CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Five percent of Iowa’s population has had cancer.

On Thursday, Mercy Medical Center’s Hall-Perrine Cancer Center celebrated Eastern Iowa’s cancer survivors with free gifts for its drive-up event.

Emily Andrews was a one of the volunteers that handed out gift bags. But she isn’t just a volunteer, she’s a Hodgkin’s Lymphoma survivor, and she remembers when she came to the celebration during her own treatment.

“I actually came to the event after my chemo therapy on my way home that day and got a gift on the way and that was kind of my first experience with it,” Andrews said.

She said after she completed treatment, she wanted to help other cancer survivors, so she became a cancer nurse navigator and now works the event each year.

“I’ve been doing and participat

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