When Karen Wall learned she might need a stem cell transplant, all she wanted was to talk to someone who had been there.
It took two weeks for CancerConnection, a support program run by the Canadian Cancer Society, to track down a man who'd undergone treatment 12 years before.
"It was a decision that was really hard," said Wall, who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2011.
Treatment had changed in that time so when CancerConnection asked Wall to be a more recent resource for other patients, she was on board.
Since then Wall has helped more than 15 cancer patients. On Friday, Wall was honoured for her efforts alongside two other society volunteers, Selen Alpay and Jesmeen Deo, in advance of Saturday's International Volunteer Day.
"I was incredibly humbled by (the award) because for me it's not hard," Wall said, adding the society is always looking for more volunteers for CancerConnection. "It's really rewarding for me."
Wall works with people for months at a time, helping walk them through what to expect and provide support along the way.
"There's lots of things that happen that are foreign to everyday people," she said, recalling how one man was afraid of the tube a doctor needed to connect to his chest.
"He's imagining a garden hose sticking out of his chest so that's the misconception you can help with. And they want to know if it is difficult, if it hurts and how long it took me to recover and when you've been there, and you've come out of the other end well, it's easy to say go for it. It's not easy... but had it not been for that stem cell, I might have been gone by now."
Alpay said it's survivors like Wall who deserve recognition.
"The most humbling and overwhelming experience I have every year is at Relay for Life because we sponsor the survivor tent," said Alpay, owner of the Canadian Tire store in Prince George.
Every year, he gets to the track early before others arrive.
"I stay there until every survivor has left and the stories they tell you are so inspirational," said Alpay, who was recognized Friday for his leadership and support of Relay For Life, Cops for Cancer, and the Kordyban Lodge.
It all comes down to his catchphrase, Alpay said: do the right thing.
"This is about doing the right thing and trying in some small way to help eradicate cancer."
Deo's been doing her part in the community through education, including prevention and promotion of services and lately through the tobacco task force.
"There's a lot of surprising misconceptions," said Deo, a second-year UNBC biochemistry student.
"For example people think that e-cigarettes are totally harmless and they're just water vapour but they actually have quite a few nefarious chemicals, I would say. Things you can find in batteries."
Deo is this year's Northern Region Youth Bursary recipient of $500, which she said will help with her studies.
"Everybody's been touched by cancer in some way," said Deo, 19, who has been volunteering for the society since Grade 8. "A lot of the time we feel a little bit helpless in the face of it. This is something I can do to try and help people and help people feel less helpless. This is something you can do lower your risk for cancer.
"I like educating people."
