Inside Duke Medicine
Valarie Worthy: Volunteering in the spirit of MLK
posted January 14th, 2010Valarie Worthy, a registered nurse and administrative manager, has worked to help people fight and recover from cancer. She has taken the fight into her volunteer life as well, working tirelessly against breast cancer.
A breast cancer survivor herself, she is one of the founders of the Sisters Network Triangle NC, the North Carolina branch of the only national African American breast cancer support organization. Today Worthy is president of the local chapter.
"She is a visionary who spends her valuable time thinking of ways to help others live a better quality of life," says Karen Jackson, founder and CEO of the national Sisters Network. "Valarie is a strong advocate for breast caner survivors in the Triangle community."
Dean J. Johnson, a clinical social worker at Duke, says that Worthy never stops working on the issue. She estimates that Worthy spends at least 25 volunteer hours per week on breast cancer education.
"Valarie receives many calls from newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. She is always willing and available to talk, support, cry with and rejoice with new survivors," writes Johnson.
Like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Johnson writes, Worthy has a dream as well, "A dream that one day there will not be disparities with breast cancer. Everyone will have the same information and treatment won't be based on your insurance or where you live, that one day breast cacner will be eradicated and it won't be feared anymore."
Worthy was one of DUH's 2010 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Caregiver Award nominees. Learn more about others nominees and the 2010 MLK Community Caregiver here.