Meet Our 2026 Day of Hope Ambassador: Cathy Cachu

Before she became a cancer patient herself, Cathy Cachu spent years supporting Arroyo Grande Community Hospital as a Foundation Board member. This year, she steps into a new role: 2026 Day of Hope Ambassador.

An Unexpected Diagnosis

Cathy's diagnosis began with a routine annual exam that turned up an abnormality. A biopsy followed, and a few weeks later came the result: stage 3 uterine cancer.

"It was somewhat surreal," Cathy recalls. "How is this going to affect my life going forward? My first reaction was reaching out to my family."

When it came time to choose where to receive treatment, the decision was easy. From her years on the Foundation Board, Cathy already knew the staff and the standard of care at Mission Hope Cancer Center in Arroyo Grande. "Knowing the quality of staff here at Arroyo Grande Hospital, and the connection I already had with the Hospital Foundation, it really was a no-brainer."

Care Close to Home

For Cathy, the fact that care was available locally mattered enormously. Treatment days were long, but having family close by helped her get through it.

"It gave me hope knowing that I could get through this with the care that was provided locally here," she said. "Family was able to be close by. The quality of care that I received was top-notch."

Cathy says every staff member made a difference, from registration to Dr. Kennedy's prep work to the nursing team during chemotherapy. The nurse navigator program left an especially deep impression.

"Being able to have that contact and to get me through those difficult times when I had questions, whether I was at home, whether I was here obtaining treatment, it really made a difference in helping me really understand and cope with what I was going through."

Join Us for Day of Hope 2026

Now, Cathy hopes others will support the same local care that helped her and her family through treatment. Join us for Day of Hope on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, as volunteer teams line streets throughout the Five Cities, selling special-edition Santa Maria Times newspapers. Every dollar raised stays local, supporting patients at Mission Hope Cancer Center.

"With all the donations that are collected, none of it goes to overhead or other administrative expenses," she explained. "All of it goes toward the local patients, the services, and the programs to help those in need."

 

Past Day of Hope Ambassadors

Anna Sosnowski - 2025 Ambassador

Nurse and Day of Hope 2025 Ambassador Anna Sosnowski discovered a lump while breastfeeding her four-month-old and was diagnosed with stage 2 invasive ductal carcinoma that had spread to her lymph nodes. She endured chemotherapy, an anaphylactic shock during her second infusion, a double mastectomy, and radiation—bolstered by her family’s unwavering support, including her mother, a fellow breast cancer survivor.

Not every patient has such help, which is why Mission Hope Cancer Center is vital. It offers services like transportation, mental health care, and recovery programs, often at little or no cost. As Anna says, “You don’t plan financially for a cancer diagnosis. Mission Hope takes so much off people’s plates during the hardest time of their lives.”


Meghan Wells - 2024 Ambassador

Day of Hope Ambassador Meghan Wells was a 27-year-old ER nurse at Marian Regional Medical Center when she was diagnosed with breast cancer on April Fools’ Day 2020. Shortly after, she began treatment at Mission Hope Cancer Center in Arroyo Grande, where she was so inspired by the care she received that she became an infusion nurse herself—first in Santa Maria, then permanently in Arroyo Grande.

In 2024, nearly four years after her diagnosis, Meghan and her husband welcomed their daughter, Lana—affectionately called “Mission Hope’s baby” by the staff who guided Meghan through treatment. Originally advised to wait five years before trying to get pregnant, she was cleared to start after three, and she quickly conceived. Now, as Meghan supports others on their treatment journeys, her own story serves as a reminder that hope and healing are possible, and that life can continue after cancer.