Document text
Cancer survivors create library photo by Jim Craven �We wanted to set up a system where women could get answers� By Bill Kettler Cancer patients who struggled to find information about their disease have created a library to spare others the same arduous search. "We had to buy our own books and find our own answers," said Charlene Davidson, who helped organize Providence Medford Medical Center�s cancer research library. "We wanted to set up a system where women could get answers." Library hours The Providence Cancer Library, at 940 Royal Ave., is open from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, call 732-7004. Rogue Valley Medical Center also provides cancer information at a library in its new Dubs Cancer Center. The library is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, call 608-4263. Davidson and other cancer patients in her support group realized they all had trouble finding information about their disease. When they learned Providence was making a cancer center, they looked for a way to create a research library in the new building. "We didn�t want everybody to have to re-invent the wheel," said Davidson, of Medford, who was diagnosed with cancer in 1998. Money for the project came from Providence�s annual Festival of Trees fund-raising campaign. A $100,000 grant provided money for books, videotapes, computers and cassettes filled with information about a disease that strikes 1,400 Jackson County residents every year. A small room just off the main lobby of the Providence Cancer Center has been transformed into a research library. More than 250 books provide the newest thinking on many different kinds of cancers and related topics such as treatment options, stress management and pain control. Computers connected to the Internet give cancer patients access to medical journals with the latest research. "I learned how to use the Internet here," said Jean Jeldness, a Medford cancer patient. Cancer patients like having a conveniently located central information source, but they also appreciate the emotional support they find at the library. All the volunteers who work there have had cancer themselves or have relatives who have struggled with the disease. "The library is more than just books," said Ara Johnson, an Ashland cancer patient. "It�s meeting people." Ordinary folks� personal experiences often mean more to people who are learning to understand cancer than a doctor�s technical explanations, said Jeldness. "I talked to a man whose wife had colon cancer," she said. "He was feeling pretty frustrated. I could tell him I had a friend who had colon cancer and she�s alive 20 years later." Library volunteers do not suggest treatments or advocate for particular therapies. They simply help people find the information they want. "We don�t recommend anything," said volunteer Pat Wintemute, "except that they be educated." Besides the latest scientific cancer research, the library has information about "complementary" treatments such as Chinese herbs. There�s even material about the relationship between health and a positive mental attitude. Davidson noted that research increasingly shows that people who have a positive attitude often heal faster or recover more completely than people who are depressed. "You�ve got to get your mind working for you to realize what a powerhouse it is," said Davidson. Davidson said the library soon will be remodeled to make it more accessible to people in the main lobby of the cancer center. The collection is open to anyone and there is no charge for using the materials. "We�ve got lots of resources," she said. "If we don�t have the answers someone needs, we�re going to find them." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA