A National City man doesn’t have the cure for cancer in the bag. However, what’s in his bags will certainly help.
“These items will hopefully help them when they have their common side effects from the radiation or chemo treatment,” said Brian Tieber, holding one of the bags his organization provides cancer patients.
Tieber gathers funds for his bags through his Hope and Victory Cancer Care organization. Each bag contains simple items that aim to make the tedious chemo or radiation treatments better. Among the items are lotions for when skin dries during chemo and a box of Lemonheads, which helps with the taste that’s left in a patient’s mouth.
They are all items Tieber wishes he had as he battled cancer himself. He was diagnosed with stage 4 head and neck cancer in 2012. He survived.
“Ten years ago a diagnosis like that would have been a death sentence,” said Tieber.
He said he’s delivered roughly 200 bags to cancer patients in hospitals like Sharp Chula Vista.
“We’re all neighbors,” he said. “We’re all people. It’s just being able to do something good for someone else.”
Tieber pays for the items in the bags through donations made to his website.
