A Labor of Love: Celebrating 2026 Support Group Facilitator Award Recipient Sandi Walraven
November 2, 2026
For nearly a decade, Sandi Walraven has brought people affected by lung cancer together to share experiences, find support, and build lasting friendships. What began as the first cancer support group at Northeast Georgia Health System has grown into a close-knit community that Sandi lovingly describes as her “labor of love.”
In recognition of her extraordinary dedication, GO2 for Lung Cancer is proud to honor Sandi with the 2026 Lung Cancer Support Group Facilitator Award.
Established in 2009, the Lung Cancer Support Group Facilitator Award recognizes individuals who go above and beyond to create welcoming, supportive spaces for people affected by lung cancer. The award celebrates the often-unseen work of building and sustaining a support group, and the facilitators who help people find connection, encouragement, and a sense of belonging.
Sandi embodies everything this award was created to recognize.
A career dedicated to caring for others
For more than 30 years, Sandi has provided compassionate, patient-centered oncology care. Her career has taken her through many aspects of cancer care, including radiation, infusion, nurse navigation, and hospice.
Along the way, she helped establish her health system's navigation program, which has guided hundreds of newly diagnosed patients through the challenges of understanding their diagnosis, making treatment decisions, and finding the support and resources they need.
In 2016, Sandi saw a chance to offer something more. With the help of a grant and facilitator training from GO2 for Lung Cancer, she established the Lung Cancer Support Group at Northeast Georgia Health System, the first cancer support group of any kind within the health system.
What began as a place for people living with lung cancer to connect has become something much more.
More than a support group
A few years after establishing the group, Sandi's responsibilities at work changed. The group's regular meeting time now fell on her day off, and her colleagues assumed she would pass the responsibility to someone else. But Sandi had other ideas.
She told them they'd have to arm wrestle her for it.
She kept the group, and nearly a decade after starting it, she continues to lead its meeting on her own time.
Under Sandi's care, the group has become a family. Members gather each month to share a meal, talk about their experiences, and enjoy one another's company. Sandi even provides gas cards to help ensure that transportation costs don't prevent people from attending.
She also finds ways to keep meetings engaging, inviting professional speakers, incorporating chair yoga, and organizing activities like board games. But the most important part of the group isn't any particular activity. It's the relationships that have grown over time.
Remarkably, 4 members have been part of the group since its very beginning. Together, members have navigated illness, loss, and difficult moments. They've also celebrated birthdays, clear scans, new babies, and countless other milestones.
Through it all, Sandi has helped create a space where people can show up exactly as they are, knowing they'll find others who understand what they're going through.
The lasting impact of connection
Living with lung cancer can be isolating. Even with the support of family, friends, and a dedicated healthcare team, it can be difficult to find people who truly understand the experience.
Support groups help bridge that gap. They offer opportunities to share concerns, exchange information, celebrate good news, and build relationships with others navigating similar challenges.
But a successful support group doesn't happen on its own. It takes someone willing to bring people together, make them feel welcome, and keep showing up, month after month and year after year.
For Sandi, that commitment has never wavered. Her group is a testament to the difference one dedicated person can make by providing information and resources, while also helping people build a community they can count on.
GO2 for Lung Cancer is grateful to the many facilitators across our Lung Cancer Support Group Network who devote their time, energy, and compassion to supporting others. Their work makes a meaningful difference in the lives of people affected by lung cancer every day.
This year, we are especially proud to recognize Sandi Walraven for 10 years of extraordinary dedication, kindness, and commitment to the lung cancer community.
Congratulations, Sandi, and thank you for turning your labor of love into a source of connection and support for so many.
Explore GO2's Lung Cancer Support Group Network to find opportunities for connection and support.