Town meeting gives cancer survivors a chance to speak

By Yvo Maldonado
For the Daily

Cancer survivors from cities in southeastern Michigan gathered together in Ann Arbor on Sunday with the long-term goal of forming a local support group for cancer survivors in mind.

The National Cancer Survivors Day event gave people the opportunity to express their concerns about insurance reform, health care, job discrimination and other issues pertinent to those suffering from cancer.

The town hall meeting was sponsored by the American Cancer Society, McAuley Cancer Care Center at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and included panelists such as Liz Brater (D-Ann Arbor) and Dr. Allen Lichter, chair and professor of the University's Dept. of Radiation Oncology.

"We have to learn how to deal with this diagnosis and learn about the different treatments and rehabilitation services at our disposal," said keynote speaker Ellen Stovall, executive director of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship. "That's something we have to do for ourselves."

Stovall, presidential appointee to the National Cancer Advisory Board and a survivor of Hodgkin's disease, said every survivor must take a more active role as health care consumers.

Stovall also said forming a support group for cancer survivors to express themselves and bring change if they desire is needed to help survivors deal with their lives after cancer.

The audience was comprised of mostly cancer survivors, family and friends. One of the most emphasized issues was that of insurance companies and the payment for treatments and rehabilitation.

John Cochrane, a 71-year-old Ann Arbor resident and prostate cancer survivor, said medicare should pay for cryo, a prostate cancer treatment that has a greater success rate than radiation or operations common to cancer patients.

"There are HMO's all over the United States that are paying for cryo, but medicare hasn't gotten the message yet," Cochrane said.

It was evident that the town hall became more of a support group than a meeting, said Brad Zebrack, a member of the event's planning committee and cancer survivor.

"You saw the people up there, they were telling their stories," Zebrack said. "They were telling their lives."

Stovall said she is optimistic that the future will offer more support for cancer survivors.

"With our communication today, will come understanding; with our understanding, fear diminishes; in the absence of fear, hope emerges; and in the presence of hope, anything is possible," Stovall said.

For information on the local support group contact Karen Baker at (810) 231-2071.

06-04-97