New cancer room opens at Wayne hospital
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on August 7, 2011 12:24 AM
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News-Argus/MICHAEL K. DAKOTA
Susan Sutton displays some of the wigs that are available at the American Cancer Society's new Cancer Resource Room at Wayne Memorial Hospital.
Susan Sutton remembers many parts of her battle against cancer, but one of the most vivid is how cold her bald head got when she was trying to sleep.
It was a little hurdle in a pretty tough fight, but she knows just how much taking care of the little things can mean to a cancer patient.
So, she will be one of the people volunteering at the American Cancer Society's new Cancer Resource Center.
The center, which is located in Room 448 on Wayne Memorial Hospital's oncology floor, will offer a variety of items patients battling cancer need.
Shelves and tables are loaded with hats, baseball caps, wigs and more -- for men and women.
"We hope to have a lot of different things in here," Ms. Sutton said. "We're working on getting prostheses and bras."
A separate table contains information on the Cancer Society's programs and resources.
"We want to get the word out into the community all the services that are available to those fighting cancer," Ms. Sutton said. "We want to be able to service them here through our Relay dollars. Or they can also call 800-ACS-2345 for information or just to talk to a person."
Ms. Sutton works with the Cancer Society's Relay for Life in Wayne County.
She said the Cancer Resource Center is something she has wanted to do for quite some time now, and she's excited that it's finally become a reality.
"Whoever has a need can come to the center, any cancer patient, we don't discriminate," Ms. Sutton said. "They can call the 800 number and tell them what they need, and if we don't have it here, we'll get it for them."
Donations also will be accepted. Ms. Sutton's church recently had a "hat day" where the women wore hats to church, then donated them to the cancer center.
"In September, we want to have a county-wide toboggan drive," she said. "We want to get people to buy or crochet hats and donate them to the cancer center."
Ms. Sutton said the Cancer Resource Center will be a place where cancer patients can go and get items they need, regardless of their income.
"A lot of Relay money goes to research and that's great," Ms. Sutton said. "I'm alive today because of that research. And the Relay also provides the cancer center for people here in this community."