United Cancer Introduction
Mission: “United Cancer provides assistance to our cancer patients and their families in a way that enhances their quality of life. We strive to educate Elkhart County residents in the prevention, detection and treatment of cancer.”
Although United Cancer is frequently confused with large, national agencies, UC is not a branch office of a national organization but was founded here in Elkhart County in 1958. While most other cancer agencies fund research, as a completely local organization, United Cancer’s focus is to help Elkhart County area cancer patients pay for their treatment, supplies & medicine. Since the year 2000, United Cancer has distributed over $525,000 helping your neighbors back to good health, with all those funds coming from the support of local organizations, events and donations.
In 2007, United Cancer directed benefit to Elkhart County was an estimated $191,535!
In 2007, United Cancer dedicated $112,334 in donated dollars to programming for the cancer patients. In the chart above, those programming dollars are made up of $8,800 to help women pay for mammograms at The Retreat at Goshen Health System; $53,131 in direct financial aid to local cancer patients helping them pay for their treatment, supplies and medicine; and $50,404 in dedicated staff time to local cancer patients in the Journey Through Treatment program.
Quantifying emotional help is difficult, because saying exactly the right words at exactly the right moment in a five minute conversation can bring more comfort than a person could ever express. To insure that our great staff has the opportunity to say those words, United Cancer can point to our $50,404 in dedicated staff time to local cancer patients in the Journey Through Treatment program. Journey Through Treatment also has the benefit of helping cancer patients plan for their item in treatment, which leads to some important discoveries, referrals and provides the best options for applying our direct financial aid.
Through Treatment program works to ensure that cancer patients understand their insurance coverage and pursue treatment according to their coverage requirements. The consequences of accidentally receiving treatment out of network can cost patients tens of thousands of dollars in unnecessary out of pocket expenses. In 2007, UC redirected two cancer patients who were seeing out of network providers. UC estimates the saving for each of these patients an estimated $50,000!
Another important aspect of the Journey Through Treatment program assesses and refers clients to other agencies and governmental organizations and is responsible for generating approximately $29,200 in additional aid for cancer patients.
Financial Aid to Cancer Patients – Pass through dollars!
In 2007, the largest portion of the $112,334 of United Cancer’s programming budget, $61,930, went to Direct Financial Aid. Direct Financial Aid is divided into two areas. Cancer patients in treatment received $53,131 in direct aid and $8,800 (a portion of the Middlebury Breast Cancer Walk) went to The Retreat to pay for mammograms for women who cannot afford them. The final portion of UC’s programming budget, $50,404, is dedicated to staff working with cancer patients in our Journey Through Treatment program.
The chart above breaks down the Direct Financial Aid portion of our programming budget ($61,930). The greatest need came in the category of Medication costs. The second category was Treatment, and third was Mammograms, which are provided at the Retreat at Goshen Health System, to women who need financial help. Supplies, which are comprised of expensive nutritional supplements (which UC buys at wholesale prices), wigs, post surgical supplies, and ostomy needs. General Aid covers cost of living expenses (mortgage/rent, utilities, etc.), and Transportation pays for the cost of trips to and from treatment.
In 2007, United Cancer helped 146 cancer patients with finances through the Journey Through Treatment program, gave referral information to 500 people asking for information on cancer, and gave health and prevention information to more than 1000 community members.
Our research clearly shows that a cancer patient’s greatest need comes in the first year of their treatment. The first year creates this great need because cancer patients face high initial test & treatment expenses combined with the loss and/or reduction of their income. Expense issues include a battery of initial tests; expensive treatments (surgery, chemo & radiation), and high out-of-pocket insurance deductibles. Most patients are not able to work during treatment and many employers no longer offer disability income benefits. Those employees that do have disability income often face delays of weeks or months before income begins and the cancer patient must continue to pay their portion of health insurance costs.
Journey Through Treatment
An important part of United Cancer’s service is the counseling and emotional support provided by our staff in our Journey Through Treatment program. This program is designed to help the cancer patient change their mindset from being a passive recipient of medical care to being a pro-active planner for their time in treatment.
The first step in the Journey Through Treatment program asks clients specific questions about the nature of their diagnosis and the corresponding options and length of their treatment program (i.e. surgery, chemo, radiation, hormone therapy, pharmaceuticals, possible complications, etc). The goals are to gain greater understanding of their disease and to begin to generate a realistic cost estimate of their entire time in treatment.
