PHOTO: The Hope Lodge has provided the equivalent of 45,000 free room stays for residents of Greater Minnesota who are in the Twin Cities for cancer treatment. Courtesy American Cancer Society.
December 18, 2012
ST. PAUL, Minn. - A home away from home for cancer patients across Minnesota is celebrating its fifth anniversary. The American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge is a place where out-of-town patients and their caregivers can stay for free while receiving treatment in the Twin Cities.
Manager Mary Wiles says that without this housing, a stay for treatment can be a huge financial burden.
"The average hotel stay can range anywhere from $100 to $150, and if you total that across their entire treatment plan, it's a huge expense for families."
The Richard M. Schulze Family American Cancer Society Hope Lodge has provided the equivalent of 45,000 room/nights since opening, saving those guests and their families more than $6.5 million.
The lodge's main mission is to give families a place to stay, but Wiles says it goes beyond that, really providing a home away from home, and more.
"We have TV lounges, fitness room, library, meditation chapel room and, of course, the best place at the Hope Lodge really is our kitchen and dining room, where a lot of support happens among our guests and staff and volunteers as well."
And although people often arrive in great need, Wiles says they leave with renewed hope.
"There is a fear or concern of coming to the Twin Cities for their cancer treatment, but walking into the Hope Lodge they have felt such a sense of peace and comfort. They get support from other guests going though similar treatments. So our saying goes 'Enter as guests, leave as friends,' and that really is what happens a lot of times when our guests come stay at the Hope Lodge."
The Hope Lodge in Minneapolis is one of 31 such facilities around the country.
More information is at bit.ly/UMVxwg.
John Michaelson, Public News Service - MN
Source: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/29935-1
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