"I don't know if it was God," said a reflective Noemi Sanabria last week. "It has to be God. I can't find any explanation. It might not sound logical but I can't find any explanation. Maybe this was His way of showing me how to focus my strength and resources." After working ardently for seven years with the American Cancer Society (ACS) in its battle for prevention and treatment of the disease, Noemi Sanabria found out she had cancer last March. Noemi and her husband Hugo had been using their Union City-based trucking company for seven years to deliver hundreds of cases of daffodils to area hospitals, schools, senior citizen homes, auto dealerships, businesses and corporations in an effort to raise money for cancer research and prevention. Cancer is a disease classified by uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells. The disease can arise from any type of cell in the body, but its cause is still unknown. Scientists point to several possible causes of cancer including hereditary, environmental and chemical factors. "I'd been helping the society not knowing later that I would be diagnosed with it [cancer]," said Noemi. "It was a wakeup call for us." Noemi was diagnosed with uterine, cervix and ovarian cancers on March 1 of last year, the same month that her husband and herself would once again deliver daffodils throughout Hudson, Essex and Union Counties. The daffodil is the first flower of spring and has come to be known as the flower of hope for cancer patients. Each March, hundreds of the trumpet-shaped yellow flower are transported from the West Coast in advance of their normal blooming schedule to the American Cancer Society. The ACS sells them in advance at a discount price to hospitals, senior citizen homes, and other places where there are cancer patients. The flowers are also distributed to schools, churches, auto car dealerships, and corporations where they are sold to individuals who wish to make donations to the ACS. Donations are also accepted for the anonymous delivery of Gifts of Hope, a bouquet of 10 daffodils in a blue frosted vase, to cancer patients in Hudson County. Noemi and her husband, who live in Howell, N.J., got involved with the ACS after Noemi attended a thank-you dinner sponsored by the ACS for her participation in a walk-against breast cancer years ago. She said she volunteered the trucks for use in any way possible and received a call back about using them for the deliveries of daffodils. Now, years later, Noemi is facing the same fight as those receiving the daffodils. "In the beginning it was tough," she said. "If you can imagine, when a doctor tells you you have cancer, it's hard to swallow." But her husband and herself found the support and compassion they needed at the ACS. "The next day, actually, I called the American Cancer Society and spoke to Sister Maggy (a volunteer at the ACS Hudson County office) and she told me to send my husband to the Hudson County chapter office to pick up some brochures. She said not knowing would make it scarier for me. It made the road ahead of me much easier because every step of the way. I knew what was coming and they gave me the knowledge and preparation. The ACS were with me all the way through. They were there with my husband when the doctor explained the prognosis. They were the guidance for my husband and they asked the doctor questions that my husband could not because he was numb. I don't know what we could have done without them." Noemi considers herself one of the lucky ones because she is now in remission after undergoing chemotherapy and other cancer treatments. She said her husband and herself are now dedicated more than ever to volunteering their services to the ACS. She believes that everything happens for a reason, and she has managed to find something positive through her experience. "I can't say I'm happy that it happened," she said, "but I'm at ease, content. It made a lot of things click in my life and now I know my priority. I've adopted a motto for my life. Before, a grain of sand used to be a mountain, now a mountain is a grain of sand." She said she now understands what cancer patients go through, and her understanding has strengthened her willingness to contribute towards the cause of cancer prevention and treatment. Noemi declined the opportunity to name her trucking business in Union City, saying she preferred to get the message out about the importance of cancer volunteering and donating to the ACS. "I wish that one person that reads this article would volunteer," Noemi said. "I don't want them to think that we are volunteering because I am a cancer survivor. That has nothing to do with it. Now it's it with more passion, with more urgency, but the focus was always the same." This year, almost 3,000 flowers have been delivered to various parts of Hudson County, said Jill Lichtig, director of the daffodils and golf tournament fundraisers at the Essex County office. She said several banks, shopping centers, industries, businesses and corporations are involved in the Daffodil Days program, including the Jersey City Incinerator Authority. Participating schools such as Memorial High School in West New York, Emerson High School in Union City, Lincoln High School in Jersey City and St. Peter's College in Jersey City have sold daffodils for $1 a piece, $6 for a vase with flowers or $8 for a pot. Since last year, the ACS has seen a 3 percent decrease in cancer mortality rates, the first decrease ever in the society's history. The society expects about 1,220,100 new cancer cases to be diagnosed this year, with about 40,000 new cases in New Jersey alone. Approximately 552,200 Americans are expected to die from cancer this year. The ACS was founded in 1913 to "disseminate knowledge concerning the symptoms, treatment, and prevention of cancer." The society has 57 divisions and more than 3,400 units around the country. Persons interested in volunteering or seeking information about cancer can contact the Hudson County chapter of the American Cancer Society at 866-1020.