April 19, 2023
April 16 to 22 marks National Volunteer Week. To celebrate, we’re exploring the volunteer journey of four longstanding LHSC volunteers. Follow us this week as we learn more about the volunteers who make Team LHSC ‘Stronger Together’.
Bruce Knight’s volunteer journey at LHSC began not long after he was a patient at the London Regional Cancer Program (LRCP) 18 years ago. After completing his first round of chemotherapy for hairy cell leukemia, he felt compelled to give back to those that helped him, and to hopefully reduce the stress for those going through cancer treatments today.
Now, with a remarkable 15 years of volunteer experience at LHSC Bruce still feels like he is able to positively impact both staff and patients in the LRCP volunteering in New Patient Orientation.
When a patient arrives at the LRCP for the first time, volunteers like Bruce show them around the facility, pointing out the clinics, blood lab, pharmacy, washrooms, chemo and radiation areas, etc. They also walk them through a series of self-assessment questions and explain the process they will follow if they are scheduled to return on another day.
While the role may seem simple, the impact it has on patients who may be feeling scared or overwhelmed is immeasurable. In fact, Bruce recalls that he is often “very surprised by the number of patients that will tell me they came through the cancer clinic more than five years ago, and they remember that I was the one that showed them, or maybe their spouse, around the clinic.”
When COVID-19 began, volunteers were withdrawn from in-hospital service in March 2020 as a safety precaution during the first wave of COVID-19. However, Bruce was quick to return as soon as he was able, first at the COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Western Fair Agriplex, and now back at the LRCP. When asked why he returned, Bruce described it as “natural”, further elaborating that “the need for volunteers, never went away. Life was harder for both patients and staff while COVID protocols were being followed.”
When asked to reflect on his 15 years of volunteering at LHSC, Bruce says “I find my time at the LRCP to be very rewarding every single week. It starts with the staff that truly appreciates having me there and I mean all of the staff. It’s also obvious, the patients appreciate the one to one time they have with a volunteer. I hope that my role, a smiling face, a listening ear, a kind voice, reduces the patients stress just a little.”