United Cancer Services of Elkhart County, Inc. (UC)is a private, not-for-profit agency charted in Indiana in 1958.  Throughout the agency’s almost fifty year history, UC’s mission has been to help Elkhart County area residents their fight against cancer.

Formerly the Cancer Society of Elkhart County, UC was originally a chapter of the American Cancer Society, as were most cancer societies of the mid-forties and fifties.  Many societies were approved to receive funds from the United Fund (forerunner of the United Way).  In the fifties, the local United Find did not want to send money out of Elkhart County to a national center, so a faction of the Elkhart Cancer Society chose to withdraw from the American Cancer Society and incorporate as an independent agency.  During the years, the two organizations have continued to cooperate with each other, but the different focus of our missions have kept us as separate entities.

The focus of UC has changed over the years. During the fifties, only 25% of cancer patients survived, so early deletion was vital, and surgery was basically the only treatment option available. Early use of radiation and chemotherapy were beginning to show promise, and the agency invested the majority of its resources in funding local research in these budding treatments.

In the sixties, UC funded a scholarship program for student who were focusing their studies in the field of health care.  In the early seventies when better treatments became available, UC began directing more resources toward patient assistance and less toward research.  The agency established a motor pool to transport patients to treatment centers in South Bend and the first Women’s Screening Clinic was offered.  By this time, one-third of all cancer patents were winning their fight. The Goshen and Elkhart offices were consolidated in Dunlap, where they are still located today.  The official name change to United Cancer Services of Elkhart County, Inc. was made in 1986.

Patient services has been the number one priority for UC every since.  In the 1990’s the agency provided over $345,000 in direct financial aid.  From the year 2000 to early 2007, UC directed over $766,000 to programming services to cancer patients and distributed over $476,000 in direct financial aid.  During the early turn of the century, UC began its Journey Through Treatment program.  This program was dedicated to changing a cancer patients’ paradigm from one of being a passive recipient of health care to a proactive planner for their time in treatment.  As survival rates have increased, many more patients will survive their cancer.  However, the increase in technology that has generated these much improved survival rates has come at a tremendous cost.  Health care costs in the 2000s are rising at four and five times the average inflation rate and cancer treatment leads the cost rise.  Now, the largest portion of UC clients are people who are working and have health insurance.  However, most cannot work during treatment, and the dramatic rise of health care costs has forced employers to steadily reduce the health insurance coverage and disability benefits that they offer to their employees.  The result of these trends is that a much greater portion of cancer patients may survive the disease, but face financial ruin because of it.

UC’s program is working to help patients have more active role in their treatment, for the benefit of their healing and for the benefit of their lives when the reach remission.