ve heard of people traveling to Atlanta for treatment. There’s just no way,” she said. “Why go anywhere when you have the kind of care you can get at Phoebe?”
 
The other honorary tree lighters are Valencia Currington, of Sylvester, at Phoebe Worth and Linda Harris, of Americus, at Phoebe Sumter. They will join family, friends, and the public during special ceremonies on each respective campus.