Vancouver – Local Island resident, Lorne Mackie, was recently honoured as this year’s BC Cancer Agency Community Care Award recipient.

The BC Cancer Agency Community Care Award, sponsored by the BC Cancer Foundation, recognizes exceptional caregivers who go beyond the call of duty to help improve the lives of people living with cancer.

Since 2001, Lorne Mackie has volunteered at the BC Cancer Agency Vancouver Island Centre, providing compassionate care to cancer patients.

“Lorne’s commitment to volunteerism in the area of cancer care is the reason why he was selected as this year’s recipient,” says Dr. Ursula Lee, oncologist with the BC Cancer Agency Fraser Valley Centre. “His tireless efforts and unwavering devotion to help others inspires those around him which is why he deserves to be honoured.”

Lorne suffers from a debilitating spine condition, and after working in dentistry for 31 years, he was unable to return to work. Despite this setback, he wanted to make the most of his skills and began his volunteer career with the BC Cancer Agency.

He provides a personal touch throughout the care journey. Patients often meet Lorne at the outpatient clinic and are relieved to see a friendly face when they come into the pain and symptom management clinic or are admitted to the hospice.

Lorne has played a key role in supporting Screening for Distress, a project aimed at improving care for cancer patients by enabling them to self-report their symptoms. This relies heavily on volunteers helping patients use a computerized screening tool. Lorne helps guide patients through the assessment and communicates the results to the care team—ensuring a team effort.

“He is absolutely phenomenal with our patients. When he’s not there, the patients ask for him,” says Jennifer Finck, a registered nurse at the BC Cancer Agency Vancouver Island Centre symptom management clinic. Jennifer organized the nomination on behalf of the staff. “As the only volunteer on the team, Lorne has become the eyes and ears in the waiting room, taking note of patient changes and progress and passing this information onto the team.”

Lorne’s medical background has made him somewhat of a rare volunteer.

His dentistry background provides him with a deeper understanding of the physiology of what patients are going through, and he has been able to provide insights to the healthcare team that have helped improve quality of care.

In one example, when greeting a patient, Lorne observed the patient’s demeanor had changed from previous visits, and he was able to take some extra time to talk to the patient and elicit some critical information that shaped the care plan for that patient.

His intuition and warm approach helps the medical team treat patients who are suffering from symptoms difficult to control.

Humbled and surprised by the news, Lorne describes his volunteer role as an incredibly rewarding experience. “To be intimately involved with people at the most vulnerable stage in their life is a privilege,” says Lorne.

He encourages others to volunteer and share his experience. “I don’t think people know how much they have to give or the talents they have,” says Lorne. “When I had a job, I had to go to work. I volunteer because I want to.”

For more information on the BC Cancer Community Care Award, visit www.bccancer.bc.ca/communitycareaward.

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The BC Cancer Agency, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority, is committed to reducing the incidence of cancer, reducing mortality from cancer, and improving the quality of life of those living with cancer. It provides a comprehensive cancer control program for the people of British Columbia by working with community partners to deliver a range of oncology services, including prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment, research, education, supportive care, rehabilitation and palliative care. For more information, visit www.bccancer.ca.

The BC Cancer Foundation is the bridge that connects philanthropic support and research breakthroughs in cancer knowledge. As the fundraising partner of the BC Cancer Agency and the largest charitable funder of cancer research in this province, we enable donors to make contributions to leading-edge research that have a direct impact on improvements to cancer care for patients in British Columbia. We fund with the goal of finding solutions. As an independent charitable organization, we raise funds exclusively for the BC Cancer Agency that support innovative cancer research and compassionate enhancements to patient care. Visit www.bccancerfoundation.com to make a donation or to learn how you can make a difference in the lives of those affected by cancer.