Campus Connection

Service projects prepare Radiation Therapy majors for a personable career

Students in UW-La Crosse’s Radiation Therapy Club can be found driving cancer patients to appointments. Others are talking to Mayo Clinic patients over a hand of cards at the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge in Rochester, Minnesota. Still others can be found penning a simple note of encouragement to those undergoing treatment. A radiation therapist is much more than someone who administers radiation, says Erin Richardson, a UWL radiation therapy major and club president. The second half of the title is “therapist” for a reason, she adds. It is a personable, caring and service-oriented career that students prepare for, in part, through community service, she explains. Every fall semester a group of about 50 students in the club make handmade tied blankets to deliver to the Oncology Department at Gundersen Health System. They made 15 blankets during their last meeting of the semester Tuesday, Nov. 28, and delivered them to Gundersen in early December. [caption id="attachment_50629" align="alignright" width="196"] Marcie (Wiederholt) Robbins, ’12, was inspired to enter the profession after seeing the support her uncle received when going through cancer treatment. She recalls how he loved his therapist.[/caption] The project started when UWL alumna Marcie (Wiederholt) Robbins, ’12, now a radiation therapist at Gundersen, was president of the student club. Back then, the club members volunteered in the community — playing bingo with nursing home residents and “trick or treating for cans” to collect food panty donations. But that didn’t get them in contact with the people they would be serving in their future. So, Robbins created the blanket making project to directly benefit cancer patients. The project was a win-win, she says. Students bonded with each other and patients while making and delivering the blankets. The patients were and continue to be appreciative, Robbins adds. “Some are so thankful they cry,” she notes. “They are happy to know someone is thinking of them and making them feel special.” [caption id="attachment_50624" align="alignnone" width="685"] From left, Radiation Therapy Club members Rithvik Hari and Sawyer Ellsworth work on handmade, tied blankets during a club meeting. Gundersen Health System patients who receive the blankets appreciate the warming gift.[/caption] Robbins is happy to see the tradition continue at UWL. It’s not too surprising is has considering the statistics. A recent self-reporting survey found that 42 percent of UWL seniors volunteered up to five hours weekly. Richardson, and Radiation Therapy club vice presidents, Courtney Kocken and Lexie Radle, have been involved in the blanket making and delivery for four years. “You know you are putting your hard work into improving someone else’s life,” says Richardson. The project, in that respect, is a lot like the profession. All three declared the radiation therapy major as freshmen because they grew up seeing people close to them go through cancer treatment. Whether an aunt, grandma or a high school friend, they remember the doctors, nurses and therapists who became more than medical providers. They were a support system. “It made me want to be someone else’s support system when they are having a challenging time,” explains Radle.