Cancer Society program helps patients make appointments

Sometimes, the trickiest part of receiving medical treatment is simply figuring out the practicalities of it all.

That's why, for cancer patients who lack rides to treatment sessions or doctor's appointments, the American Cancer Society's Road to Recovery program can be a godsend.

Through the program, cancer patients who need rides to doctor's offices or treatment sessions are matched up with volunteer drivers who donate their time, cars and gasoline.

The program is particularly ideal for people who have just moved here and don't have a network of friends or family, or who feel too sick from treatments to drive themselves, says Erika Brassington-Stocks, quality of life manager for the American Cancer Society's Great West Division, which includes Southern Nevada.

The local program has about 19 volunteer drivers on call, Brassington-Stocks says. In a typical week, those drivers make about 20 trips with cancer patients.

The society always is looking for additional volunteers, Brassington-Stocks says. More drivers -- especially more drivers in Summerlin, Henderson and the northwest and other edges of the valley -- would help to spread the work load among volunteers and cover parts of town that currently lack drivers.

Prospective drivers are given background checks and have about two hours' worth of training, Brassington-Stocks says. The only requirements are a good driving record, a few hours a week to spare, and a willingness to help out.

Because most cancer patients receive treatments during the week, retirees who have flexible schedules are particularly welcome. But, Brassington-Stocks says, anybody who can volunteer for even a few hours a week would do much to help out.

While volunteer drivers aren't paid, they do experience "the good feeling of helping someone," Brassington-Stocks says, "because they are literally taking their patients for life-saving treatments."

For more information, call the American Cancer Society at (800) 227-2345 or visit the organization's Web site (www.cancer.org).

Contact reporter John Przybys at jprzybys@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0280.