April 10, 2008

Volunteers needed for

American Cancer Society programs

The American Cancer Society considers its volunteers to be the lifeblood of its many Quality of Life programs.

“The fact that we have thousands of volunteers here in Washington means that we can offer more services to our cancer patients and the public,” says Sue Jordahl, Volunteer Services Manager for the American Cancer Society.

Presently Jordahl is conducting a drive to secure additional volunteers to staff two of the Society’s programs in the Ritzville area.

“What it comes down to is that the programs have been more successful than we could ever imagine, which means we are in need of additional volunteers to staff them,” she says.

Volunteers are presently being sought for the Society’s Road to Recovery and Reach to Recovery programs.

Road to Recovery couples cancer patients with volunteers willing to drive them to and from their treatments. Jordahl explains that while both radiation and chemotherapy have saved or extended countless lives since their inception, they both come with debilitating side effects, most notably fatigue and nausea.

“You can imagine how difficult it would be to drive yourself five, ten or even 50 miles back home when your treatment has left you feeling exhausted,” says Jordahl. “That’s what many cancer patients in the Ritzville area are presently facing who don’t have access to a Road to Recovery volunteer.”

Reach to Recovery is a program where volunteer breast cancer survivors provide one-on-one support and information to help women cope with their diagnosis of breast cancer. The specially trained breast cancer survivors meet with the women in person or over the phone and talk about their concerns, fears and the many questions they will face as they travel through their cancer experience.

Presently, the Ritzville Reach to Recovery program is in need of volunteers to help counsel the patients. They must be breast cancer survivors and out of treatment for at least one year.

“Since the volunteers are breast cancer survivors themselves, they have already walked a mile in the shoes of the women they are counseling,” says Jordahl.

To volunteer for any of the American Cancer Society programs, contact Sue Jordahl at (509) 242-8294 or email at sue.jordahl@cancer.org.