Ukiah Daily Journal

Ukiah Daily Journal Staff

Article Last Updated: 03/11/2008 09:45:24 AM PDT

The Daily Journal

Sara O'Donnell, founder of the Cancer Resource Center of Mendocino County, was recognized Monday by Assemblywoman Patty Berg as the Woman of the Year.

While growing up in the Central Valley, O'Donnell worked in the fields and was exposed to crop dusters and pesticides. She watched her mother, father, brother and two aunts die of cancer before she was diagnosed with cancer herself. Not only was she diagnosed with cancer, but was without health insurance.

"Watching members of her family die from cancer and her own diagnosis of cancer, Sara has set out to change the world," said Berg, D-Eureka. "O'Donnell's life journey embodies those qualities that I honor: courage, commitment and the will to succeed against all possible odds."

In 1995, she founded the Cancer Resource Center of Mendocino County to provide a support network for cancer patients and to help them with the cancer care maze. With its opening in 1995, the center became the first non facility-based cancer resource center from Marin County to the California-Oregon border. The center provides a range of services for patients and their families, from counseling and support groups to the advocacy of benefits and the formulation of care.

"Her devotion to helping cancer patients and their families is boundless," said Berg. "Sara is an inspiration to all of us."

Last year, O'Donnell was one of 10 people to receive the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Award, which was presented to her at the nation's capital.

The Woman of the Year ceremony is an annual commemoration to recognize extraordinary women in California in honor of Women's History Month. Each state legislator picks an honoree in his or her district to commemorate Women's History Month. The honoree receives recognition in the Assembly Chambers and spends the day with their legislator.