Spokane, WA-Cancer Patient Care, a local non-profit, located in Spokane is gearing up to increase services to the rural communities of Eastern Washington so that all cancer patients have an equal fighting chance.

 

The organization was recently granted funding from the Corporation for National Service for a full-time staff position to take on rural outreach efforts. Leah Scheppers an Americorps*VISTA member from Denver joined the agency in July. Scheppers, a graduate from Drake University with a degree in journalism and mass communication, will head up the program for the next year.

 

Cliff Evans, executive director said Cancer Patient Care has been serving eastern Washington for almost 50 years but admittedly wants to do a better job reaching communities outside Spokane. The organization was founded on the principle that survivability and quality of life for cancer patients should not be contingent on their level of income.

 

Cancer Patient Care services, free of charge to qualified applicants, include advocacy, education, referrals, breast cancer screening, nutritional supplements, wigs, breast prostheses, home medical equipment and emotional support. Financial support is available for transportation, groceries and prescriptions. The agency normally has about 200 active clients at a time.

 

Scheppers will serve as Cancer Patient Care's rural outreach coordinator. Her efforts will focus on creating awareness, assessing needs and building partnerships in outlying Eastern Washington counties beginning with Stevens and Whitman. Some attention will also be given to the many communities surrounding Spokane. Scheppers she has already made some valuable contacts in both counties with places such as the Rural Resources office in Colville and the Council on Aging and Human Services in Colfax.

 

"Our next step is to assess the needs in each county and learn how Cancer Patient Care can fill in the gaps without overlapping existing services," said Scheppers. Cancer Patient Care plans to do this through informal focus groups, which will discuss the services available for cancer patients where they live. Cancer patients, survivors, health care provider, social workers and all those who have been touched by cancer are invited to participate in the discussion. Interested participants contact Scheppers at 509-456-0446, ext.109.