Providing answers Providing answers (December 02, 2005)

The ValleyCare Health Library and Ryan Comer Cancer Resource Center
By Carol Bogart

The Ryan Comer Cancer Resource Center focuses on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The center is located inside the ValleyCare Health Library. Money generated by the Pleasanton Weekly Holiday Fund helps the center offer personalized reference assistance and access to medical databases, some in other languages, including Web sites and articles, plus books, videos and models.

The services are free. They include:

* Personalized reference assistance with a staff medical librarian and an RN

* Databases with full-text medical journals, newsletters, pamphlets and patient education sheets

* Access to reliable, evaluated health-related web sites

* A collection of books, videos, posters, models and interactive kits for check out

Established in 1991, the resource center is located on the 2nd floor of the ValleyCare Medical Plaza at the corner of Stoneridge Drive and W. Las Positas Boulevard. It was named for a young Pleasanton man who died from cancer in 1991. In his memory, his family donated $150,000 to help establish a cancer resource collection.

Mary Riley is the registered nurse on staff at the Center, as is librarian Margaret Hsieh and a host of volunteers, all of whom assist patrons in their medical research.

The center has models, posters, books, clinical textbooks, videos and DVDs as well as online medical journal access and a bi-lingual streaming video database. Riley explains, "These up-to-date resources are offered free of charge, to anyone in our community. To borrow items we require a valid California driver's license."

Riley adds that young children love the 'hands on' approach to learning using the models and posters. They can touch, listen, and see how their bodies work. The center hosts library tours and demonstrates good hand washing technique using a 'Glow Germ' handwashing kit.

Flu prevention is one advantage gained from learning healthy habits. The cancer collection's resources include coping with cancer, chemotherapy, symptom management, grief, alternative and complementary therapy. Explanations about their disease and treatment are presented in ways that are easy to understand.

Riley said the library keeps its holdings current with new treatment information which changes rapidly and is continually expanding its video collection to include DVDs. High school and nursing students often tap into the center's resources for their projects, as do health care professionals and people searching for information about healthy lifestyles. Copies of anything are just 10 cents a page.

Cancer support groups also meet regularly at the library. The groups are open to anyone dealing with cancer, including patients, family members and caregivers.

The library depends on support from ValleyCare Health System, and community grants and donations like money raised by the Holiday Fund.

"On behalf of ValleyCare Health System, I would like to thank the Pleasanton Weekly for including the ValleyCare Health Library and Ryan Comer Cancer Resource Center as a recipient of this year's Holiday Fund drive," said Ken Mercer, ValleyCare Vice President. "In the midst of all of the tragedies that have occurred in the nation and world this past year, we are especially grateful to receive support from our local community."

For more information on what the resource center offers or if you are interested in becoming a volunteer, call 734-3315.
Hours of operation at the Ryan Comer Resource Center:

Monday

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Tuesday

10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Wednesday

10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Thursday

10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Friday

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Pleasanton Weekly Holiday Fund

The Pleasanton Weekly Holiday Fund was created to provide financial support from our readers for a select group of local nonprofit organizations to help alleviate the needs that exist, despite our community's prosperity. This marks the third year of the Pleasanton Weekly Holiday Fund. It provides an opportunity to aid local groups at a time when donations are scarce due, in part, to a string of natural disasters around the world to which many gave money, and in some cases, their time.

The Pleasanton Weekly Holiday Fund drive could not exist without the help of the Tri-Valley Community Foundation and its generous donors. This will enable us to increase your donation by 50 percent and allow your gift of $1 to total $1.50 to the nonprofits. There are many good reasons to donate to worthy causes during a time when disasters like Hurricane Katrina have depleted local coffers.

Those reasons include: * Neither the Pleasanton Weekly nor the Tri-Valley Community Foundation will take any fees or expenses for administering the fund. One hundred percent of donations go to the intended grantees. * There will be a 50 percent increase in your donations thanks to the Tri-Valley Community Foundation.

We appreciate your support of the Pleasanton Weekly Holiday Fund and these worthy nonprofits.

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