Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1983-02-09, Page 21Serving over 25,000 homes in Listowel, Wingham, Mount Forest, Milverton, Elmira, Palmerston, Harriston, Brussels, Atwood, Monkton, Millbank, Newton, Clifford, Wallenstein, Drayton,' Moorefield and Arthur. Wednesday; February 9, 1 983 Can�er clinic volunteers are dedicated group INN THE WINGHAM CANCER CLINIC—offers follow-up examina- tions to patients from all over Southwestern Ontario. The clinic allows people to be examined closer to home without travelling The cancer clinic volunteers at the Wingham and District Hospital give of their time, energy and selves twice each month to make the motto "Cancer Can Be Beaten" become a reality. The dedicated network of volunteer nurses, hostesses, record keepers and drivers often have a vested interest in giving their services. Many of, these people are former cancer patients themselves or have had a member of their family who has had cancer and are determined to be an example of hope to others with the disease. Because of high operating costs, a clinic's funds would be drained if the Cancer Society had to pay for help, thus volunteers are critical to its operation. And cancer can be beaten. Dr. T. A. Watson, the retiring doctor at the clinic, said over 50 per cent of all cancer patients today are being cured. That is something many people don't realize, he said, 'because we hear only of the dire cases, not of those who are still leading normal lives 10 and 15 years after their cancers were discovered. . Ethel Montgomery of Wingham is one of those "cancer survivors". Her cancer was detected 13 years ago, after she became... involved at TTie clinic. The clinic does not treat patients, she said, but offers follow-up examinations to people who have already had treatments elsewhere; usually in London. People from many parts of the area, like Kincardine, Hanover, Listowel and Goderich, attend the Wingham clinic. The' closest other two cancer clinics of this to the city. The clinic is manned by volunteer workers like Edith Rathburn and Isabel Arbuckle of Wingham. • sort are located in Stratford and Owen Sound. Running the clinic twice a month is only a part of the duties of a volunteer. Sometimes, at-home visits to patients must be arranged as well as rides to the city for treatment. That's how Mrs. Montgomery's husband Lloyd got involved. He started driving cancer patients to London for chemotherapy or radiation._ treatments. The Cancer Society pays its drivers, but because of high overhead, it cannot offer tremendously high mileage rates. Driving for the society is not a money -making proposition, said Mr. Montgomery, but it is one way to help out. Sometimes in the past, Mr. Montgomery said, he has taken three or four patients at a time for treatments and occasionally went to London five days a week. Lately he has not been driving as often, but ,does go if someone needs a ride. CLINIC COORDINATOR Another volunteer who has had personal experience with cancer is Doris Michie of Belgrave, the coordinator of the Wingham clinic. Mrs. Michie, who started at the clinic in 1975, discovered she had cancer after she already .had worked there for two years. It has been five years since she had a breast removed and now she too has regular checkups at the clinic. Some people are understandably upset the first time they attend the clinic, she said. They don't know what to expect or what the examination will entail, so it is the job of the CAN R CLINIC VOLUNTEERS—give of their time and energy Margaret Mundell and Irene Bosman of Wingham, serve re - twice a month'to asststin apV way at the clinic, . Some people , freshments anroffer:a. slr)fle tcf make thapatients'more at ,home, keel' records; _some book appointments, while others, like by Margaret Arbuckle Cancer Can Be Beaten people working at the clinic to make things aslightd"ctieei•Tulas possible. "The first time is hard," Mrs. Michie said, which is why it is nice to have a friendly face or someone to just talk to for reassurance. Mary McLaughlin, Wingham, a Cancer Society nurse, is someone who is there when people want to talk. Mrs. McLaughlin does "masectomy visiting" to women who have had a breast, or even both breasts, removed becauseof cancer. Breast canter is something she is familiar with because she had a breast removed 10 years ago. Most women go into a state of semi -shock when they learn they have a malignant (cancerous) lump in the breast. But everything happened so quickly for Mrs. McLaughlin, she had very little time to react. The cancer was detected one day and the next she was sent to London for surgery. However, throughout all of her treatments and follow-up examinations, she said she remained optimistic and she tries to impart that optimisin to the women she visits. "If they see I had it (breast cancer) and am still going strong, maybe they'll decide they can too," she declared. REWARDING EXPERIENCE A