Why This Newton Woman Volunteers At The American Cancer Society

NEWTON, MA — There are only a handful of tragedies that are on the level of losing your life partner to cancer. But for one Newton resident. All she could do was channel her grief into volunteering her time. By doing that, she says, at least she can help try to ease the suffering of others touched by cancer.

Dana Bernson and her husband Jon Bernson were newlyweds, she was 29 and he was 34, when he got a sinus infection that wouldn’t go away. Then a trip to the hospital resulted in an unexpected diagnosis – Rhabdomyosarcoma – a rare form of cancer that is normally found in pediatric patients.

The two weren't even sure how to pronounce it.

It turned out Jon had a tumor growing in his sinus, pressing on his eye. He started treatment the day he was diagnosed. In the weeks of treatments that followed, they headed into Mass General Hospital every day.

Family members shared the driving duties, so Dana could keep up her job, partly for the much-need income and partly as a short mental reprieve, she said.

“You could literally see his face changing,” Dana said later. “There was a lot of back and forth, and that adds up.”

Jon passed away in May 2015. He was 36. He left behind his wife, his brother, and his parents.

And it wasn't an easy journey. It took two years before his wife was ready, but with the encouragement of her mother who already volunteered with the American Cancer Society, Dana said she wanted to do something, too. The idea of helping to drive others to appointments seemed fitting. When her family had stepped up to help drive it had felt like a relief.

In the summer of 2017 she started volunteering as a driver in the American Cancer Society’s Road To Recovery program.

Sometimes she drives patients into the city as part of her commute into the Downtown Crossing area for her job as an epidemiologist for the Massachusetts Department of Health. She also works a compressed work week schedule so she can drive patients on Fridays with Road To Recovery, she said.

Some of the people she drives just want to stay quiet. Some want to chat, Bernson said. One patient lives two blocks from her home, and Bernson often sees her walking her dog. Another woman from Brookline would often ask questions about what she and her husband went through.

Every single person is appreciative, she said.

“It’s impossible to describe,” Bernson said of the fulfillment she gets from volunteering as a Road To Recovery driver. “It feels good to relieve any burden I can, even for one day, for someone going through cancer. I’ve got to do it.”

If you're interested in volunteering call 800-227-2345 or visit http://Cancer.org/Drive to learn more

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Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).

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Photo Credit: Tamme Stitt. Courtesy Photo