Cancer patients will soon have a new place to call home, at least while receiving treatment. A volunteer organization known as the 20th Century Club broke ground on a new free lodge for cancer patients.
"As far as medical, you can't get any better than here," says cancer patient Larry Cannon.
Larry Cannon traveled from El Dorado. He has six brain tumors and in between chemotherapy he relaxes in his motel room paid for by the 20th Century Club.
"The more of them I meet, the more I start writing names down, I'm thankful for everything they do for us," says Cannon
The 20th Century Club helps hundreds of cancer patients every year with free lodging. But when this new lodge is complete on Maryland Avenue and Cedar they'll be able to help a whole lot more.
"It will allow us to triple the patients we can serve and the amount of lodging we can provide," says Lynda Johnson with the 20th Century Club.
The lodge will be complete in about a year. It will provide 21 guest rooms and the best part is it's totally free.
"We're very excited. We raised three million dollars. We won't borrow a penny, it will be totally paid for when constructed," says Johnson.
The 20th Century Club provides more than 7,000 nights of free lodging to cancer patients each year. The organization is not affiliated with UAMS, but obtained a long-term lease of the land for the lodge from UAMS. All the money raised is from donations and grants.
