American Cancer Research Center and Foundation

My name is Amy Blanford, Health Programs Coordinator for ACRCF.  I am the first person the patient talks to when they call our foundation and I try to help them in whatever way I can.  I refer patients to treatment facilities, answer questions regarding cancer, or help cancer patients to appointments by arranging transportation with our Community Outreach Program, My Ride to Wellness (www.MyR2W.org).  More often, I am a friendly, listening ear for the patient when they just find out they have cancer.  One of my best days on the job was when a lady in Florida emailed me concerning her husband who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  I will never forget the despair in her voice.  We had a language barrier, as Spanish was her first language. We managed to communicate well enough so that I could figure out what she needed.  In a nutshell, they wanted a second opinion and they did not know where to go and had no means.  I called the Moffitt Cancer Center, and spoke to a Social Worker who called with a translator for the wife.  Within days they were seen by doctors to get his second opinion.  The good news is, her husband had a benign tumor, not pancreatic cancer. When she called with the wonderful news, we both cried with joy!  There are few words to describe the feeling I get when I get to help someone in need, and I am so blessed I get to feel that way every day of my life.  As a cancer survivor myself, and a wife to a husband living with cancer, I can tell you honestly that it is sometimes the simplest gestures in life, like a ride when you need one, that makes the biggest difference in someone else’s day.  I love what I do and I hope to always be able
to pay it forward!