David Raubach: I want to thank you for joining us today on this episode of the Cancer Project podcast. We’re really privileged to have Rachel Stratton with the American Cancer Society here with us today. One of the things that’s really important for us as a clinical provider at Oklahoma Proton Center is the partnerships that we have with some of the not-for-profit organizations that provide services to our patients. And one of the most prominent of those is American Cancer Society. So we’re really excited to talk to Rachel today about all of the services that ACS offers and some of the unique things that they’re doing here in Oklahoma City for cancer patients. Rachel, thank you for joining us.

Rachel Stratton: Thank you for having me.

David Raubach: Is this your first time on a podcast?

Rachel Stratton: It is. Yes. My husband does a radio show — it’s called the Outdoor Hour. Mostly hunting, fishing, all things outdoor recreation. I have not been invited on as a guest. We’ve joked that we should have a wives episode, but it has not come to fruition.

David Raubach: Someday maybe we’ll get into some hunting and fishing here, although I know very little about either topic. So tell us what your role is with American Cancer Society.

Rachel Stratton: I’m the Associate Director of Development. I oversee the staff in both Tulsa and Oklahoma City. I used to be the Senior Development Manager here in Oklahoma City, managing our Gala and our golf tournament.

David Raubach: The Gala is a big event that occurs every year — I’ve been a couple of times. It’s a lot of fun and an amazing event in terms of raising money for the American Cancer Society. Talk a little bit about the Gala that ACS puts on.

Rachel Stratton: We have a Cattle Baron’s Ball here in Oklahoma City and one in Tulsa — both great events. The one here in Oklahoma City raises funds for our Hope Lodge, the American Cancer Society Chad Richardson Hope Lodge, which is right south of Stevenson Cancer Center on 8th and Phillips. Cancer patients who are traveling to Oklahoma City for treatment can stay there for free.

David Raubach: I want to talk a little bit about the Hope Lodge because we’ve had a lot of patients from the Proton Center stay there. Patients going through cancer treatment are often going through weeks or even months of treatment — with proton therapy, patients may get three, four, five, up to eight weeks of treatment — and we have a lot of patients that travel from across the state and actually across the country. What specifically is the Hope Lodge doing for those patients?

Rachel Stratton: Just a little nod to you guys — we actually have people from across the globe coming to Oklahoma to be treated at the Proton Center and staying at Hope Lodge, which is really cool. Our average stay is 13 nights. The average hotel cost in Oklahoma City is about $280 per night, so we’re saving patients a lot of money by allowing them to come and be treated here and stay there for free. Our Hope Lodge essentially runs like a hotel, but it’s so much more than that. It’s a community. Patients meet each other, they hang out together, they share stories. We have common spaces where they can sit and enjoy each other’s company.

Rachel Stratton: We actually have a board member who stayed at a Hope Lodge in Houston before he got involved with us. He only stayed one night — he felt guilty because he has the means to stay at a hotel — but he valued that experience so much because even in that one night he saw the community aspect of being at the Hope Lodge versus sitting in a hotel room by himself.

David Raubach: I’ve been to the Hope Lodge and a couple things really stood out to me. One, it’s a very aesthetically pleasing setting — big picture windows, a lot of natural light especially down in the lobby area. And I think what you said about the community is exactly right. So many patients at the Proton Center talk about the most important people they met or some of the people that most inspired them during treatment being other guests at the Hope Lodge. There’s also a big kitchen area — actually two big kitchens, right?

Rachel Stratton: Yes. We have a lot of different companies, organizations, and churches that will come in and cook for the patients. It’s great for them because they don’t have to worry about what they’re going to eat that night. You’re not always sure how you’re going to feel after treatment — you may be exhausted and not wanting to think about dinner. So it’s great that they can come in and be fed. And the groups that come in love it too, because they get to sit down and speak with the patients and really listen to their stories. It kind of puts an exclamation point on why they decided to come in and volunteer.

David Raubach: That’s a great point about the volunteer aspect. If there’s a company or somebody listening to this as part of an organization, or even individually, and they want to go and volunteer at the Hope Lodge, what does that look like?

Rachel Stratton: There are a few different opportunities. Cooking or bringing a meal is our biggest one. We also have individual volunteer opportunities where people can come in and help restock the pantry — we have a community pantry with all donated items. We actually have a running Amazon wish list, so people can order off the wish list and have it sent directly to the lodge. Volunteers also help clean the vans — we have transportation vans that take guests to and from their treatment centers. And at Christmas time, we have a bunch of groups that come in and decorate different areas. We’ll have choirs come in and sing — it’s really cool.

David Raubach: What are some of the services offered for patients at the Hope Lodge beyond meals? I think there are maybe classes or other things you put on, partnering with the community.

Rachel Stratton: Yes, we have our EMPOWER program and that is ideally bringing in community members who can help with restorative programs. So if a yoga instructor wants to come in and teach a yoga class, Pilates, arts and crafts — we actually had a group come in and do a bake off. So yeah, that’s all funneled through EMPOWER — different programs that are more specific to the patients.