The second step of Journey Through Treatment is to research the client’s health insurance coverage and limitations, and compare that coverage with their treatment program. The most important benefit of this inquiry is to ensure that the patient is maximizing the benefits of their insurance coverage. Also, this step will help the client determine an estimate of their out of pocket treatment costs. Because of the emotional impact of their new cancer diagnosis, many clients have not yet researched these issues thoroughly and need to gather this important information.
Next, the Journey Through Treatment program explores the client’s revenue picture and options to supplement lost income. We, then, ask the client to consider their normal household expenses for their time in treatment. Finally, the goal of this research is for the client to apply all this accumulated information (treatment, insurance, income, living expenses) and create a rough budget for their time in treatment. This exercise helps the client identify financial deficits for their time in treatment and highlights where United Cancer can apply strategic tools to help.
This first of United Cancer’s strategic tools is referral. Although UC is the only agency that helps with cancer treatment expenses, based on what we learn about a client’s individual financial situation, we often direct clients to apply for benefits at their employer or their spouse’s employer, with various government agencies, or at other non-profit organizations.
The second strategic tool is lifestyle changes. This can be difficult to suggest to a cancer patient, but in some cases, short term financial retrenchment while in treatment can lead to long term financial stability. Once those options have been exhausted, UC can apply our most important strategic tool, our direct financial aid.
Journey Through Treatment also provides vital Emotional Support and assists the patients in creating a Diary of Treatment. The Diary will help them track and find answers to medical and insurance issues in an organized manner. By keeping track of doctor visits, hospital stays, treatments, test, medications, and invoices, the patient can better understand where
they are in the treatment process and make better use of medical and insurance providers.
The common perception that United Cancer is funding very low income people afflicted
with cancer is not the case at all. In the graph above, approximately 75% of UC’s clients in 2007 had health insurance in place that was not based on financial need (private, Medicare, VA, or Amish Coop) when they were diagnosed. The balance of our clients, those with economically based health insurance needs, were only 25% of new clients, and are comprised of clients with No Insurance, Medicaid, or Medicaid Pending.
Cancer patients of all types and ages ask United Cancer for help. In 2007, over half (57%) of the cancer patients who asked for help were 50 to 69 year old. However, cancer knows no age boundaries. UC has helped babies as young as two weeks old and seniors in their nineties. This year, our youngest client was four years old and our oldest was ninety-one.
United Cancer clients are eligible for funding if they live, work, or have worked in Elkhart
County, and a doctor verifies that they are in cancer treatment. Clients living outside Elkhart
County dropped from 7% to 5% this year, and the number of Elkhart County towns that
clients live in increased from six to seven. The chart below shows a good cross section of Elkhart County hometowns for 2007.
United Cancer’s goal is to help cancer patients reduce the financial and emotional stress during treatment, so they can concentrate on healing. UC works to keep in regular contact with our clients and according to their reports, we were very successful in our goal. We achieved our goal through the combination of helping our clients devise a plan for their time in treatment, educating them about key issues related to the medical and insurance industries, connecting them to the network of government and non-profit resources available, and, of course, distributing $61,930.53 in financial aid. Clients report that our information and referrals are extremely helpful. Not to be minimized in the United Cancer experience is the emotional support and caring that our staff provides to our clients. Clients often report that the information they gain from the Journey Through Treatment program is just as valuable as the Direct Financial Aid that we provide.
2007 Success & 2008 Challenges
Our goals for improving financial viability in 2007 were many and very successful, as 2007 was once again a strong financial year. The Compassion Walk, our signature event of only four years, had record revenue of $45,500 this year and drew 400 participants! However, United Cancer saw increases in several revenue categories. Individual Donations were by far our greatest increase, but UC also saw strong gains in Events and Major Sponsorships. The strong result of 2007 is especially gratifying, due to the 14.4% or $11,300 reduction in revenue that was the result of the 2006 United Way campaign.
In summary, United Cancer’s will celebrate fifty years of serving cancer patients and their families in our communities in 2008. We have a strong agency with hundreds of volunteers and thousands of donors. We are actively working to increase our awareness and support and will continue to help cancer patients and women needing mammograms throughout the Elkhart County area.
As an independent, grass roots organization, United Cancer’s success is based on the support of the people of the Elkhart County area. If you are a supporter, I hope that you will continue to help. If you have not given in the past, I hope that you will consider a gift now. Each year, the number of cancer patients coming to ask for help continues to rise, and our ability to help relies on you.
Thank you for your interest and support!
Peter T. Norton
Executive Director