May 26, 2000

According to a Japanese belief, the crane is a lucky bird because it is said to live for a thousand years. In keeping with this belief, Japanese people adopted the tradition of making 1,000 paper cranes as a wish for peace and good health.

In that spirit, college students from Showa Boston — a local campus of Showa Women's University in Japan — made more than 1,000 paper cranes for the MGH Cancer Survivors Conference May 13. Each attendee of the conference received one of the colorful cranes, and the 1,000 paper cranes currently are on display in the Cancer Resource Room.

The conference for cancer patients, survivors, their families and friends featured two panels, both moderated by Christopher Lydon, host of WBUR-FM radio's "The Connection." One panel discussed the journey of cancer survivors – including lessons learned, sources of strength and challenges. The other panel focused on the roles, needs, and issues of the families of cancer patients. The annual conference was sponsored by the MGH Network for Patients and Families, a peer support program of the MGH Cancer Center.