| American
Cancer Society Opens New Cancer Resource Center at Syringa Hospital &
Clinics
Syringa Hospital & Clinics, in collaboration with the American Cancer Society, announce the opening of a Cancer Resource Center in Grangeville. The resource center will be located inside Syringa's Women's Health Center, at the corner of North B and 2nd Street. The Cancer Resource Center will officially open on Monday, December 1, 2008. Hours for the Cancer Resource Center will be determined following volunteer training and be based on the availability of local volunteers. According to Cynthia Rozyla, Quality of Life Manager for the American Cancer Society, the Resource Center is open to all area cancer patients, their families and caregivers, the area's medical community, and the public. Cancer Resource Centers are designed to increase the Society's outreach to cancer patients and the general public. Its trained volunteers supply information regarding cancer diagnoses, treatment options - including chemotherapy and radiation, early detection and risk reduction, community programs and services for cancer patients and their families, ongoing cancer research, and dates and times for local American Cancer Society events and programs. To meet the expected requests and visits to the Center, Rozyla is seeking volunteers to staff the facility. A training class for all volunteers is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 19th from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. and Thursday, Nov. 20th, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at Syringa Hospital. "I believe the two most important qualities every volunteer should have, are the ability to listen to the needs and concerns of those visiting the Center, and compassion - with compassion being the most important," stated Rozyla. "Many of the individuals walking through the door will be just a few days - or hours - from learning of their cancer. They'll not only be looking for information about their surgical or treatment options, but also someone who can identify with what they are going through," she added. That is why a special invitation to volunteer is being made to all men and women in the area who have themselves been diagnosed with cancer, and have gone through the surgery and subsequent treatments. "Their firsthand knowledge of the cancer experience would be tremendously helpful to the patients as they go through one of the most traumatic times in their lives," Rozyla commented. Rozyla is also seeking volunteers to staff several of the Society's patient service programs, including: Reach to Recovery, Look Good ... Feel Better, and Road to Recovery. The Reach to Recovery Program couples volunteer breast cancer survivors with women newly diagnosed with the disease. The volunteers meet with the women, either in person or over the phone, giving the patients an opportunity to ask questions and express their fears and concerns in a private and secure setting. The Society's Look Good ... Feel Better Classes are taught by volunteer cosmetologists who instruct women undergoing cancer treatments on how to treat their nails and skin, along with the techniques to style their wigs, scarves and turbans to fit any social or business occasion. The American Cancer Society Road to Recovery Program pairs cancer patients needing to travel to and from their treatments with volunteers willing to drive them. Please contact Cindy Higgins, LSW, at 1-208-983-1700 ext. 250, or 1-800-772-5137 ext. 250 for more information regarding volunteer training or to RSVP for the American Cancer Society/Syringa Hospital Cancer Resource Center training. Additional information can also be found on the Syringa Hospital's website, www.syringahospital.org. For more information or to volunteer for other Society programs, contact Cynthia Rozyla at 1-800-537-7710 or email her at cynthia.rozyla@cancer.org. |
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