Local volunteers help cancer patients on the road to recovery
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

Simi Valley resident Martie Decker's selflessness and her cheerful attitude come as a breath of fresh air for cancer patients undergoing aching treatments.

As a volunteer for the American Cancer Society's Road to Recovery program, Decker, 74, provides transportation for people who need a ride to their place of care and home again.

"Martie has been driving for a long time. She's always available to drive at least once a week. She's one of my 'go to' people," said Karen McLaughlin, local Road to Recovery coordinator.

In addition to helping the cancer society, Decker takes many of her friends to other appointments, McLaughlin said.

Decker got involved in the Road to Recovery program after she lost her husband to prostate cancer in 1997. Some people travel a long way to help family members who need a ride, but they shouldn't have to, she said.

All the drivers who participate in the program give their time, their gas and the wear and tear on their cars without complaint, even after gas prices skyrocketed, McLaughlin said.

Decker said she's not doing this to get repaid. She enjoys the company of the patients and likes to get out of her house at least once a day, she said.

Decker and several local volunteers recently took turns driving Moorpark resident Lois Frank to her appointments in Thousand Oaks.

"These women are wonderful. I don't know what I would have done without them," Frank said.

She began to use the program in January to get to daily radiation treatments.

"I was having a rough time and had no one to get me to radiation every day so I didn't know what I was going to do," Frank said.

She learned about the Road to Recovery program through a neighbor and McLaughlin arranged for her rides.

"I can't say enough about the drivers and about the organization. It's given me a whole new look on organizations such as this," Frank said. She keeps a positive attitude and plans to beat her disease, the cancer patient added.

The local program has 19 drivers, seven of whom will go to long-distance care sites like the City of Hope in Duarte, McLaughlin said.

The volunteers may take patients to brief local radiation or checkup appointments or they may stay all day if the appointment is for chemotherapy.

"They take you for free to get treatment for cancer and they're very nice- it's swell," said J.R. Rolly, a Moorpark resident who's used the service since 2002.

"Our drivers are the best and (they) step up whenever they're asked," McLaughlin said.

Some, like Simi Valley residents and cancer survivors Spencer and Mary Hartman, go the extra mile to stay with the patients because they personally relate to the experience, McLaughlin said.

For more information about Road to Recovery, call the American Cancer Society at (800) ACS-2345.