This month, I’m writing about a topic that is close to my heart: volunteering.

I started volunteering at the local playschool when my children were pre-schoolers and continued on all through their schooling. 

I learned a lot about ‘not for profit’ organizations through the years as I got involved with other groups.  Back in the ‘90s, we were still using ‘land line’ phones mostly, and being a ‘volunteer coordinator’ involved doing a lot of phoning and leaving a lot of voice mails.  Now it is so much easier and more efficient to be online and send and receive e-mails regarding volunteer activities. 

I notice the same thing with ‘canvassing’ for charities.  Over the years, I was recruited to donate an evening or two to go door to door, asking for donations for organizations such as the Canadian Cancer Society and the Heart and Stroke Foundation.  Those sorts of fund raisers are now sometimes being phased out in favor of other ways of raising money…for one thing, not as many people are willing to canvas door to door.

When I found out that I had myeloma, I had to drop out of my volunteer activities for a while to ‘keep my head above water,’ both physically and emotionally. 

Nevertheless, on the very first day of treatments at our cancer center, I noticed the army of volunteers who help out there. 

At the entrance, a volunteer is waiting to help with any questions. A volunteer is also available to help a patient navigate the maze of corridors and elevators to get to their designated appointment area.  A neighbor of ours, a cancer survivor, greeted us on our first day at the cancer center.  My family was very glad to see him, since they were very nervous about me being there.

As I was either waiting for an appointment or a treatment, two or three ladies would come by with a trolley, offering tea, coffee, water, or juice with a biscuit.  They even used china tea cups; my goodness, it was high tea!  I always thanked them, but they are very self-effacing, and don’t tell you much about themselves, just giving out lovely enigmatic smiles along with the refreshments. 

The little gift shop at the cancer center, which stocks useful items (such as toothpaste and combs) for patients who are in the hospital, is also run by volunteers.  In addition, there is a cadre of ‘volunteer drivers’, who drive their own vehicles to take patients to and from their appointments.  Many patients are in no condition to drive themselves and do not have anyone to take them either. 

Even such thoughtful touches as a basket of hand knit hats, for patients who have lost their hair during treatments, is provided by volunteers.  Occasionally, one may come across a bake sale in the hallways.  There is a softened edge, a kindness, in the atmosphere of what otherwise could be quite a daunting place - a cancer center.

Later, when I was ‘on the mend’, I considered volunteering at the cancer center. However, I felt that it might not be the best place to use my newfound energies since I still had low blood counts and was apt to catch infections easily.  

Instead, I decided to get back to some of my old volunteering activities, in particular the needlework guild and a parks committee. In addition, I chose to go in the direction of my new interest: multiple myeloma.

I joined our local support group and was very impressed by the high level of organization, which the group had achieved in only about five years.  The support group tries to fill a niche for the myeloma and amyloidosis community here in southern Alberta with a variety of different events.

My first encounter with the group had actually been in September 2009, when I was having induction chemotherapy.  They had joined forces with the group that speaks to national issues to put on a ‘patient and caregiver’ conference. 

My husband and I found the conference interesting, since we had the chance to meet with many patients. Some of these cancer patients were very ill indeed, although scattered among the crowd were others who were doing better.   We appreciated hearing the talks given by myeloma specialists from Canada and the U.S. 

We actually had lunch with a nice doctor from a renowned clinic in the U.S.  I told him how I had decided to give my new light-weight bicycle away to one of my daughters, since I did not think I would be riding it any more.  Having had several vertebral fractures, even though they were healing, made me quite nervous of cycling.   He replied that I would be back up on my bike again in a year.   Sure enough, we do go out riding sometimes on the pathway system here, and I fondly remember his encouraging words. 

We also met the leader of our local support group.   She is a patient who has received many awards for her volunteer efforts for myeloma patients.  She is an excellent role model and encourages many patients and caregivers to give of themselves to help out.  

Our support group is well run and a lot of people pitch in for the events planned by the group.  I am on the steering committee now and help with planning for the annual walk/run (July next year), a patient caregiver conference scheduled for September 2013, and other fund raising activities (we raise funds for myeloma research being done here in Calgary). The group also holds monthly meetings that either feature a speaker or are earmarked for people to talk about their myeloma journeys.

I mentioned once to our support group leader that I had started volunteering when the kids were in playschool and have been doing it ever since.  She just laughed since that was her experience also, and we agreed: ’Once a volunteer, always a volunteer!’

As you know, I have also become involved with The Myeloma Beacon by writing this monthly column.  

However, did you realize that not only the Beacon columnists are volunteers, but that the Beacon Medical Advisors also give freely of their time?  Considering just how busy most oncologists are, that is a generous thing for them to do. 

So next time you see a volunteer at your cancer center or at your support group -- or have your questions answered online by a Beacon Medical Advisor -- please be sure to thank them for their time. 

I would like to add that if you have the time and energy to volunteer yourself, you would probably gain a lot by doing so! 

That is certainly true in my case. I have met a lot of very nice people and learned so much from being a volunteer. 

The festive season is now here, and I would like to wish everyone a wonderful holiday and Happy New Year for 2013!  The sparkling lights, carols sung by a choir, and good cheer at this time of year are just what we need to feel better!

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The quotation for this month is not a quote but actually the lyrics from a traditional German Christmas song: "O Tannenbaum, o tannenbaum, thy leaves are so unchanging. Not only green when summer’s here, but also when ‘tis cold and drear. O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, thy leaves are so unchanging."