I volunteer because as Lance Armstrong said, “Cancer may leave your body, but it never leaves your life.”  As a long-term survivor of multiple cancers, I know that psychological and medical support for cancer related issues are needed long after recovery from surgeries and treatments have ended.  The needs of survivors can be vastly different from those in the acute phase of the disease. Survivors need help adjusting to the “new normal” that comes after the treatments have ended and transitioning to living their new lives “post-cancer.”  The Survivorship Clinic at the Yale Cancer Center is here to serve this purpose — improving the lives of those who have survived cancer.  These services did not exist in Connecticut when I was a new “survivor” so, I volunteer for me.  But, more importantly, I volunteer for all the survivors to come.  No one should have to face survivorship alone.

Tags: amy kaplan, cancer survivor, charity bike ride, colon cancer survivor, connecticut challenge, ct challenge, ct challenge survivorship clinic, ct challenge volunteer, survivorship, why i ride, yale, yale cancer center