THE GOOD PLACE
Rideshare with Care
Wheels of Hope’s trained and compassionate volunteer drivers help people living with cancer get to and from their treatment appointments safely.
By Kate Rae
A volunteer driver with the Wheels of Hope ridesharing program sets out for a day of driving cancer patients to their treatment appointments. | PHOTO: COURTESY OF CANADIAN CANCER SOCIETY
RECEIVING A CANCER DIAGNOSIS is frightening and filled with worries. But thanks to the Canadian Cancer Society’s Wheels of Hope program, the stress of getting to and from essential treatment isn’t one of those concerns.
“When people are diagnosed or going through treatment, the last thing they want to think about is ‘How am I going to get there?’ ” says Tanya Nixon, director of practical services. “It’s an honour to be able to take that worry away.”
How cancer patients benefit from Wheels of Hope.
Wheels of Hope is a ridesharing program wherein several clients may find themselves in one car, and Nixon has witnessed first-hand the communal support that can develop during the commute to cancer treatment appointments. “Sometimes it’s quiet and you know that people are reflecting on their experience. And then other times, [conversation] will just kind of start and [you’d be] hearing laughter and people talking about going to meet for coffee the next day,” says Nixon. “As a driver, you’re the first person that somebody sees after being told good, bad or confusing news. We’ve had drivers that have said to us, ‘I tell them to practice on me about what they’re going to say when they get home.’ ”
“It’s an honour to be able to take that worry away.”
Making connections on the way.
One of the drivers on the team proudly displays a heart-shaped stone in his vehicle, gifted to him by a grateful patient. “He said, ‘It hangs in my car for people that are just starting their journey.’ ” To this day, it’s still hanging in his car, according to Nixon.
Last year alone in Ontario, approximately 1,000 volunteers drove over five million kilometres to help cancer patients receive care safely and reliably. “We hear from people all the time that if this program hadn’t been in place, they would not have gone to cancer treatment because they had no other [means of transportation],” says Nixon.
Becoming a volunteer driver with Wheels of Hope in Ontario.
Wheels of Hope is actively recruiting new volunteer drivers across the province, especially in the GTA and Owen Sound. (Owen Sound is currently down one oncologist, leaving many patients travelling to London for treatment.) There are only two job requirements for drivers: a clean driving record and the desire to help. CAA