Michelle Dilley

"But the point is, it's preventable," said Michelle Dilley, a community executive for health initiatives with the American Cancer Society who attended Wednesday's event.

Thursday's night of wellness also celebrated National Cancer Survivor's Day, according to Michelle Dilley.Dilley is a member of New England's division of the American Cancer Society.

The American Cancer Society forged a relationship with HealthAlliance and encouraged survivors to get involved in upcoming programs.

"The national survivor day is officially June 1st," Dilley said.

"But the point is, it's preventable," said Michelle Dilley, a community executive for health initiatives with the

American Cancer Society (ACS) Regional Patient Resource Center Manager Michele Dilley and Zollin share similar inspirations for their interest. Both women have experienced death in their families because of cancer and then joined the ACS effort shortly afterwards.Zollin lost her father to prostate cancer while Dilley, who was a teacher for 16 years, chose cancer research as a second career after her husband passed away.
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"One of the reasons why people are leaving is we don't have enough people coming in and using the center," said Dilley."It's a vicious circle.If we open more hours, we hope to get more patients to come in."Dilley said her staff has vigorously promoted the center internally through hospital and university newsletters, and externally with outreach to local clergy and doctors.But the center stills faces very low numbers of foot traffic and incoming phone call inquires.The region's other two ACS Resource Centers at UMass in Worcester and in Fitchburg are no different."We have the same problems there.We need people to refer to us," Dilley said.

"Living with cancer is one of the greatest challenges a person can face in the course of a lifetime," adds Michele Dilley, Community Executive for Cancer Control for the American Cancer Society.