Pat Swan knows all too well that even cancer patients who have health insurance need a lot more than just having their medical bills paid.
Room and board can be costly when patients must stay in hotels between treatment sessions, says Swan, 75, who commutes from Lilburn to Decatur once a week to volunteer in the American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge.
The ACS operates the free 52-room facility on the Emory University campus for people who need treatment but not hospitalization. Health insurance doesn't cover room and board of people who aren't admitted to hospitals. Each room has a sitting area, bedroom and bathroom, enough for two people.
It can get expensive, Swan says, for folks who travel from south Georgia or South Carolina to Emory to get treatment for months at a time, especially if they are accompanied by caregivers or love ones, as most patients are, says Elissa McCrary of the ACS in Atlanta.
"Hope Lodge is a wonderful home away from home for those receiving
cancer treatment in the Atlanta area," Swan says. "We've been in operation since 1998 and many do not know where it is or what we do."
Swan, who's been volunteering for 12 years, says men who come to Atlanta for prostate cancer therapy must get treatment every day for about six weeks.
"It would cost a fortune for them to live in hotels," she says. "You have to live at least 50 miles away to qualify."
Patients are required to have a caregiver with them, because Hope Lodge is not a hospital, says Swan, whose daughter is a breast cancer survivor and who lost two grandparents and her father to the disease.
"People leave Hope Lodge in good spirits," Swan says. "The only problem is, people don't know about us."
Lodge residents do the cooking and are responsible for their own meals. Operation of the facility depends on volunteers, says manager Danny Sheltz, 40, whose wife is a breast cancer survivor.
"Everything is paid for by the ACS," he says. "We provide laundry detergents, pillows, linens, blankets. It's a wonderful thing because people who live a long distance away could have to spend a fortune, even if their treatment only takes a little while."
In addition to saving patients money, the lodge lifts spirits because "community breeds healing," he says. "We've found out that a lot of people forego treatment due to costs, and that's not good enough for the ACS. We even provide free transportation to our residents to the various cancer centers for treatment."
The average stay is 42 days but some have stayed more than 50 weeks.
"We eat together, family style, and when one family is having a bad day, others are there to help," Sheltz says. "For very many people, it not only gives them hope but saves them money and worry."
McCrary says Hope Lodge saves patients about $1.3 million a year in hotel costs. The ACS operates 31 Hope Lodges in the U.S.
People wishing to make donations or volunteer should visit www.cancer.org.
Every other Wednesday, Bill Hendrick shines a spotlight on extraordinary and selfless acts by our friends and neighbors. To suggest someone for this feature, email writer@billhendrick.com.
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