David Raubach: The vans — one of the things that can happen for patients as they go through treatment is they either just don’t feel like driving, they’re exhausted, or maybe there’s even some physical impairment. I know for example with brain cancer patients, because of the treatments they’re going through, they literally are not allowed to drive. Talk about how you help get patients to and from treatment.

Rachel Stratton: They also may not have driven to the lodge, so they may not have a vehicle. It’s a shuttle system. They try to group various patients that are going to the same treatment center and time it out well. The patient coordinators will gather a group together going to the same treatment center — so if some patients have treatment at similar times at the Proton Center, they’ll say, “We’re leaving at this time.” Everyone piles in the van. They’ll take them and usually wait at the treatment center if it’s the Proton Center, Mercy, or Integris, since it’s a little further north and it’s not as time efficient to go back and forth. Then they take them all back to the lodge.

David Raubach: Just incredible services. I want to flash back in time a little bit because I was actually on the board for a period of time when ACS was attempting to raise money to build the Hope Lodge. Talk a little bit about what had to happen to actually get this facility built and up and functioning.

Rachel Stratton: Oh man, it was a long time in the making. I’ve been with ACS for 11 years and the conversations were going on probably 10 years before I even started. So it’s been a long time coming. We typically seek donated land. Our capital campaign was originally $17.5 million — this was back in 2018, pre-COVID, pre-inflation spike. We ended up dropping it to $16.5 million. We were going to have staff offices in there, but they were able to cut those out and save about a million dollars. During the capital campaign, three years of operating costs were built in. The estimated operating costs at the time were $636,000. Now they’re $1.3 million annually — they’ve significantly jumped.

Rachel Stratton: And literally right before the COVID shutdown, Chad Richardson came in and gave the $5 million gift to close out the campaign. That’s why he has the naming title on the building. We are so grateful for that gift because without it, we wouldn’t have been able to open. With COVID, construction took longer than expected — it was going to open in 2022 and didn’t actually open until August of 2023.

David Raubach: Since August of 2023, do you know how many patients have stayed there?

Rachel Stratton: We’ve had about 2,500 unique patients — and that doesn’t count patients who have stayed more than once. But we’ve served about 30,000 nights. That’s a cost savings of about $6.8 million to the cancer community here in Oklahoma City.

David Raubach: How many Hope Lodges are there in the country?

Rachel Stratton: 35. There’s not a Hope Lodge in every state, so it is a unique resource here in Oklahoma City.

David Raubach: As you look forward, what’s the long-term plan? What are the next big things you’re hoping to see happen with ACS here in Oklahoma?

Rachel Stratton: We need to sustain Hope Lodge — that’s a huge priority for us as staff and for our board. We see the great need every day and the numbers speak to it. We need to set up an endowment fund for Hope Lodge, which is a lofty goal. We also have the Oklahoma City Cattle Baron’s Ball funds going toward operational costs. And here in Oklahoma, we currently have $6 million in ACS-funded grants supporting researchers, which is really cool — not many states can say that.

David Raubach: What do you mean by ACS-funded grants?

Rachel Stratton: There are ACS-funded researchers here in Oklahoma — doctors, scientists working on particular cancer-related research. And one of our programs targets early researchers: low-income, diverse, first-time college students who are interested in science and research. They can apply to be part of this program, get lab time, help with tuition, and do a summer internship where they showcase what they’ve been working on. We get to come in as staff and be the judges, which is really fun.

David Raubach: I want to zoom out a little bit, because when I hear the acronym ACS or American Cancer Society, that’s this big broad term. What should people know about the American Cancer Society? What is it doing on a day-to-day basis beyond the Hope Lodge?

Rachel Stratton: We are the preeminent cancer-fighting organization. Our goal is to improve the lives of cancer patients every day. We are not specific to one cancer — we address all cancers — and we are the largest non-government funder of cancer research. That is our main priority. We have funded 53 Nobel Prize-winning researchers. But we also have patient services and programs like Hope Lodge, our Road to Recovery program which helps patients get to treatment from their homes, and our 1-800 hotline that’s open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. We had almost 1,000 Oklahoma residents call that hotline in 2025.

David Raubach: What is the purpose of the hotline?

Rachel Stratton: Anyone can call with any type of cancer question. I’ll be honest with you — my husband called it one time about tobacco cessation and he said they were very helpful.

David Raubach: Road to Recovery — I’m curious how that works. Are those volunteers going and picking up patients at their homes?

Rachel Stratton: It’s a group of volunteers. It used to be managed from our Oklahoma City office, but they moved it to a digital system. Patients needing help getting to treatment can call our hotline, get on the schedule, and from my understanding there’s no strict mileage restriction — it’s just whoever is willing to pick up the ride. You know, being in cancer care as well, we know that the two biggest barriers to treatment are lodging and transportation. If they don’t have a ride, they’re not going to go. If they don’t have a place to stay, they’re not going to go. And that severely diminishes their outcome.

