Cancer center volunteer pays it forward after husband's death in 2001

Over the past 13 years, Dorothy Carlson has greeted hundreds of clients and their families as a volunteer at the LivingWell Cancer Resource Center in Geneva.

“Cancer is very dear to my heart,” she said. “I know what people have gone through. I understand and I can relate to what they're going through. There's a soft spot in my heart.”

Carlson's husband, Ronald, died at 65 in June 2001, three months after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

Doctors treat the body through medicine; LivingWell complements medical treatment with services such as art, meditation, nutrition, support groups and yoga to help treat the soul and spirit.

Carlson, 79, of Elburn, found out about LivingWell from her neighbor, Fred Dornback, who was helping set up the center in 2005.

Since then, she's been a weekly volunteer, answering phones, washing linens for bedding, giving tours, cooking and setting up for meetings, watering plants, providing snacks after yoga, and even helping with wig fittings.

“I love everything I do. I don't sit down a lot because I'm busy. It makes me feel good. It's a joy to help someone else,” Carlson said.

Carlson says each aspect of her service has its own reward, but giving tours is especially satisfying if she can help give people optimism and hope.

“You see people come in with a pretty dejected attitude, but LivingWell has such a warm, welcoming atmosphere and we have so much to offer,” she said. “They're much more positive (when they leave). They understand we're here to help them.”

As rewarding as her time at LivingWell can be, it can take an emotional toll as not every client has a happy ending.

Carlson recalled greeting a young woman who had a brain tumor.

One of the next times the woman came in it was evident her condition was worsening as she was in a wheelchair.

Carlson went home that day and cried.

Still, she wouldn't have it any other way.

“Most people say, ‘If it wasn't for LivingWell I wouldn't be able to get through this.' I get more out of it than I put in, as far as I'm concerned.”

Carlson also volunteers once a week at Waubonsee Community College in Aurora as an English as a second language tutor. “I always enjoy learning of (the students') cultures and helping them to become better equipped for living in this country. I like to make a difference in these people's lives,” she said.

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