Investing in change

Homewood residents Ginny Tucker and Lori Blanton both agree working for the American Cancer Society, even after 20 years, hasn’t felt “like a job,” especially when the end goal — preventing and curing cancer — gains traction each day toward becoming a reality.

Preventing cancer is what it’s all about, “no matter if we are in the cancer control department or if we are in the community development department, we speak the same language,” Blanton said.

“We thrive off of each other and share stories,” Tucker added, “and that’s how we push forward.”

Tucker, executive director of the ACS South Region branch, and Blanton, senior director of State Health Systems at the ACS, were both hired in 1998. In looking back at their work with ACS for the last 20 years, both women agreed the research, awareness and attitudes toward the disease have shifted and changed, mostly for the better. 

Some people have altered dangerous lifestyle habits — smoking, for example, as evidence to its link to cancer has been spread, Blanton said — which has been a part of ACS awareness campaigns as researchers continue to get closer to finding cures to the many kinds of cancer that impact millions of lives. 

“Every day fills us with inspiration for the people we talk with and know we are helping, and also those we will never meet, but we know we’re making impacts in their life, as well,” Tucker said. “Those stories and those faces and patients, that is the life blood, that is the American Cancer Society.”

With a limited staff, ACS is primarily a volunteer organization, Tucker said, that works to accelerate prevention and early detection, as well as learn how to better serve patients dealing with cancer. ACS works with patients all the way from diagnosis through navigating hospital systems and insurance providers through the stages of treatment, Blanton said. 

When Blanton first started at ACS, she said her job was to hand out brochures.

“We really realized if we are going to make an impact on cancer, we’ve got to begin to change behavior, change behavior in an individual and then within a system,” Blanton said.

ACS shifted gears from health fairs and brochures to “rolling up their sleeves and really making a difference,” Blanton said. Tucker added that they have worked to develop a more “systematic approach” internally and as a community over the years.

Blanton said a lot of people don’t realize how “behind-the-scenes” ACS is, or how it works with various entities like state and local health departments, providers and hospitals. 

Every day is a day of service, Blanton said. Tucker added even though she works in the community development and fundraising sphere, both she and Blanton are “a jack of all trades here” helping out with all parts of the organization. She said they have patients come from all over the state, country and world to use Birmingham’s medical facilities. 

Tucker is in charge of coordinating fundraising efforts for ACS staff across the state of Alabama, as well as working with volunteers, donors, partnership opportunities and community events to raise awareness. In terms of the volunteer world, Tucker said, it is always shifting. 

“People are really looking at the time they have to volunteer and events they want to be part of,” Tucker said, so part of her role is staying in tune to how that world is changing and how people want to be involved, create change and raise funds. 

Because the ACS is a community-based organization, Tucker said, “they have a variety of different events to fit the many different interests that volunteers and donors have,” from galas and golf events to Relay for Life and the junior board. 

After working in Birmingham for the past 20 years, both Blanton and Tucker said they’ve witnessed how big of a role fighting cancer has played in the surrounding communities.

“Yes, it does involve dollars and cents, but I like to see it more as we are gaining partners in our mission to beat cancer. It’s more stories and getting to know people and having them know what we do and how they can be a part of the incredible focuses and the incredible passion and dedication we have,” Tucker said. 

Part of Blanton’s job is analyzing data, research and approaches nationally, as well as sharing some of the cross-innovation happening, even locally. Many people don’t realize all the great things people are doing in Alabama, Blanton said. 

“It’s so inspirational for us to see those pieces coming together in our 20 years of being here. … A lot of things have changed,” Tucker said. 

Through the years, Blanton has been able to meet people all across the nation and work in service learning with them to actively make a difference. A huge part of both of their work circles back to the Hope Lodge, she added.

“When I’m having a bad day, that’s where I go. It puts everything in perspective,” Tucker said.

All year round, there are 33 rooms where patients and their caregivers can stay at no charge while they are undergoing treatment. The lodge is multiple stories and includes a communal living and kitchen area, laundry facilities and individual rooms. 

Many people in Birmingham don’t know about the Hope Facility, Tucker said, and just how many people and families it has impacted. Volunteer groups from all over the state and city of Birmingham often come and serve hot meals to the patients, Tucker said, where she and Blanton “witness the beauty of volunteerism at its heart.”

A huge part of the success and strides that ACS makes in the community is through the partners and volunteers, Blanton and Tucker said, especially because of how big and intricate cancer can be.

“There’s many cancers, which is why there’s not just one cure. We have to find many cures. I think that’s a misunderstanding for a lot of people,” Blanton said. 

Both Blanton and Tucker tear up when they remember the many faces over the years that they will never see again. Those kind of memories never stop being hard, Blanton said, but through the sadness they also were able to see all the “passion and love that surrounds them and the caregiver community and the medical community,” Tucker said. 

“I can see their faces in my head, right now … of people we’ve known. We’ve been through their journey with them, and whether they have passed away or not, they always stay with us, and that makes our drive even more intense to make sure that we are doing all that we can,” Tucker said. 

Blanton said she will never forget a 15-year-old patient named Cliff Jacobs she got to know the first year she was working at ACS, along with his mom, dad and little brother.

“The inspiration they have left and the mark they’ve made on us drives us even further,” Blanton said. She said Cliff wore an Alabama baseball cap and had the biggest smile she’d ever seen. To this day, she keeps a picture of him in her office.

“He’s the reason why I do a lot of what I do,” she said. “I will never forget him. It’s been like 20 years; I don’t mean to tear up.”

It’s these realities that keep them energized, both said, and the fact that some of those people, if they had been diagnosed today, would still be alive based on recent advancements. The ACS staff interacts with the researchers at UAB, Tucker said, to learn what they’re working on, which they are also able to share with donors and volunteers.

Blanton said the biggest lesson she’s learned over the last 20 years is “we cannot do it on our own.”

“I have met so many salt of the earth, just wonderful people in my 20 years that I feel so fortunate to have known or know, and the best part of my job — and Lori could probably say the same — is getting out into the community and connecting those dots and seeing the real desire and passion people have to invest in the American Cancer Society,” Tucker said. 

Both Blanton and Tucker have spent the majority of the past 20 years living in Homewood, where they said they’ve seen their fair share of locals impacted by cancer. They’ve also gotten to know some of the Homewood stakeholders, raised awareness, participated in the many Relay for Life events and seen young leaders grow up in the area determined to make a difference. 

“There’s those people I draw upon in the Homewood community that help guide me and help me to be better at what I do every day,” Blanton said. 

In March, ACS is highlighting Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month with a new campaign focused on prevention, Blanton said. 

For more information about the ACS or to donate, go to cancer.org or call the 24/7 cancer helpline at 1-800-227-2345.