LEXINGTON, KY. (LEX NEWS) — Mark and Lori Brothers have been coming to the Hope Lodge since 2024. Mark is battling stage 4 rectal cancer, and the couple says they could not have gotten through treatment without the Hope Lodge.
"There's no way we could have made it without Hope Lodge. It's just not possible," Mark Brothers said.
Before finding the Hope Lodge, the couple stayed in hotels while Mark underwent treatment — a cost that added up fast.
"At first we were coming up here and just staying in a hotel and that gets really expensive really quick," Brothers said.
The Hope Lodge offers free housing to cancer patients traveling for treatment. Through donations, partnerships and sponsorships the organization covers those costs, alleviating the financial burden on patients and their families.
Over time, the Hope Lodge became more than just a place to stay. Brothers says the staff feels like extended family.
"I hated coming up to do the chemo, but now I look forward to coming up and seeing the staff. I got some really good friends I like everybody here," Brothers said.
Brothers says he is grateful that during such a difficult time, there are people dedicated to making patients feel comfortable — not just financially, but emotionally.
"You can't understand until you're here of how much, of a burden they take off of your shoulders, not just financially, just emotionally, because, it's just, it's the anxiety is part of the cancer and the more that you can get off your shoulders the better and to have people like the staff here and what they offer and in the community that helps us here," Brothers said.
Despite his diagnosis, Brothers says he is focused on living life one day at a time.
"No matter what the circumstances are, cancer, you know, I don't care, I'm still here. I'll continue fighting the cancer because I'm not done living this life, I made it to 62, which is pretty amazing, but, um, I don't, you know, I don't plan to go anywhere. I, I wanna see my granddaughters graduate," Brothers said.
Central Kentucky serves as a regional hub for cancer treatment in the state.
Ana Medina is committed to covering stories in your community that matter to you. If you have an idea, reach out to her at ana.medina@wlex.tv
