Cancer Bus Stop Signs Up Fighters
By Andrew Smith, The Brunswick News, Ga.
Jun. 21–Under a high midday sun, the American Cancer Society Fight Back Express bus rolled into the parking lot of the Southeast Georgia Health System’s Outpatient Care Center in Brunswick right on time Friday.
“We have a wonderful turnout,” said Deborah Riner, an organizer and advocate who volunteers on the society’s public policy advisory board.
The Fight Back Express stopped in Brunswick as part of a 48-state tour organized by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, a non-partisan advocacy group devoted to making cancer issues a national priority.
“Plenty of people signed the bus and our speakers were moving, as well,” said Riner of the approximately 50 people who showed up to sign names on the bus and rally in support of those fighting cancer.
Speakers included state House of Representatives majority leader Jerry Keen, R-St. Simons Island, and Southeast Georgia Health System Chief Executive Officer Gary Colberg. Dr. Duane Moores, oncologist and hematologist, and Jim Jordan, a cancer survivor, also spoke.
“Through regular screening and early detection we can decrease the risk of death in cancer patients,” Moores said. “Everyone deserves that type of access to care.”
John Daniel, vice president of federal issues for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network South Atlantic Division, was part of the group.
He’s been with the bus since it began its journey through Georgia Tuesday and has been moved by what he has seen throughout the trip.
“It’s been very touching to see all the people who have come out to write on the bus,” Daniel said. “Every one of them has had their own cancer story to tell.”
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Copyright (c) 2008, The Brunswick News, Ga.
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