Lonnie Gibbons was a Little Rock TV personality for decades. But, in December, 1996, his life was changed.

He remembers, to the minute, when he got the call that he had Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Chemotherapy began soon after that. And it wasn't long until Lonnie was looking for other cancer patients.

(Lonnie Gibbons, Cancer Fighters) “I felt the need to talk to somebody about it. And be with somebody who understood where I was at, and where I was coming from.”

So, Lonnie formed the Cancer Fighters Support Group. They meet the first Monday of every month. They have lunch, and hear from a speaker. But mostly, they are just there to encourage each other.

(Gibbons) “You hear a lot about diversity these days. But to me, the strength of what we do--and the members do it--it's the commonality. We all speak the same language. We all have the same threat, literally that we all face.”

The group is open to men and women, and to sufferers of any type of cancer. But even though Lonnie loves to have such open doors, unlike most group founders, he is not interested in growing the membership roles.

(Gibbons) “We tell people this. We don't want you as a member. The qualifications are too high. So, we don't want you. But, if you need us…I've had people tell me that on the phone, ‘I know you don't want me, but I need you.’ If they need us, then obviously we're here for them.”

If need them, or know someone who does, you can call the Park Hill Baptist Church in North Little Rock.

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