Darryl Worley Helps Hometown Cancer Victims

Darryl Worley is making life a little better in his hometown of Savannah, Tenn. His first goal was to help folks in the area through funds raised with his annual Tennessee River Run. His second was to build an outpatient chemotherapy clinic at Hardin Medical Center, which was done a few years ago and was named after the singer. Now, Worley is working with the hospital to build a new cancer treatment center, which will also bear his name.

"I don't know why they want to do that," says the notoriously modest Worley. "They insisted so I said OK, but it would have been OK with me to name it something else."

The new facility will offer both chemotherapy and radiation therapy to cancer patients in the area. Officials hope to break ground on the new building this fall and expect it to open in late 2009. Worley is particularly interested in providing a facility that can offer cancer treatment, because both of his grandfathers died from the disease. He remembers that when they were ill, there was no place close to Savannah for them to get treatment. In fact, one of the men decided against taking chemo or radiation because of the two or three hour drive he would have to make in order to receive it.

Proceeds from this year's Tennessee River Run, scheduled for the first two weekends in September, will benefit the building fund for the new wing of the hospital. One of the new items for this year's event is a Battle of the Bands on September 5. The winning act will be the opening group for the September 14 show with Worley, Keith Anderson and Restless Heart.