The hours and days after hospital discharge can be overwhelming. Now, askMDAnderson is ensuring cancer patients and caregivers get the help they need when they need it.
Annual Report 2019 : Volunteers support cancer patients and staff at Houston-area locations
Volunteers support cancer patients and staff at Houston-area locations
A small but mighty team of volunteers plays a vital role in supporting cancer patients and caregivers at MD Anderson’s locations in League City, The Woodlands, Sugar Land and West Houston.
MD Anderson retiree Rashida Jinnah decided to volunteer at MD Anderson in Sugar Land, just minutes from her home. Photo by Nick de la Torre
Rashida Jinnah knows MD Anderson inside and out. After all, she worked here for 23 years before retiring in 2008.
“In my role as a nutrition support specialist, I interacted with patients every day,” she says. “The connection was so rewarding. I didn’t want to give that up."
It turns out she didn’t have to. Jinnah became a volunteer at MD Anderson in Sugar Land, just a few minutes from her home.
“The number of patients in Sugar Land is small, compared to MD Anderson’s Texas Medical Center Campus. Most come back every week,” says Jinnah. “This gives volunteers more time to spend with patients and staff. You develop comfortable and rewarding relationships with them.”
Every volunteer has a story
MD Anderson’s Texas Medical Center Campus has more than 1,000 volunteers. The cancer center’s four suburban locations have 26 altogether. This small but dedicated crew serves MD Anderson’s locations in Sugar Land, The Woodlands, West Houston and League City. They’re a diverse group that includes cancer caregivers, cancer survivors, military veterans, college students and retirees – each with their own unique reason for volunteering.
Larisha Sellers became a volunteer after her mother and father died of cancer.
“Losing my parents motivated me to give back to patients who are fighting cancer today,” says Sellers, a military veteran who volunteers at MD Anderson League City.
You develop comfortable and rewarding relationships.
Volunteers provide a link between campuses for patients
Volunteers typically work one four-hour shift each week. They talk with patients and caregivers, serve snacks and beverages, and pass out warm blankets.
Volunteers also provide patients with information about support services, including social work, dietary consulting, educational literature and groups, and resources such as myCancerConnection – MD Anderson’s cancer support community that offers free, one-on-one support by matching cancer patients with trained survivor and caregiver volunteers.
“Volunteers are the connection between each patient at the Houston-area locations and the support services located on the Texas Medical Center Campus,” says Mary Jackson, a director in MD Anderson’s Volunteer Services and Merchandising department. “Our volunteer program is a consistent strength of our multidisciplinary approach to patient care.”
Volunteers share patients’ perspectives
Because they have close and candid interactions with patients, volunteers often are called upon to represent the patients’ perspective. For example, when MD Anderson The Woodlands was transitioning to its new building, which opened last fall, a volunteer served on the planning committee and discussed patients’ needs and preferences for the new location.
“Patients and volunteers alike report that our Houston-area locations feel like relaxed, neighborly spaces,” Jackson says. “This further promotes the relationship-building that is so important to patients and volunteers alike.”
Request an appointment at MD Anderson online or by calling 1-877-632-6789.
More Stories From Annual Report
Back in the game after a brain tumor in the bladder
An unusual diagnosis of a brain tumor in the bladder was no match for the treatment planned by MD Anderson’s experts – or for University of Oklahoma soccer player Jazzy Richards.
Personalized computer models help get pelvic cancer patients back on their feet
A new research collaboration is exploring personalized options for pelvic cancer surgery.
New clinic expands brain metastasis treatment options
MD Anderson’s Brain Metastases Clinic is streamlining treatment and offering more options for patients with brain tumors that are notoriously difficult to treat.
Cancer caregivers find connection, comfort in support groups
Caring for a loved one with cancer can pose unique challenges. Support groups for caregivers are giving caregivers a voice – and a chance to connect with others going through the same thing.
Collaborative approach yields better prostate cancer treatment
What happens when men receive prostate cancer treatment from multidisciplinary clinics? New research shows they’re more likely to receive better treatment and to have a voice in their care.
Tech sessions help bridge the digital divide for older patients
Technology can play a vital role in managing health care online. But apps, social media and other online activities can be intimidating for some older cancer patients and caregivers. That’s where technology help sessions offered at MD Anderson come in.
For pancreatic cancer researcher, ending cancer is personal
After losing her mother to pancreatic cancer at age 55, Florencia McAllister, M.D., is driven to find new ways to treat and diagnose the disease.
A new approach to monitoring blood transfusion patients
MD Anderson’s first-of-its kind Hemovigilance Unit is enabling care teams to virtually monitor cancer patients before, during and after a blood transfusion. That means quicker detection, response to and prevention of blood transfusion reactions.
When the mentee becomes the mentor
Van Morris, M.D., benefited from the guidance of others. Now he does the mentoring.
Tobacco Treatment Program helps cancer patients quit smoking
For cancer patients who smoke, quitting tobacco can make treatment more effective and improve the chances of survival by 30% to 40%. Enrollment in MD Anderson’s Tobacco Treatment Program can make an even bigger difference, increasing participants’ chances of quitting successfully.
Improving communication with parents of pediatric cancer patients
When pediatric cancer patients have a challenging diagnosis, it’s important for doctors and nurses to discuss treatment options and goals with their parents. A conversation guide and visual aids developed by Karen Moody, M.D., are designed to improve these conversations.
Training Puerto Rican students to become physician-scientists
A unique collaboration is giving medical students from Puerto Rico the opportunity to receive mentoring and training at MD Anderson as they work toward becoming physician-scientists. By closing the gap in research, education and training, the program seeks to eliminate cancer health disparities in under-served populations in Puerto Rico and Texas.
Ovarian cancer and thymoma diagnoses lead newlyweds to fertility treatment
Newlyweds Lauren O’Malley and Jake Woodward have both undergone cancer treatment – for ovarian cancer and thymoma respectively. But before they started their treatments, the couple worked with MD Anderson fertility specialists.
Program provides forum for input from patients and their families
Toni Vasquez Jordan’s experience as a breast cancer survivor has provided valuable insight for Ishwaria Subbiah, M.D., as she develops clinical trials and develops ways to enhance patient care.
With CAR NK therapy clinical trial, natural killer cells live up to their ominous name
An experimental treatment called CAR NK therapy finally helped B-cell lymphoma patient JC Cox overcome cancer after years of trying different options. Now, researchers are exploring how to expand this treatment to more cancer patients and cancer types.
Cancer innovators band together to make music
By day, members of Checkmates are working to end cancer. But by night, this band of musicians that includes Nobel Prize-winning researcher Jim Allison, Ph.D., lets loose by jamming and performing together.
TIL therapy offers new cervical cancer treatment option
A type of immunotherapy called TIL therapy uses T cells from the tumor itself to fight cancer. And it’s showing promise for treating a growing number of cancers, including cervical cancer.
FAST clinic gives anaplastic thyroid cancer patients hope – and time
Historically, anaplastic thyroid cancer patients have had few treatment options, and those that existed often came too late. But MD Anderson’s FAST clinic is speeding up the start of treatment for this aggressive cancer – and giving patients new treatment options, including clinical trials.