Reach to Recovery

Nan72

Well ladies I have completed my training and had my first contact person through the reach to recovery program. For those who don't know the program pairs volunteers with recently diagnosed or recent surgery bc sisters.  We answer questions, listen , and support any person who has been refered to us by their doctor, hospital, or self.  It is very rewarding and it is much like we do to help the newbies here .

I must admit that being on this site and discussion boards has assisted me in being able to "reach out" and lend a listening ear as well as answer questions only a bc sister could.

Thanks for all  of you for your help when I was a newbie here as we all once were.

For anyone that is intrested in becoming a Reach to Recovery volunteer contact your local American Cancer Socitey.  

Best Wishes to all,

Nan

SoCalLisa

That is a good thing Nan....they really helped me back in 2000 with my first DX...

shrink

I must tell you that I had a very negative experience with R to R.  I requested a volunteer 4 times with one response of a 10 minute phone call.  I told this person I'd like to speak with her again and we arranged a time.  She never called back.  I informed the ACS and whomever I spoke to was horrified and told me someone else would call me the following week.  Never happened. This was over a year ago.  Good thing I have this board and plenty of friends.  I know that you will make a difference in many lives.

iodine

Hope you enjoy it Nan and know you will be of great help.  Sometimes it's a long time between referrals, so keep up good spirits.  We no longer have the program I started decades ago (before my bc), not even a Cancer Society rep here, except to raise money.

I spent my time on the boards, that was my volunteer work.

dhettish

Hi Nan,

Great News. I am sure you will be a benefit to many who cross your pat. 

I volunteered for Reach to Recovery and also Road to Recovery but have not received anything yet. I was told the classes would probably be in August. I can't wait.

My very good friend had BC 10 years ago and helped me tremendously. She had a bilat mast as I was having. When I told her, she came right over and bared her gorgeous foobs for me. She came over and took my bandages off after the mast. Then she was dx with throat cancer. We supported each other and are now both through with tx and NED. I did not find these boards until I was almost through with chemo and they have been a Godsend.

One thing I learned was that I need women who really understand. And I am so grateful to all you.

Debbie 

Nan72

Thanks for your comments and support ladies. I  stopped by for a brief visit with my new bc sister yesterday , took her a lightweight coffee mug filled with different flavored and regular teas, and some tropical flavored life savers.  The visiting nurse from the hospital was there checking her dressings, taking blood pressure etc.   We had a nice visit and she requested that I contact her in a few weeks to have a light lunch so that she could get out of the house somewhere other than treatment.   I am looking forward to the outing she is a very upbeat person . I gave her the web address for this site maybe we will see her here on the boards in the future.

Take care ladies have a wonderfu day!

BethNY

Reaxh to recovery can be very rewarding, and I'm glad you're doing it!  The county that I volunteer for is one of the largest ones is the country, and we have so many volunteers, that it makes the program truly function the way it's supposed to.

It breaks my heart when I hear that people don't get contacted, or don't get the support that they need.

That was my experience with r2r when I was first diagnosed (not in the same county I work for now), and I was told there was no one close to my age for me to speak with.  The thing is, I would've taken anything at that point.  So I vowed to become a voluteer and recruit volunteers with unique diagnosis (age, stats, ethnicity, etc) so that we could match as many women as possible with a volunteer to speak with.

A great place to do R2R recruiting is at the Making Strides for Breast Cancer suvivor tent... that's where you'll meet a ton of survivors who are interested in joining.  You just have to remind them it can take a while to get to the one training seminar per year.

keep up the good work.

Harley44

I called to volunteer for Reach to Recovery about 2 or 3 weeks ago, and was referred to a local office, in Myrtle Beach.  That office told me that they will be getting together a training session at the end of July... so here I sit, waiting for my training session to begin.

I just want to help someone who is newly dx'd, since I know how very lonely that time is.  I was so scared and lonely, and didn't know what to expect. 

Here I am, over a year out, and I just want to help someone. 

Harley

Nan72

Hi Harley,

Sounds like you will be trained very soon and I am sure that you will make a positive mark on someones recovery.

I think you will be a perfect r to r volunteer.  Let me know how things go for you.

Hugs and Good Luck,

Nan

Texgirl

As a R to R volunteer and trainer..I will attest to the fact that we can't train everyone as soon as they volunteer. First ,you must be one yr. out in order to be considered for volunteering. That may be the holdup for some of you. If you are very anxious to start..inquire about attending a training in a nearby location. You may be able to work that into your schedule sooner. We always need more volunteers..!