Access to transportation is something that many of us might take for granted. But when it comes to something as important as attending chemotherapy treatments, not having a reliable ride can prove to be a serious issue.
One North Carolina man recognized that not all cancer patients have a sufficient way of getting to and from their treatments. And so, he came up with a free ride service that ensures everyone can get the treatment they need, whether they have a vehicle or not.
According to CBS News, the service is the brainchild of Zach Bolster, who had to quit his job on Wall Street and move to Charlotte, NC when his mother was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. He had to be there so he could drive her to treatments and doctor appointments.
These patients were often older and/or of a lower income, so access to transportation wasn't quite so easy for them.
"It was heartbreaking and unfair to see that some people didn't have the exact same shot at beating cancer as others," he said.
"Cancer can be scary and feel uncontrollable," he said. "We want to take this one piece of the process, transportation, and make it simple so they can focus on what matters most, getting better."
Each ride can be booked either online or over the phone up to 10 minutes before the desired pick-up time, and is tracked by GPS to ensure the patient's safety. Bolster says he knows many older people don't quite understand how to navigate modern technology, so he made ChemoCars as user-friendly of a service as possible.
As of right now, ChemoCars only exists in Charlotte, but Bolster said he hopes to soon extend it to other areas of country so everyone has access to this incredible service.
h/t: CBS News
