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local area spotlight Road to Recovery coordinator emphasizes the importance of the program  Cindy Day of Indianapolis, Indiana has been an avid volunteer with the American Cancer Society for more than six years. After her best friend was diagnosed with cancer, Cindy became involved with ACS programs like Making Strides Against Breast Cancer and Tell A Friend.
On the same day she was delivering Tell A Friend forms to the American Cancer Society, Cindy found a lump in her breast. She is now a two-time breast cancer survivor who was told she had only 18 months to live. "I am on month 36 and counting," Cindy said cheerfully. Cindy made the decision not to go back to work after her second cancer diagnosis. That was when she decided to give more of her time to ACS programs. "I wanted to give back and do some volunteering. It provided the flexibility that I needed because I’m still going through some treatments now, not chemotherapy, but other drugs. It was [also] a way for me to keep active."When Cindy found out about the Society’s Road to Recovery program, she knew it was something she wanted to be involved in. Road to Recovery is a service program that provides transportation for cancer patients to and from treatments. Volunteer drivers donate their time and use of their own vehicle to transport these patients. "I started out driving about 13 months ago and then two months later, I was asked if I would be interested in coordinating," Cindy said, who is now the Road to Recovery Coordinator for the Indianapolis area. On a daily basis, Cindy sends e-mails to the ACS Patient Resource Center to update them with names of the drivers she has listed as volunteers. On top of occasionally driving patients to theirs treatments, she also communicates with all the volunteer drivers to find rides for patients in the Indianapolis area."I just kind of mingle my Road responsibilities with my everyday life," said Cindy. "As I’m kind of passing by my computer, I’m checking to see who’s responded. And then while I’m sitting at soccer practices or percussion lessons with my son, I’m normally on the cell phone making phone calls." There are times when Cindy is unable to find rides for a patient. One woman had to cancel her chemotherapy treatments because she had no way of getting to them. "Cancer’s hard enough to go through, and if you didn’t have a way to get [to treatments] it would be even harder," said Cindy. "I do it just to take that stress off of somebody." Cindy emphasizes the importance of Road to Recovery but acknowledges the lacking volunteer base for the program. "The drivers that I have, they’re just so involved in everything. I mean, they’re just really amazing people...but I don’t have many drivers on certain sides of Indianapolis and, you know, it just breaks my heart [not to be able to provide a ride]." To learn more about how you can get involved with a Road to Recovery program near you, or for more information, call your American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345. Pictured: Cindy Day | |
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