Laurels & lances: Partnership & partying

Laurel: To experienced support. Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute is using a secret weapon in helping patients navigate their medical journey: survivors.

The Community Cancer Patient Ambassador Program launched in February. It connects cancer survivors with newly diagnosed individuals. It offers support for 14 disease lines, helping those fighting blood, gynecological, skin and prostate cancers.

The goal is more than a support group or a chat board. It is almost like a mentorship program with guidance from someone who already has faced the practical problems of treatment side effects and the emotional stress of the disease and its anxiety.

“We understand that cancer care extends far beyond medical treatment,” said Dr. David Bartlett, chair of the AHN Cancer Institute.

Anything that can help a cancer patient get through the medical treatment and continue toward healing is a great idea. Letting survivors guide the way acknowledges the value of someone who understands the terrain.

Lance: To a party gone wrong. On March 14, University of Pittsburgh students gathered at a row house in Oakland for a party ahead of St. Patrick’s Day. It was a typical college party, with remnants of the red plastic cups and alcohol cans leftover days later.

But there was other evidence, too — the remains of the back porch roof that collapsed, leaving more than a dozen students hurt. Video shows students on top of the small, narrow roof and others on the porch beneath when it fell.

It should go without saying that a porch roof and a balcony are not the same thing. Is it the property owner’s fault that a roof was used in a way it was not intended to be?

What is most startling is the lack of serious injuries. It is just the latest example of fallout from alcohol-fueled St. Patrick’s Day college-­related — but not sanctioned — events. In 2023, for instance, part of an off-campus apartment building in White Township near Indiana University of Pennsylvania collapsed.

Incidentally, IUPatty’s takes place Friday through Sunday. Let’s see how this goes.