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Eclipse watch party at Huntsman Cancer Institute

Posted at 5:58 PM, Aug 21, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-21 19:58:19-04

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - For the past four years, Amee Cannon has had a motto when it comes to fighting her breast cancer:

"Don`t make it harder than it needs to be.  Keep it fun."

Keeping it fun was easy to do Monday.

"I`m glad I could do this between IVs in the morning and surgery in the afternoon," Cannon said.

With eyes to the sky and smiles that mirror the partial eclipse, hundreds of patients, doctors, nurses, and staff watched the celestial phenomenon from the patio of the Huntsman Cancer Institute.

For Adele McGinn, it's been an especially good day.  After six years of fighting bone cancer, she found out Monday that she's in remission.

Her doctor was tickled to deliver the news on this special day.  "He said it was an omen," McGinn said.  "That it couldn`t get any better."

Like a solar eclipse, it's rare to see so many smiles when treating cancer, but this kind of positivity is an important part of treatment according to Huntsman Cancer Institute CEO, Mary Beckerle.

"Having hope really makes a difference for cancer patients and patients in general," Beckerle said.

A glimmer of hope in the form of a crescent sun here in Utah and a reminder of the majestic nature of our universe, no matter who you are or what you're suffering from.

For the patients who couldn`t make it outside, nurses provided them with a pair of glasses and a view from the 4th floor open windows so that everyone got a chance to experience the eclipse.