I had the opportunity this past Friday to stop by LIVESTRONG for the grand opening of their Cancer Navigation Center.
Many of us work in the world of creating community for good. The idea of creating a space where people with similar backgrounds, jobs, goals, needs, etc… can gather and learn from each other and help one another out.
The difference here is most of us use online tools and LIVESTRONG used bricks. The LIVESTRONG Cancer Navigation Center, in my words, is a place where anyone dealing with the reality of this disease can come for guidance and help on any topic.
Here is the definition from LIVESTRONG:
The LIVESTRONG Cancer Navigation Center, located in East Austin, provides a range of free services for anyone affected by cancer. This includes people diagnosed with cancer, their families, friends, loved ones and the health care professionals who work with them. We help people with any cancer type and at any stage of treatment. Assistance is available in both English and Spanish.
To learn more check out this page on their website.
A wonderful kick off was used to highlight the agencies behind the center. I would encourage you to take time to visit and learn about each:
- YMCA
- EmergingMed
- Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF)
- Imerman Angels
- Navigate Cancer Foundation
- Breast Cancer Resource Centers of Texas
- Wonders and Worries
- Care Communities
- Top This
- People’s Community Clinic
The challenge to those of us in new media is how do we amplify what LIVESTRONG has done locally?
Here are my three thoughts:
- Spread the word – Those of us who spend time in community settings online (especially in the health world) need to push this message/resource out to those we know.
- Know the resource – Understanding what the LIVESTRONG Cancer Navigation Center is and does will help us notice opportunities for referrals.
- Volunteer
Lance Armstrong mentioned a statistic he was told by Dr. Harold Freeman. (Paraphrased) In short 600,000 people will die of cancer this year. 200,000 of which are preventable with proper education and access to care. We have the knowledge, technology, medicine, etc… This resource, along with many others, will help reduce that number.
Spread the word! LIVESTRONG!
– Reed
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