When you mention the American Cancer Society a lot of us know they do great things for the community. It's a fair bet, however, it would be hard for most of us to give specific examples of those great things. We'll start this series with the area ACS officials call patient services. They are emphasized by an Aniak man's story, who says if it was not for the American Cancer Society, right now, he would be dead.

"We got a lot of us living in the bush that don't even consider themselves having cancer, but they are. Like me," Aniak's George Givot explained with shaky, raw emotion in his voice.

When you are from one of Alaska's 150 villages, like Givot, he says the price to pay for treating cancer scares rural Alaskans into ignoring

cancer. "I often wonder how many men out of at least 150 villages in Alaska that are actual walking cancer."

Givot was unknowingly walking with prostate cancer when he took a shopping trip to Anchorage. He says, "I came into shop for groceries. You see St. Patrick's Day. A little bit before the tourist season."

Givot stopped at a free health fair and had blood test looking for prostate cancer. A week later the call he never saw coming. "I didn't have a dream in the world I had prostate cancer," still he says with the same shock in his voice nearly a year later.

While Givot wanted to take care of his health, cancer's financial cost took priority. "All total it was four trips. And that amounted to $6,000."

That's where

Advertisement
the American Cancer Society's patient navigator service came in. Using a grant from PenAir and the Alaska Aces to not only handle Givot's travel costs, Givot spoke about the place they gave him to stay. "Look through the window. There's the Hickel House. They help the financial end of staying there."

Helping bear cancer's tremendous financial cost. Just part of what the American Cancer Society's patient services help fill in the footsteps Givot says would leave many of our neighbors walking with cancer if they were not there.

"I wouldn't be here. I would not. They are like the rescue squad in Anchorage. They literally are. And I never knew that kind of situation was there."

Patient services go beyond the navigator helping George Givot. The American cancer society also offers other services to help patients empower themselves. That includes a 24-hour support line with a real person always on the other end, wigs and makeup for cancer patients, and driving cancer patients to their doctor appointments. That's why your support during Alaska's Cancer Telethon, Friday night, is so vital.

To contact the Newsroom, call 907-273-3186.