Cancer Program in Need of Volunteers

Simi Valley Hospital’s Cancer Institute needs volunteers for its “I Care” program for terminally ill patients struggling with cancer.

The program, which now has six volunteers, provides patients with people who understand the struggles and pitfalls associated with cancer.

All the volunteers have either been cancer patients or have had close family members who have battled the disease.

“Many times, all they do is hold someone’s hand and listen,” said Mark Flitcraft, director of Simi Valley Hospital and Health Care Services Cancer Institute. “Often they will just give hugs or perhaps a foot massage, which shares the message that someone really cares.”

Each of the volunteers is trained during a 16-hour session that develops active listening and communication skills.

“It’s important for me to volunteer in this program, because when I was diagnosed with cancer I didn’t feel like I could talk to my family about certain things,” said volunteer Mike O’Connor. “I wish there had been someone who had gone through it to talk to. . . . That’s why I do it.”

For more information on the program, call the Simi Valley chapter of the American Cancer Society at 527-5360 or the Cancer Institute at 522-4444.