The Cancer Foundation of Northeast Georgia this week announced it was now offering $750 annually to each eligible cancer patient to help with basic living expenses while in treatment or hospice care. Previously this amount had been $500 per patient but is being increased in response to the outpouring of donations from the community. TCF’s Board of Directors unanimously voted for this change at their November 2019 meeting to further the foundation's mission to help alleviate the financial burden of cancer for eligible patients.
Since 2009, The Cancer Foundation has provided over $2 million in direct financial assistance to over 3,400 eligible cancer patients with basic life needs such as rent or mortgage payments, utility bills, transportation costs and medications while they are undergoing treatment. Patients request assistance via referral from their cancer care provider or by contacting TCF for more information.
“I was not planning to do treatment because I could not afford it,” said a Habersham County cancer patient. “My husband has cancer too. I want TCF to know it means the world to people like me who never thought they would have to beg.”
“In 2019, we received over $1 million in donations which is a new record for giving in a single year,” TCF Executive Director Laura Lowery said. “Our generous donors want to make an immediate impact in the lives of cancer patients here in north Georgia. Raising the annual amount of assistance we provide will do just that.”
According to data collected by the Athens Wellbeing Project, one in ten families in Athens-Clarke County is affected by cancer. Lowery says that the financial needs of cancer patients are well understood in the community.
“Nearly everyone that gives to our program is motivated by a personal experience with cancer or a loved one. They understand the toll this disease and its financial burden takes on a family,” Lowery said.
The Cancer Foundation is set to host its annual Cocktails event at the University of Georgia’s Stegeman Coliseum on Feb. 22. All proceeds benefit TCF’s Financial Assistance Program.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.cancerfoundationofnega.org/events/cocktails.
To apply to The Cancer Foundation’s Financial Assistance Program, please contact Katrina Moody at kmoody@cfnega.org.
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