Tom Woods was diagnosed with lung cancer in May 2008.
He had been a long-time smoker but had quit six years prior to his doctor finding a spot on his right lung as part of an annual exam. It was early in the disease, and Woods had surgery to remove the cancer in July of the same year.
Recently, he was encouraged to volunteer to help guide other cancer patients. Woods said he felt an obligation to do so even though he doesn’t feel like he has any special skills or knowledge.
“Just time and prayer — that’s all I have to offer them,” Woods said.
But it’s Woods and other volunteers like him who will man Alabama’s first Cancer Resource Center, located at Flowers Hospital in Dothan.
Doctors, nurses, hospital staff, American Cancer Society volunteers and staff and chamber of commerce representatives gathered Thursday for the formal opening of the resource center. In addition to being the first in the state, the Cancer Resource Center is only the second such center in the American Cancer Society’s Mid-South division of six states.
“We’re very proud of this,” Dr. Mark Byard of Wiregrass Urology said during the opening. “This came along very quickly. It’s amazing how God kind of put things in motion ... Think about it. There’s not too many people in this room who has not been touched by cancer.”
The Cancer Resource Center, located in Flowers Hospital’s Doctors Center, was organized after the decision was made to close the American Cancer Society’s office in Dothan. The society’s local staff spend the majority of their time in the field, and cancer patients and their families didn’t always know about the local office. Representatives said the society’s resource center will serve at a central site for patients, families and caregivers. Information on cancer, treatment options, and what to expect after a diagnosis will be available. There are also wigs, hats, scarves and prostheses for women with breast cancer.
Everything is free, and it’s hoped the location at Flowers Hospital will make the services and guidance more accessible to Wiregrass cancer patients.
Programs such as Look Good, Feel Better and Reach for Recovery will also work out of the center.
The Cancer Resource Center will be managed by volunteers.
“This cancer resource center would not be possible without our volunteers,” said Kimberly Williams, the cancer society’s associate state vice president for Alabama.
There are currently 15 volunteers trained to work in the center, said Linda Anderson who works with the local American Cancer Society. Volunteers can work one day a week, one day a month or whatever schedule works best for them. Training will be provided on a regular basis, with the next session set for Tuesday, Feb. 9, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the resource center.
“You never have enough,” Anderson said of volunteers.
American Cancer Society’s Cancer Resource Center
Where: Flowers Hospital’s Doctors Center, fourth floor of South Tower, Suite 404
Hours: Open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m.
Phone: (334) 944-7085
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