People.com 9/13/12: Cancer Survivor and Mom Helps Struggling Neighbors.    Pam Washek knows what it's like to need a little help. 

In 2002, she was sidelined by the chemo and radiation she needed after being diagnosed with sarcoma (a type of soft tissue cancer). But the Wayland, Mass., married mom of three soon discovered "angels were fluttering into my house” to handle chores. 



Without hesitation, family friends and neighbors had jumped in, raising their hands to cook, clean and shuttle kids to soccer practice.   "I was touched by how the community embraced us," says Washek, 47. 



To pay their kindness forward, Washek teamed up with her friend Jean Seiden (who later died of cancer in 2006) to found what became the Neighbor Brigade, a volunteer network that started as a 40-person email chain.