Hope Lodge Opening For Cancer Patients In Oklahoma

The burden for many cancer patients is not just with the treatments, it’s with the expenses, but that financial burden just got a lot lighter.

“Until you are dealing with a cancer diagnosis, you don’t realize there are so many other components other than just the medical component,” Michelle Fair with the American Cancer Society said.

The most requested resource for cancer patients is for fuel to get to their appointments and lodging when they can’t get home.

“Many patients were traveling in or not going to treatment because they couldn’t travel in,” Fair said.

The average length of time for treatments is about nine days, forcing patients to choose to drive home after the exhausting treatments or pay for a hotel stay.

“Many patients have to decide, am I going to pay my mortgage or am I going to stay in a hotel for a week,” Fair said.

Making the Chad Richison Hope Lodge a game changer for cancer patients.

“My family incurred quite a financial debt while I was in the hospital and undergoing some treatments, so this is going to mean so much to so many people, it means a lot to me,” a cancer survivor, Carla Prothro, said.

The Hope Lodge also connects cancers patients to a community of support.

“It’s the actual relationships that are built, the shared moments and journey structure that nobody that is fighting cancer has to do that alone,” Fair said.

The lodge is specifically designed for the needs of cancer patients and their care takers.

“We have two community kitchens that have six individual kitchens total with individualized pantries so people can bring their favorite foods,” Fair said.

There’s also a workout room, a coffee station and quiet rooms on every floor.

“Something else that’s cool that you don’t think about until you need it is the laundry facilities, we provide everything for them to do their laundry,” Fair said.

Every detail is carefully thought out.

“You’ll notice there’s a lot of roundness and not a lot of sharp edges, because there’s a lot of dizziness after chemo or radiation so we think about that as well,” Fair said.

 Giving cancer patients just a little relief after a tough day of treatments

“It’s fabulous, it’s where memories are going to be made,” Prothro said.

They anticipate opening for guests this month, it is located at 801 NE 7th Street, near the OU medical campus. Guests and caretakers are recommended through cancer treatment facilities.

The estimated cost to run the Hope Lodge is $600,000 a year, donations and volunteers are always welcome.

For more information, click here.