In the fight against cancer, the American Cancer Society places great importance on cancer patient services - hoping to ease cancer's impact on people's lives. The fact that people are surviving cancer today more than ever before - more than 60 percent live at least five years - reinforces the need to help people get back into life's mainstream.

"Your American Cancer Society provides the latest information about cancer and guidance to local community resources," Beverly Smith, Relay For Life of Sequoyah County event chair, said. "Programs, services and materials to cancer patients and their families are available at no direct cost through public contributions."

The American Cancer Society helps people with cancer and their families in every Oklahoma community through a toll free number that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. By calling 1-800-ACS-2345, a cancer information specialist can offer assistance. Resources may also be found on the American Cancer Society's website at www.cancer.org. With the click of a mouse, patients and caregivers can log onto the Cancer Survivor NetworkTM and seek support. The site offers discussion groups, personal stories, communication with others via e-mail and resources such as suggested books, articles and Web sites.

The society offers several tangible services such as comfort pillows, wigs, nutritional supplements and other items. Temporary housing at the Hope Lodge(r) is available in some cities for cancer patients who must travel for treatment. Volunteer drivers transport patients through the Road to RecoverySM program, Smith said.

She explained, "Volunteers who have experienced cancer visit patients and their families to support them in adjusting to their diagnosis. The Reach to Recovery(r) program is for breast cancer patients, and the Man to Man(r) visitation program is a program created for prostate cancer patients. Support groups take place in hospitals, churches and other facilities that help cancer patients and their families. They include: I Can Cope(r), and Look Good...Feel Better(r).

"The American Cancer Society also offers bereavement support groups in some communities called Life After Loss," Smith said. "The American Cancer Society accomplishes these programs with volunteer support, so some programs may not be available in every area.

"The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is a unique community event that celebrates survivorship and raises money for cancer-fighting programs," Smith said. "Teams of eight to 15 people camp out overnight at the Sallisaw High School football field and take turns walking around the track. The event begins with a survivors' lap, in which cancer survivors take a victory lap around the track. Later, a candlelight ceremony takes place to honor cancer survivors and remember those who lost the battle to cancer."

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Sequoyah County will be held from 7 p.m. Friday, June 27, through 7 a.m. on Saturday, June 28. For information on how you can participate, contact event co-chairs Beverly Smith at (918) 774-4902 or Terry McCarty at (918) 774-6235.

"If you or a member of your family is in need of services, or if you want to volunteer or need more information, please contact your local American Cancer Society office in Tulsa at 1-888-376-1725 or 1-800-ACS-2345," Smith said.

In the fight against cancer, the American Cancer Society places great importance on cancer patient services - hoping to ease cancer's impact on people's lives. The fact that people are surviving cancer today more than ever before - more than 60 percent live at least five years - reinforces the need to help people get back into life's mainstream.

"Your American Cancer Society provides the latest information about cancer and guidance to local community resources," Beverly Smith, Relay For Life of Sequoyah County event chair, said. "Programs, services and materials to cancer patients and their families are available at no direct cost through public contributions."

The American Cancer Society helps people with cancer and their families in every Oklahoma community through a toll free number that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. By calling 1-800-ACS-2345, a cancer information specialist can offer assistance. Resources may also be found on the American Cancer Society's website at www.cancer.org. With the click of a mouse, patients and caregivers can log onto the Cancer Survivor NetworkTM and seek support. The site offers discussion groups, personal stories, communication with others via e-mail and resources such as suggested books, articles and Web sites.

The society offers several tangible services such as comfort pillows, wigs, nutritional supplements and other items. Temporary housing at the Hope Lodge(r) is available in some cities for cancer patients who must travel for treatment. Volunteer drivers transport patients through the Road to RecoverySM program, Smith said.

She explained, "Volunteers who have experienced cancer visit patients and their families to support them in adjusting to their diagnosis. The Reach to Recovery(r) program is for breast cancer patients, and the Man to Man(r) visitation program is a program created for prostate cancer patients. Support groups take place in hospitals, churches and other facilities that help cancer patients and their families. They include: I Can Cope(r), and Look Good...Feel Better(r).

"The American Cancer Society also offers bereavement support groups in some communities called Life After Loss," Smith said. "The American Cancer Society accomplishes these programs with volunteer support, so some programs may not be available in every area.

"The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is a unique community event that celebrates survivorship and raises money for cancer-fighting programs," Smith said. "Teams of eight to 15 people camp out overnight at the Sallisaw High School football field and take turns walking around the track. The event begins with a survivors' lap, in which cancer survivors take a victory lap around the track. Later, a candlelight ceremony takes place to honor cancer survivors and remember those who lost the battle to cancer."

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Sequoyah County will be held from 7 p.m. Friday, June 27, through 7 a.m. on Saturday, June 28. For information on how you can participate, contact event co-chairs Beverly Smith at (918) 774-4902 or Terry McCarty at (918) 774-6235.

"If you or a member of your family is in need of services, or if you want to volunteer or need more information, please contact your local American Cancer Society office in Tulsa at 1-888-376-1725 or 1-800-ACS-2345," Smith said.