After winning her battle against breast cancer, Barb Thomas now lives to help drive the disease out of other cancer patients’ lives.
Thomas, 56, began volunteering for the American Cancer Society’s Road to Recovery program about a year and a half ago and has been driving cancer patients from their homes to treatment centers for their appointments.
She said the program is needed because many cancer patients are so fatigued or on such strong pain medication that they are not physically able to drive themselves.
“Family members or friends that have not gone through cancer may not completely understand it, so it’s nice to have other survivors with you,” Thomas said.
Margaret Shaw, a local American Cancer Society representative, expressed an urgent need for volunteers for the program, which has 30 drivers for Alachua County.
She would like to have 100 drivers for Alachua, Marion and the other nine surrounding counties the program covers.
To become a volunteer for the Road to Recovery program, volunteer drivers are required to go to a half-hour information session in Ocala, where they will be trained and put on the company’s liability insurance. Volunteers also need to have an up-to-date driver’s license and would need to use their own vehicle and gas.
Volunteer drivers do not have to commit to any certain schedule.
Shaw said one of the best parts of the program is the relationships formed between the drivers and patient.
“It’s a time to spend with a sick patient who really, really needs your help,” Shaw said.
