The Wingham Advance-Times, 1983-03-30, Page 37Volunteers i
BY MARGARET
ARBUCKLE
The cancer clinic volun-
teers 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.
Thea 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 wha
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 in-
volved at the clinic. The
clinic does not treat patients,
she said, but offers follow-up
examinations to people who
have already had treatments
elsewhere, usually in Lon-
don. People from many parts
of the area, like Kincardine,
Hanover, Listowel and
Goderich, attend the
_ Win gham..clinie._The closest_.
other two cancer clinics of
this 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. Mon-
tgomery'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 so often,
but doesgo if someone needs
a ride.
Clink
Co-ordination
Another volunteer who has
had personal experience
with cancer is Doris Michie
of Belgrave, the co-ordinator
of the Wingharn 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
check-ups at the clinic.
Sonie people are un-
derstandably upset the first
time they attend the clinic.
portant to
gh
Wingham Cancer Clinic volunteers give their time and energy twice a month to assist in any
way at the clinic. Some people keep records, some book appointments, while others, like
Margaret Mundell and Irene Bosman of Wingham, serve refreshments and offer a smile to
make the patients more at home. (Wingham Advance -Times Photo)
she said. They don't know
what to expect or what the
examination will entail, so it
is the job of the people
working at the clinic to make
things as light and cheerful
as 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. Can_cer.. Society
nurse, is someone who is
there when people want to
talk. Mrs. McLaughlin does.
"mastectomy visiting" to
women who have had a
breast, or even both breasts,
removed because of cancer.
Breast cancer 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 optimism
- tathewomen 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 par-
ticularly 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 patients. Most people
are in the 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 can-
cers, said Dr. Haydn Bush,
Treatment would be more
effective if people were
reco n ze quickerto � signs
Pain in the upper ab-
domen, persistent loss of ap-
• petite, vomiting of blood and
unexplained weight loss are
all signs of stomach cancer.
Any of these should be
reported to your doctor.
Sore throat, loss of voice,
hoarseness that will not go
away. --any of these may be
a sign of, cancer of the
larynx.
Any irregularity in the
menstrual cycle or any kind
of bleeding after the
menopause should be
reported to &physician pro-
mptly.
A persistent cough or
blood in the sputum or
phlegm could indicate lung
cancer. Check these signs
out with your doctor.
These signs don't
necessarily mean cancer,
but they are all changes
from normal health which
should be checked with your
physician.
We know the meanings of
most signs because we know
they are meant to protect us.
When it comes to cancer,
there are important warning
signs you should know.
Because the quicker you can
recognize them, the sooner
you can take action. This
year, at least half of all
Canadians diagnosed with
cancer for the first time will
be alive and well five years
after treatment. This
number could be increased
greatly if more people knew
and reacted quickly to warn-
ing signs that could mean
cancer.
But do you know the signs
of cancer?
Most of the signs of cancer
are also signs of other
medical problems — they in-
dicate that something is not
right with' your state of
health, and they may in-
dicate a type of cancer at an
early stage, when it can be
treated most successfully.
In trying to be aware of the
early signs of cancer, there
is a general rule: the minute
you become aware of
anything that does not look
or- feel right, check it out
with your doctor.
If you have a mole that
becomes abnormally , large
or changes in any other way,
report this to your doctor
right away.
• Any persistent change in
bowel habits could signal
cancer of the colon or rec-
tum. Prolonged diarrhea,
persistent constipation or
alternating between the two
should be checked with your
doctor. Blood in the stool can
be an important sign of
bowel cancer. Rectal
bleeding should always be
investigated immediately,
even in people who are
known to have hemorrhoids.
m Clinic
the new doctor at the
Wingham clinic. Dr. Bush
also is the director of the
cancer clinic at Victoria
Hospital, London.
Great strides have been
made even in the 16 years
that Dr. Bush has been in-
volved 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
Pa.*
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 cancersin
other body organs as well.
Secondly, Dr. Bush
stressed regular check-ups
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 cars and
report those changes to a
doctor immediately.
This information is brought to you with
the kind co-operation of the following:
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Plumbing & Heating
Phone 357-2370
13 Alfred St. E,,
Wingham, Ontario.
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Phone 357-2606
Box 370, Wingham. NOG 2W0
NORTH HURON
CREDIT UNION
8 Alfred St. E., Wingham, Ontario.
Phone 357-2311
BROOKHAVEN NURSING
HOME
Phone 357.3430
Accredited Home
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