(SportsRadio 610) -- Houston Texans ambassador Cecil Shorts III recently visited the Houston Hope Lodge -- the nation’s largest -- where there are 64 patient suites providing free lodging for cancer patients.
The American Cancer Society created the Hope Lodge to help patients receive cancer treatment. This is close to the heart of Cecil, now retired after seven years as an NFL wide receiver, and Texans owner Janice McNair, who's been an instrumental donor.
Cecil and his wife both lost their grandmothers to breast cancer at very young ages. They want to show support for the people in need.
“This is a cause near and dear to my heart,” he said. “Both my grandmother and my wife’s grandmother passed away too early from breast cancer. More often than not, my grandmother was alone as she went through treatment. Houston’s Hope Lodge could have made a significant difference in her journey and experience.”
As cancer survivor Zach Jurgensen could attest to how receiving cancer treatment far from home can be a very stressful and expensive ordeal.
Zach was at the Hope Lodge event with Cecil last month, and Cecil was very moved by Zach’s story of spending seven months in Houston to receive treatment for potentially fatal cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain.
A resident of Oklahoma at the time, Zach had to move three times to different temporary lodging during his high-dose chemotherapy treatments. Moving when you’re perfectly healthy is stressful enough — having to do so while battling cancer is next to impossible.
As Zach was telling his cancer treatment story, Cecil empathized with his ordeal and expressed how a facility like Hope Lodge could have been helpful to his grandmother.
The community of support that is formed between cancer patients and their caregivers at Hope Lodges around the country is something that Cecil knows his grandmother did not have during her battle with cancer, and it’s something he feels could have made a big difference for her.
“Having a place like Hope Lodge where patients can cry, laugh, and be there for one another is just amazing,” Cecil said. “The sense of support and community it will create is a real game changer for cancer patients and their caregivers.”
The $30 million facility offers a library, shared living room, kitchen and dining areas, help-yourself pantry, daily access to fresh linens, and space for patient recreation and contemplation.
There is also free transportation provided to local cancer treatment centers for guests; a community of patients and caregivers offering fellowship; and a powerful support network focused on recovery.
The Hope Lodge represents a combined savings to patients of over $3 million a year.