“Twenty years ago my wife had cancer and was treated here. I decided at some point I would come back and be of assistance to the patients,” says Peter Berman, a volunteer for the past four years at the UCLA Health Boyer Oncology Center. “I saw a lot of individuals come in alone to get treatment, and I knew how important it was to my wife to have me there. When you first get diagnosed, it can feel like the world is over.  I spend a lot of time talking to the patients. I tell them to take a vacation in between their treatments to give them a feeling of normalcy. I don’t tell many of them about why I volunteer. I just try to be a friendly voice.”

Learn more and become a UCLA Health volunteer: www.uclahealth.org/volunteer

Tags: National Volunteering Week, oncology, UCLA Boyer Oncology Center, volunteer, Volunteer, volunteering services