former Wingham school teacher, Margaret Mundell, has been a volunteer at the clinic since 1973 and she enjoys it very much. Like all of the other volunteers, Mrs. Mundell said helping people at the clinic gives her a feeling of satisfaction, plus she has renewed some old acquaintances and even made some new friends. "A lot of people who come into the clinic are in good spirits and feel not too bad," she said, but added it does bother her when a particularly young person comes in, although no children 'attend the Wingham clinic. An average of 30 people attend each clinic and that number is pretty evenly distributed between men and- women patiennts. Most people are inthe middle to late -middle age range. Breast cancer is the predominant form of cancer among the women, whereas most men are bothered by lip, tongue and throat cancers, said Dr. Haydn Bush, the new doctor at the Wingham clinic. Dr. Bush also is the director of the cancer clinic at Vic- toria Hospital, London. Great strides have been made even in the 16 years Dr. Bush" has been involved with cancer research. A five-year breast screening project started at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto in 1980 will screen approximately 4,500 women from various backgrounds and parts of the province. It is hoped the screening will give researchers more data on early breast cancer detection and even prevention. Early detection is the biggest step toward curing cancer, he said. The most common cancer for men treated at the Wingham clinic is skin cancer which is relatively easy to detect and has an over 90 per cent cure rate. The high incidence of skin cancer at the Wingham clinic, is directly related to sun exposure in a predominantly farming area, commented Dr. Bush. There are two things that everyone could do which would dramatically reduce cancer deaths in this country, according to the doctor. The first thing to do is quit smoking, something which cannot be stressed enough. "I'm sure cancer rates could be improved overall by 30 per cent if people_ quit .. smoking." In addition to lung cancer, smoking has been linked to cancers in other body organs as well. Secondly, Dr. Bush stressed regular checkups which would include breast and complete gynecological examinations for women. He also urged people to be as aware of any changes in their bodies as they would, be of changes in their cats and report those changes to a doctor immediately. 16, *mu i/vitf 'ft fe4 0 0 a Elmira Sno-Fari run set to raise money for community projects by Kim Dadson One of the major fund-raising events in Elmira, which contributes large sums of money to the community, will depend on a major snowfall the evening of Feb. 11. The snowfall is necessary for the Elmira Lions Club to hold its annual Sno-Fari 100 - km snowmobile run on Saturday, Feb. 12. Last year the club raised $28,000 after participants collected money from spon- sors. it was the most successful year to date and a large portion of the money was don- ated towards major renovations at the local arena. The 100 -km route w ch all snowmobilers are welcome to rit�is carefully marked and monitored by club members. Partici- pants receive pledge cards and are asked to find sponsors in the community at so much per k,w,ueu e. opunsors hip cards are avail- able at any snowmobile outlets, as well as banks or trust companies. The arena has been a major project for the Lions Club. The club donated $27,000 to the general arena project and $60,000 was designated for the senior citizen club room at the arena. There is $11,000 still owing on the senior citizen contribution and the club is hoping its 1983 Sno-Fari will help. Other projects which the club has sup- ported financially have been the lights at Gibson Park last fall and two summers ago it painted a house for a needy family. it also supports a camp for kidney dialysis patients at Dorset, and it maintains the Lions Trail, completed north of Elmira. Lion Archie McKee recalls that the first Sno-Fari had to be cancelled due to absence of snow but although runs have been de- layed, they have never been cancelled ahaw. In case this year's run has to be cancelled due to lack of snow covering the ground, the pledge cards will have a telephone number for snowmobilers to call to find out when the run will be made. Another community project which the club is currently Sponsoring is the purchase of microfilm equipment for the Elmira branch library. The club planned a ski-a- thon to raise money specifically for this pro- ject. The Sno-Fari could become a contribu- tor to the library project as well. The club recognizes participants in Sno- Fari with a trophy for the snowmobiler who collects the most sponsorships, and runner- up trophies for the man with the most spon- sors and the woman with the most sponsors. Due to the success of last year's run a Thousand Dollar Club recognized the large number of snowmobilers . who had over $1,000 in pledges.