David Raubach: Prevention and education are key. I know you were on Fox News locally talking about breast cancer screening — catching cancer earlier gives us more effective ways to treat it and a better chance of getting rid of it before it spreads. What are the things people in Oklahoma should be thinking about when it comes to cancer screening, especially rural patients?

Rachel Stratton: We have a map on our website where you can find clinics that provide screenings. But I think it’s really about being an advocate for yourself. And it’s also on the clinicians to remind their patients — “hey, this is coming up, you need to take action.” It’d be great if there were some kind of automated system from the doctor’s office that says “you’re 40 now, you need to go get this.” And there are much less invasive options now — you don’t have to go in for a colonoscopy the first time. There are mail-in tests that give you an indication of whether you need to go further. So there are options, but clinicians also have to talk about what those options are.

Rachel Stratton: We also have systems in southwest Oklahoma that aren’t even aware that we exist here in Oklahoma City — they’re not aware of Hope Lodge, not aware of the ACS resources around prevention and education. So it’s really about communication and letting people know that we exist. After COVID we did a Return to Screening campaign because there was a severe decline in screenings post-COVID. Now our campaign is called “I Love You, Get Screened.” It’s more of a partnership between loved ones — pushing them to go get their screenings. The older population is often less likely to get screened, and people are sometimes scared to go. But if you don’t go, your outcome could be far worse.

David Raubach: I like that. We see that at the Proton Center too — a lot of times it’s the spouse being the push. With prostate cancer, it’s often the wives saying “are you doing your annual PSA?” And with mammograms, we have a lot of women who come in for the first time at 43 or 44 and say they just didn’t know what to expect or were scared to schedule it. Sometimes it takes a push from a spouse or caregiver. The American Cancer Society also does a really good job of providing literature and resources for clinicians to bridge that gap.

Rachel Stratton: And maybe the patient is uncomfortable having that conversation face to face. They can visit cancer.org and search our website and find what they’re looking for and read the literature there.

David Raubach: I cannot emphasize enough how much good information is on that website. It really is the central repository for all things cancer-related — questions about screening, diagnosis, prevention, survivorship. We have links from our website to that website. What has been most impactful for you personally, working in this field for 11 years?

Rachel Stratton: I always knew I wanted to do something that helped people. I have a bachelor of science and I had intentions of being a physical therapist, actually. But when I graduated and was looking for a job, I saw a posting for the American Cancer Society and I thought, I know a lot of people that I’ve loved that have passed away from cancer. Let me see what this is about. And 11 years later I’m still here because I see the good that we’re doing every day. I don’t work directly at Hope Lodge but I go there probably once a week for meetings, and I see the tangible impact — the guests in there having lunch together and thanking you for its existence. That’s the biggest impact on me: the help we’ve been able to provide people in such a difficult time in their lives.

Rachel Stratton: My dad was actually diagnosed with cancer three or four years ago. But thanks to his screenings and his propensity for them, he was diagnosed very early — low stage and slow growing. He hasn’t even had to have treatment. I’m just grateful for the relationships this job has given me — volunteers, survivors, people I’ve worked with who passed away from cancer. It’s hard, but I’m grateful for all of those relationships.

David Raubach: As somebody who has worked in this space for a number of years, I can’t imagine doing anything else. It’s rare to come across somebody who says they don’t know anybody impacted by cancer. Statistics suggest that one in two men and one in three women will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lifetime. And every story doesn’t take a nice clean linear path — diagnosed, treatment was hard but we got through it, we’re done. That’s not how cancer works for a lot of people. But all of that is not a reason not to do what you do — it’s a reason to do what you do. We’re grateful for the American Cancer Society. What are your goals for 2026?

Rachel Stratton: Because I work specifically in development, our goals are revenue based. For the Oklahoma City Cattle Baron’s Ball — this hasn’t officially been announced yet — we are moving to a new location. It’s inside, so it’s not hot, and it allows for more people, more space, more tables. We’re really excited about it. Our target is closer to half a million dollars from that event. We also have a philanthropy team focused on major gift donors for Hope Lodge and research. And in Tulsa, the staff there is absolutely knocking it out of the park — they’re creeping up toward a million dollars. So a successful year for me looks like our events exceeding goal and finding additional funding for Hope Lodge.

David Raubach: So takeaways from today — and I really appreciate you joining us, Rachel, this has been fantastic. The Hope Lodge: 2,500 unique patients in basically two and a half years, 30,000 room nights. That is a tangible impact. And if you’re looking for ways as an individual or a company to give back to the local community, the American Cancer Society is a fantastic opportunity. If you want to see your dollars have a direct impact on people going through what is for many people the hardest thing they’ve ever gone through — there’s a real physical impact and a real financial impact — the American Cancer Society is a great avenue to do that.

Rachel Stratton: I agree. And we still have naming rights opportunities at Hope Lodge too. If there are individuals who want to remember a loved one, they can name a room. Thank you so much for having me.

David Raubach: Thank you so much for your time today, Rachel. I really appreciate it.