Miller: Cancer Care Services eases money burdens from those laden with health woes

"My father is recovering from surgery," said the woman as she sat with a social worker. "But he finds bathing difficult."

She paused, then resumed in a low voice, "I’m embarrassed to have to say this . . .," she left off for a moment before continuing, "the hot water heater is broken, and we don’t have the funds for repair."

The social worker who listened to the woman’s difficult story was from Cancer Care Services, a local nonprofit agency dedicated to providing post-diagnosis support for cancer patients. And having learned that the woman’s 81-year-old father was taking cold baths at home, she began to remedy the family’s plight.

This story is true and not, unfortunately, terribly uncommon at this little agency that works behind the scenes to assist families living with a terrible diagnosis.

Believing no cancer patient should be forced to decide between paying for pain medication or for food or rent, CCS partners with oncology centers to identify families with immediate financial needs. The results are exceptional.

More than 65 percent of cancer patients in Tarrant, Parker and Hood counties who qualify for financial help are reached, and new intake growth is 20 percent higher this year than last. Ninety-three percent of those surveyed reported an improved quality of life after CCS became involved. Anyone affected by cancer can access the emotional, social and spiritual support that’s offered — individual counseling, support groups and seasonal activities — at any time, at no charge.

The Star-Telegram requires full disclosure, and I freely divulge that I worked at the organization for five years. And I testify with firsthand experience that numbers alone don’t tell the whole story.

The agency’s involvement with families does not consist of simple solutions or completed checklists; it is personal. The lives of men, women and children are entered at crisis stage, when established daily patterns are pushed aside and replaced by the fearful unknown. Sitting beside a wife, husband, grandparent or teenager in their home, a social worker listens to family histories and new concerns, answers questions and seeks solutions. Sometimes just the social worker’s easy presence lifts burdens.

My experience revealed ordinary people confronting extraordinary circumstances, like the father of three young children who cannot work after chemotherapy treatments. Like the husband who sought counseling about his ill wife and who wept openly when asked, "How are you doing?" Like the widow who battled breast cancer alone, her savings previously depleted during her late husband’s illness.

The job made the practice of humility easy.

And from those whose journeys the agency joined, gratitude tumbled forth. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" a mother of two wrote. "I couldn’t get through this without your help," another wrote. Years after receiving assistance and moving away, a former recipient sent a picture from her wedding. "Thank you for all you did. [This is] for the next person who needs help." Folded inside the note was a $3,000 check from the sale of her house.

Cancer Care Services, supported solely by donations, is a resource for those who are affected by cancer and those who might one day find themselves so.

This remarkable agency in the heart of Fort Worth is another jewel in our city’s crown.

Margie B. Miller of Fort Worth is a member of the Star-Telegram’s 2009 Community Columnist Panel. margiebmiller@gmail.com

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