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Buddy System helps cancer survivors share hope & positive outlook
By Janice Youngwith
For years, camp counselors, lifeguards, teachers and playground supervisors have relied on the buddy system to encourage inclusion, keep track of everyone, camaraderie and for mentoring.
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| Carol Verzani |
Reach to Recovery volunteers
The American Cancer Society Reach to Recovery program works through carefully selected and trained volunteers who have fully adjusted to their breast cancer treatment. All volunteers complete an initial training and participate in ongoing continuing education sessions.
Breast cancer survivors who have overcome cancer to regain a well adjusted and emotionally stable everyday life are invited to make a difference in the lives of others affected by breast cancer. For information on becoming a Reach to Recovery volunteer, call toll-free (800) 227-2345 or contact your local American Cancer Society office.
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"There's nothing like partnering with a buddy who has shared a similar experience or challenge," says Buffalo Grove resident Carol Verzani, 49, a nine-year breast cancer survivor. "When facing a breast cancer diagnosis, it's certainly helpful to speak with someone who has walked the path before you."
Having a buddy who has shared a similar cancer diagnosis is the idea behind the American Cancer Society's Reach to Recovery program, which for more than 35 years has helped women and men cope with their breast cancer experience.
"This experience begins when someone is faced with the possibility of a breast cancer diagnosis and continues throughout the entire period that breast cancer remains a personal concern," explains Saralee Braun, a Highland Park breast cancer survivor and coordinator of the Lake County ACS Reach to Recovery program.
Braun, whose 1991 diagnosis led to the discovery of two tumors, a mastectomy and treatment including chemotherapy, says people often feel overwhelmed and alone when they first learn they have breast cancer.
"While under this stress, many people must also learn about and try to understand complex medical treatments and then choose the best one," says the mother of four and grandmother of 10. "Talking with a specially trained Reach to Recovery volunteer at this time can give a measure of comfort and an opportunity for emotional grounding and informed decision-making."
Braun, an 18-year survivor, vividly recalls her first experience meeting a Reach to Recovery volunteer shortly after her own surgery and receiving a wealth of information and support. At the time, she also turned to her Calling Card personal stationary business partner Linda Stein, also a breast cancer survivor, for mentoring and support.
"Eight years later, I saw an item about the Reach to Recovery program in the newspaper and thought this was something I could do," says Braun, who following her breast cancer treatment lost her beloved husband, Norm, to lung cancer.
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| Saralee Braun |
As Lake County program coordinator for more than six years, Braun diligently matches newly diagnosed patients with a trained "buddy", striving to link pairs by similar diagnosis, procedure and age.
"Trained Reach to Recovery volunteers are breast cancer survivors who give patients and family members an opportunity to express feelings, talk about fears and concerns, and ask questions of someone who is knowledgeable and levelheaded," she explains. "Most importantly, volunteers offer understanding, support, and hope because they themselves have survived breast cancer and gone on to live normal, productive lives."
The aggressive treatment of older women is a newer trend that Braun says poses special matching challenges.
"I've matched nearly 300 pairs of buddies in my six years, with the youngest breast cancer survivor being in her early 30s," she says. "In addition, I was able to match a male breast cancer survivor with a male ACS Reach To Recovery volunteer, despite the rarity of a male breast cancer diagnosis."
Some of those seeking the support of a Reach to Recovery buddy eventually become trained volunteers themselves.
Carol Verzani recalls receiving a call from Cindy Sadowski, another breast cancer survivor, shortly after her own diagnosis of stage 2 breast cancer with lymph node involvement.
"That one phone call led to a special phone friend who I got to meet five-years later at my survivorship party," she says. "Cindy's support helped me get through the lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiation."
Verzani, a wife, mother of two and a recreation supervisor with the Buffalo Grove Park District has volunteered as a trained Reach to Recovery buddy since 2001.
The experience, she says, is therapeutic.
"My children often ask me how I do what I do," she reports. "I tell them that knowing I can help support others facing this journey helps me to heal and get beyond the fear."
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