Still reeling from the shock and horror of being diagnosed with cancer last fall, Susan DoyleB次元官网网址檚 eyes fill with tears at the memory.
But when she looks over at Grant Tschanz, she dabs at her eyes with a tissue and a small smile reappears.
B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檝e done so much for me,B次元官网网址� she says of volunteer drivers with the Canadian Cancer Society who regularly pick her up at her Sidney home and bring her to chemotherapy treatments at the B.C. Cancer AgencyB次元官网网址檚 Vancouver Island Centre B次元官网网址� the only place on the Island to offer chemotherapy.
Without volunteers to take her to the centre near Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, Doyle doesnB次元官网网址檛 know how she would get to her three-hour appointments.
Rather than having to figure that out as well as making her way home afterward feeling sick, she picks up the phone and calls the Canadian Cancer Society and the worry fades. A volunteer dispatcher on the other end of the line will match her and a driver.
B次元官网网址淒evastation,B次元官网网址� says Tschanz of what patients would face if the program didnB次元官网网址檛 exist.
He may be a driver but he feels a certain affinity with those he gives a ride to each week. After all, he has cancer too.
And while able to drive, Tschanz understands the emotional, mental and physical toll of cancer.
The Gordon Head resident says his experience in the program has benefited him as much as the patients. He also shuttles out-of-town patients staying at the Canadian Cancer Society Lodge to their treatments at the Vancouver Island Centre.
B次元官网网址淚nstead of me trying to lift their spirits, theyB次元官网网址檙e raising mine,B次元官网网址� he smiles.
The driver program has been operating across the Island for the past 18 years, but with more people than ever in need of cancer treatments, the demand for more drivers is pressing, says Valerie Lykkemark, volunteer driver co-ordinator.
B次元官网网址淲e could easily take 20 and put them into action right away,B次元官网网址� she notes.
To volunteer, please call the Canadian Cancer Society at 250-414-4253. To book a driver, please call 250-414-4250.
emccracken@vicnews.com
