For some cancer patients, getting to treatment is itself a barrier. Jeff Molby brought that problem into focus in Raleigh this month after a 22,757-mile ride across the United States over three years. Traced on GPS, his route spelled HELP; its purpose was to recruit volunteer drivers for cancer patients who might otherwise miss chemotherapy, radiation, and checkups.
Molby began in his hometown in rural Michigan in 2023 and finished in October 2026, according to WUNC News. He rode through Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Florida, camping for much of the trip. He had also been car-free by choice for much of his adult life. The route’s final mark was in the Triangle: the ride concluded Saturday in downtown Raleigh, as the Duke Chronicle reported.
The Duke Chronicle reported that Molby was moved to act after learning that the American Cancer Society was short on volunteer drivers and considering the consequences of transportation gaps for people undergoing treatment. In its coverage, WUNC reported that Molby described several influences on the ride, including cancer experiences in his family and among people close to him.
Why a Bus Pass Isn’t Enough
Molby pointed to a basic logistical problem that many patients face: getting to treatment by public transit can mean three bus transfers each way, a difficult ask for someone who already feels unwell from chemotherapy, per WUNC’s account of his comments. That is precisely the gap the American Cancer Society’s Road To Recovery program is meant to close. The program connects people diagnosed with cancer who need a ride to treatment with trained volunteer drivers, giving free transportation to cancer-related medical appointments, according to the American Cancer Society.
The need is not evenly met. Only about half of the rides requested through the program in North Carolina are fulfilled, according to WRAL, which reported the program is actively calling for more drivers, particularly in the Raleigh-Durham area. The American Cancer Society also reported that 2,900 Road To Recovery rides were provided across North Carolina in 2023, per the same WRAL report.
Local Transportation Options Have Eligibility Limits
The American Cancer Society says Road To Recovery does not have enough volunteers to meet every ride request, leaving some patients without a ride. Its published guidance does not give a current Raleigh-Durham request or driver total. Other local services have eligibility limits: Wake County says GoWake Access offers door-to-door shared rides to groups including adults 60 or older, people with disabilities, and residents of rural service zones, among other eligible categories, according to Wake County Government. In Durham, GoDurham ACCESS is curb-to-curb ADA paratransit for city residents whose disabilities prevent them from using standard fixed-route buses, according to GoDurham ACCESS. These services have defined eligibility criteria; the information cited here does not establish that they are available to every cancer patient or cover every trip to treatment.
A Nationwide Shortage That Predates One Man’s Bike Trip
The driver shortage behind Molby’s ride is not new, and it is not confined to North Carolina. Road To Recovery lost nearly 60% of its drivers nationwide because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to WVIA. The program had paused entirely in March 2020 over health and safety concerns before resuming in November 2021 with new precautions, per a report from WTTW — but the organization came back with far fewer volunteers than before, per WUNC.
The shortfall shows up differently from place to place. In Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, the program fulfilled 622 of 1,094 ride requests in a recent year, WVIA reported, while that outlet also noted that just 27 drivers were covering the entire eight-county northeastern Pennsylvania region. In Cook County, Illinois, WTTW reported the program had provided only 25% of rides requested by cancer patients through late August 2023 — 311 rides out of 1,222 requests, with 87 volunteer drivers covering the county and just 22 of them based in Chicago itself. WVIA also noted that unreliable transportation to treatment can contribute to worse outcomes and preventable deaths for cancer patients.
From Route to Recruitment
The ride’s aim was to turn attention to the volunteer shortage, not simply to mark miles on a map. In Raleigh, that nationwide journey met a local need for more people willing to drive patients to treatment.
Nationally, the American Cancer Society counted roughly 93,000 volunteers in 2025, with drivers taking cancer patients to appointments throughout the year, per WUNC. Road To Recovery volunteers set their own schedules — driving twice a month, once a week, or daily, according to the American Cancer Society’s volunteer page — and must complete roughly 50 minutes of online training along with background and motor-vehicle-record checks. Eligible drivers must be between 18 and 84 years old, hold a valid license, pass a background check and have access to a safe, reliable vehicle, per the organization’s program page. The Society also advises patients that arranging a ride can take several business days, so calls should go in well ahead of an appointment date.
Research helps explain why transportation access matters beyond any one ride or region: rural areas face barriers to cancer screening and higher cancer mortality. Molby’s ride called attention to the practical challenge of reaching care; recruiting drivers is one response to that gap.
