Sault groups stepping up to help cancer patients that will soon need to travel to Sudbury

Sault volunteers step up to help cancer patients While Sault Area Hospital updates its radiation therapy equipment treatment services will be interrupted with patients referred to Sudbury.

The replacement of radiation therapy treatment equipment at the Sault Area Hospital (SAH) means hundreds of patients will need to travel to Sudbury for their cancer care starting next month.

Some not-for-profit organizations in northern Ontario are looking to make the lives of those patients a little easier during what will be a difficult time.

The travel will be necessary starting Feb. 11 until July as the SAH installs new radiation equipment.

"While it is unfortunate that we must have a downtime to replace our equipment,” said Mindy Lindstedt, the hospital’s director of clinical programs.

“Once it's replaced and we're back up and running we can provide care closer to home and will be set for another 12 years."

Breast Friends

Members of the Sault-area cancer support group ‘Breast Friends’ are crafting care packages for those who will soon have to make the trek to Greater Sudbury’s Shirley and Jim Fielding Northeast Cancer Centre for radiation treatment.

Being cancer survivors themselves, members of the group know the toll that treatment can have on a person.

"Radiation is very, very tiring,” said Lynne Palumbo, a member of the group.

“You have a lot of fatigue so you don't feel like doing much."

The group has been collecting donations in hopes of creating gift packages for as many of the 150-200 people that will be travelling from the Sault for cancer care. The gift packs will include books and puzzles to keep busy in the hotel, notepads to jot down advice from doctors and more.

"You don't have that comfort being at home,” said Palumbo.

“Having to go away you don't have your family with you that can support you. I said there has to be a little bit of something that we can give them just to take their mind off of it for a few minutes."

For more information on what is needed for the care packages or how to donate visit 'Breast Friends Give Back Sault Ste.Marie' on social media.

Wheels of Hope

Also assisting cancer patients in the Algoma District is the Canadian Cancer Society's Wheels of Hope program.

The program is looking for 15 volunteers in the Sault to drive cancer patients to treatment in Sudbury, mostly on Mondays and Fridays. Additionally, they said they hope to find 10 new drivers in Sudbury to bring patients from their hotels to the hospital.

"A lot of our clients shouldn't be driving after treatment,” said Mark Kahan, a volunteer recruiter for the Wheels of Hope program.

“They may not have a car or a driving license and it can be a huge burden to a family to have to go for radiation treatments Monday to Friday for up to six weeks, it can be really hard for people to take that much time off of work.”

Kahan said that is where the Wheels of Hope can really help – volunteer drivers take a lot of stress off their plates.

A non-smoking vehicle and a clean driving record with three demerit points or less are required to be a volunteer driver.

For more information on becoming a volunteer visit the Canadian Cancer Society’s volunteer page or email: [e-mail].