Spirit of giving moves volunteers, patients
We don’t often think about our cars as life-saving tools. We get in, start the ignition, and our vehicles take us where we need to go.
But when your destination is a cancer treatment appointment, that car ride takes on a whole new meaning. Lack of transportation to treatment appointments can be a major problem for cancer patients. Many need daily or weekly treatment, often over the course of several months, and they may be too tired or weak to drive themselves. Unfortunately, their families and friends may not be able to take the time away from work to drive them to appointments.
Susan, a breast cancer survivor, was recently diagnosed with colon cancer and was feeling a lot of fatigue.
“I was too tired to drive myself to my treatment appointments,” she said. “My son lives nearby, but he’s a teacher so he couldn’t take the time off from his job. My husband has MS and he is not able to drive me either.”
The answer for many people is the American Cancer Society’s Road to Recovery Program. Through the program, volunteer drivers donate both their time and the use of their personal vehicles to drive cancer patients. “Road to Recovery volunteers provide an essential service for cancer patients in their local community,” explained Elisa Madore, American Cancer Society community executive. “Even the greatest medical advances are useless if patients are not able to get to their treatments.”
Mary Ann, a Road to Recovery volunteer driver, said, “I got involved after my sister-in-law told me about the program. It has been a great experience for me — absolutely, overwhelmingly positive.”
Mary Ann found herself with a small amount of spare time each week and wanted to use that time to help others.
“I usually drive someone once a week,” she estimates. “I’ve had young people in their 20s, and I’ve had someone age 90 — all different people. The patients are so grateful, so appreciative; you would think that I was giving a lot more than just a ride and a few hours of my time.”
This holiday season, and all year long, if you have a car and a few hours to spare, you can brighten the life of a cancer patient as a Road to Recovery driver. The American Cancer Society is now recruiting volunteers throughout Maine to ensure that all cancer patients have transportation to and from their treatments. Whether you are available once a month or once a week, even for an hour, you can be a Road to Recovery volunteer. Interested volunteers are asked to attend one of the following training sessions:
• Monday, Dec. 5, at Houlton Regional Hospital, Center for Community Health Education, 9-10 a.m., in Houlton;
• Monday, Dec. 5, The Aroostook Medical Center, McCain Room A, 2-3 p.m., in Presque Isle; and
• Tuesday, Dec. 6, Northern Maine Medical Center, Board Room, 10-11 a.m., in Fort Kent.
For more information about the program or to register for a training session, contact Elisa Madore at 532-4807 or by e-mail to Elisa.Madore@cancer.org.
