One never realizes how big and wide-open Colorado is until they start planning a trip or vacation to one of our many scenic places or to visit friends and relatives in another city. The expanse of the state becomes even more obvious when an individual diagnosed with cancer has to start making plans to schedule their treatments at a medical center many miles away from their hometown.

This dilemma faces local residents everyday and is the reason why the American Cancer Society's Road to Recovery program is so important. Road to Recovery recruits volunteers to drive area cancer survivors to and from their cancer treatments. Presently, there is a shortage of volunteers serving the Denver area.

"Cancer doesn't care where you live," says Lynn Cogley, Quality of Life Manager for the American Cancer Society. "It doesn't care if you live 50 feet from the front door of the treatment center or 50 miles; the side effects of the chemotherapy or radiation are just as draining and debilitating. That's why our volunteer drivers are so important to our program."

Road to Recovery volunteers are asked to drive cancer survivors to and from their treatments in Denver. While they can volunteer for as many trips as they wish, drivers are asked to make at least one per month.

"The great part about living in the Denver community is that people are so friendly and always willing to help a neighbor," says Road to Recovery volunteer coordinator, Leonora Corbo. "So if you're volunteering as a Road to Recovery driver, there's a good chance you'll either know the person you're driving or have some friends in common. But the feeling is just as satisfying if you're helping someone you've never met; maybe someone new in town facing their cancer alone with no one to turn to for a ride."

For more information on volunteering as a driver for the American Cancer Society Road to Recovery program, or to learn more about the program, contact Lynn Cogley at 720-524-5472, or email her at Lynn.Cogley@cancer.org.

The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation's largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing nearly $3.4 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us any time, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.