A Voyage of Faith, Love, and Community: Lisa’s Story
Lisa with her English Labrador, Oliver
For longtime paddler Lisa Schell, cancer has never felt like a “journey.” She calls it a voyage.
Some days that means patience and finding a new way of looking at things. Other days it’s about comfort, connection, and letting her community carry her.
Lisa remembers the early days of diagnosis as the hardest part of her voyage. “That time period when you get the diagnosis that there’s cancer, but you still don’t know what kind and what stage and what can be done about it. That’s the worst time.”
A piece of advice she received from a healthcare worker stayed with her: in those first days, nothing is ever going to move fast enough. The waiting for scans, appointments, and answers can feel unbearable. Lisa now shares that wisdom with others, reminding them to find the patience and inner calm to let things unfold. It doesn’t all have to happen this moment. It’s going to be okay.
Lisa was diagnosed with bile duct cancer about a year and a half ago. It is a rare cancer, one without clinical trials or promising new treatments. For Lisa, it has always been about delaying progression for as long as possible and choosing what makes the most sense for her quality of life. Through it all, she has stayed grounded in her own perspective, often reminding people that no two cancers are alike. “We just hear this one word, capital C. And we don’t realize that the kind of cancer I have is different from the kind of cancer that a friend of mine has... she went through a completely different course of treatment than I did.”
Friends and family often wanted to help by sharing suggestions or advice from their own experiences. Sometimes those ideas didn’t apply to Lisa’s situation, but she chose to see the care behind them. “When people make those comments and you get irritated about it, realize they’re just trying to help.” For her, it was another reminder that people show love in different ways, and that kindness matters most.
After scheduling the many doctor’s appointments that take time to fall into place, Lisa’s very first stop was Pacific Cancer Foundation. Sitting down with Andrea, our PCF Patient Navigator, she felt an immediate sense of relief. “I knew instantly I was gonna be taken care of.”
“I knew instantly I was going to be taken care of.”
As Lisa navigated her cancer voyage, faith became one of her greatest anchors. Through her connections at PCF, she also found herself opening to new ways of thinking — especially when it came to defining hope. “There’s a gentle way of helping you find those alternatives… helping you see things that may be outside your own line of thinking.” For Lisa, that guidance went hand in hand with her spirituality. Prayer and faith became her steady ground, offering comfort and a way to carry hope forward, even on the hardest days.
At home, her animals have been constant companions: Oliver, her English Labrador, and three rescued cats. “They are so attentive and so sweet and such a joy and really the main reason I want to be in my home and not anywhere else. Cause I’ve got to be, I’ve got to be by my animals. I like to call them God’s special angels.”
Andrea and the PCF team recognized how much that meant to Lisa. They listened to her needs and made sure she could stay safely at home with her pets by her side — providing an automated litter box when she was too sick to clean it herself, and helping replace her garage door so hospice equipment could be brought in.
Lisa’s connection with PCF has been about more than services — it has been about people who truly listen. PCF helped with tangible things like nutrition shakes from Kate Farms, acting as a liaison between doctors, and even helping with her home so she could stay there with her animals. But for Lisa, the impact went far deeper. “It’s not just the financial aspects of it. Just knowing that they’re there is very comforting as well.”
Andrea, her patient navigator, quickly became both a guide and a comfort, someone she could always call and know she’d be heard. And Sally, her nutritionist, offered encouragement and a way of looking at hope from new perspectives. Together, they reminded Lisa that she didn’t have to face her voyage alone.
Through their care, Lisa learned the importance of reaching out. “I think it’s really, really important... there are times when you gotta ask for help. And don’t be afraid to reach out to an organization like PCF because there’s so much they can provide for you, even if it’s just somebody to talk to.”
“I think it’s really, really important... there are times when you gotta ask for help. And don’t be afraid to reach out to an organization like PCF because there’s so much they can provide for you, even if it’s just somebody to talk to.”
Lisa still remembers meeting a man at Paddle for Life who showed up without a team, never having paddled before, and carrying the weight of multiple stage four cancer diagnoses. He got in the canoe and made the crossing to Lāna‘i anyway. Lisa was deeply inspired by his courage, but also surprised to learn he had never reached out to PCF because he didn’t like asking for help. She never forgot that conversation. For her, it was a reminder that leaning on your community is not weakness — it’s what carries you through.
Lisa’s ties to the paddling community run deep, but nothing prepared her for the love she felt at Paddle for Life. Even though she wasn’t able to paddle in a canoe, she traveled on a support boat to Lāna‘i and spent the weekend surrounded by her paddle ‘ohana.
“The energy and the love that you feel from the beginning of the event till the end is absolutely phenomenal. I had total strangers come up to me and say, ‘Oh, you’re Lisa Schell. I’m paddling for you today.’ People from the East Coast and Montana who I didn’t even know were paddling in my name. And it just blew me away.”
Over the years, Lisa had been involved in many charity events, often standing on the side of giving support. But Paddle for Life was different. “I’ve never had the perspective of being a recipient of that energy. And to kind of realize, wow, these people are paddling for me. This is amazing. And it’s very uplifting and supportive and powerful.”
For Lisa, that weekend was a reminder of how powerful community can be. Each person brought their own story and reasons for paddling, yet together their love and energy lifted her in a way she will never forget.
Lisa’s voyage has carried her through many phases — from the uncertainty of diagnosis to finding new definitions of hope, from the steady presence of her animals to the support of her paddling community. Through it all, PCF has been a source of comfort and care.
Her story is a reminder that every cancer voyage is different. Lisa has found hope in her own way — through faith, the companionship of her animals, and the love of her community. And while each path is unique, she shows us that no one has to paddle alone.
Lisa’s voyage is one of many made possible by the strength of our Maui County cancer ‘ohana. You can help ensure these services remain free for families by making a gift below.
Start of day two of Paddle for Life with Hōkūleʻa escorting the canoes out.
Lisa at the Paddle for Life campground on Lānaʻi