2019 OHSU KNIGHT CANCER INSTITUTE

Patient And Family Support Services Program Impact Overview

The Knight Cancer Institute’s vision is to boldly explore every possible avenue to free people from the burden of cancer. Providing patients with the most advanced, individualized care and support possible goes beyond state-of-the-art treatment for their disease. We treat the whole person, offering support and information that helps each patient navigate the unique and often complex personal issues that may affect their care experience. 

For our patients, that means a range of services that ease the physical and emotional strain of in-patient care including acupuncture and massage, education and support for patients and survivors, help with billing and care navigation issues, and resources for spiritual and social services. 

Philanthropy is essential to providing these life changing supportive care programs. Your compassion and generosity help patients and their families focus on healing. On behalf of all who benefit from your generosity, thank you for standing with us in our mission to end cancer as we know it. 

THANK YOU.

YOUR GIFT MAKES A DIRECT IMPACT

Over the past eight years, the patient support services program has grown and thrived thanks to donors like you. The leadership of Susan Hedlund, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., combined with philanthropic generosity enables us to consistently expand our wide array of patient and family-centered support and care programs.

2019 Program Highlights:

• Provided $70,000 in emergency patient assistance to help with transportation, medication and lodging costs.

• Held the inaugural Integrative Oncology Conference. At no cost to the participants, patients and caregivers received demonstrations of holistic cancer therapies, mindfulness exercises, yoga, and other techniques to help ease side effects. 

• Held 50 drop-in stress reduction Breath-by-Breath classes for patients and caregivers. Recorded classes are now available on OHSU’s televisions for patients to access at any time. 

• In partnership with the Sarcoma Foundation of America and Northwest Sarcoma Foundation, held a free Sarcoma Patient Education Conference that featured updates on research, treatment, and resources available to patients and caregivers as well as sessions on complementary therapies.

• Facilitated three therapeutic writing groups, offered four Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Classes, and continued inpatient massage therapy across multiple cancer service areas. 

Funding Priorities:

Patient Assistance Fund: This fund helps patients with demonstrated financial need cover costs associated with their care such as temporary lodging, transportation and emergency medical assistance. Gifts of all sizes provide immediate impact to patients and their families facing financial hardship during their treatment. Investment: A gift of $500,000 or more will establish and name an endowed fund to provide support in perpetuity to help patients in need. 

Patient and Family Support Services Fund: Gifts of all sizes support and expand our ability to provide wellness programs and integrative medicine options, art therapy, and survivorship programs. Philanthropy ensures cancer patients will continue to have meaningful patient-oriented programs and special amenities not covered by traditional sources to help provide the social, emotional, comfort, and informational resources to enhance their well-being and quality of life. Investment: A gift of $1 million or more will establish and name an endowed fund to provide support in perpetuity for these life changing supportive care programs.

June 25, 2018

The 2018 Dom Diddy Classic held a paddle raise to encourage additional pledges of donation. We are so thankful for the compassionate and generous participants who helped us raise close to $20,000 just in this compelling ASK! 

What are we doing here…

The Dominic Fouts Memorial Cancer Fund was established as a way to keep Nick Fouts in our minds and honor him. But that’s not all! We also know that many times the first thing on someone’s mind when they get the cancer diagnosis is…. how much it is going to cost. Too many times people even postpone doctors appointments or other treatments due to the financial worry and burden. We wanted to supplement those worries with our help and support of patient support services, all the costs that are not covered by insurance to help someone survive, heal, and thrive. 

  • The first thought that often comes to mind, when the word Cancer is spoken, is chemotherapy, radiation, surgery…. and the side effects.

  • The Side Effects. Getting sick, feeling tired, pain, missing body pieces.

  • But what about the other side effects? Missing work because of being sick. Missing out on “normal” life activities due to fatigue. Being uncomfortable in your own skin. Maybe you live alone, are too sick to drive and have no one to drive you to your infusion appointment, so you have to take a cab. But that’s expensive. And you haven’t been paid because you haven’t been able to go to work. Integrative Medicine Programs that offer alternative wellness treatments have shown to improve patient recovery time and overall outcomes. We also support these interventions.

That’s why we are here… that’s what you are supporting. 

Gifts of all sizes provide an immediate impact to patients and their families facing financial emergencies during treatment.

  • Your $5,000 gift would cover 2 full weeks of treatments of Acupuncture and Massage for about 126 patients at St. Charles and for one patient at Providence to receive 50 acupuncture treatments, who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford it.

    • With an acupuncture course like this, we can help a patient finish their chemotherapy without them developing a treatment-limiting side effect such as neuropathy, pain, nausea or anemia - where their oncologist would stop, or take a break from treatment, or reduce the dose which may effect a patient’s outcome.

  • $2,500 would provide 30 massage therapy visits at Providence. With this kind of integrative care, patients report less fatigue, depression, and anxiety. They sleep better and as a result, their bodies stand a better chance of responding well to their cancer treatments.

  • $1,000 would cover a year of needles for acupuncture which translates into treating 1440 patients, and also one week of the massage program, 27 patients, at St. Charles. $1,000 also assists patients with rent or provides funds critical for home repairs.

  • $500 provides financial assistance with car payment to ensure patients and their families have reliable transportation to get to and from work, medical appointments, and school.

  • $500 would sponsor the average patient with integrative therapies for 3 months. It would cover 6 months of massage therapy supplies and would cover aromatherapy for all patients for 4 months. Patients receive individual inhalers with essential oils.

  • $100 would provide a nutritional consultation with a naturopathic doctor - just one visit can change the path of a person from choosing the wrong foods to the right ones in order to boost their immune system. Research has proven that our immune cells have the ability to find and destroy cancer cells.

  • A $100 gift supplements a stay at a hotel or helps with emergency medication costs.

  • Finally $50… and gift will help all the above cases and give hope that in seeking treatment there is help along the way. If we all give a little, we can help a lot.

prepared for the 

Board of Directors of the Dominic Fouts Memorial Cancer Fund

February 25, 2016 - Providence Cancer Center #FINISHCANCER

Thank you for helping to create better outcomes for patients with cancer.

Your partnership since 2014, which has generated an incredible $30,000 in support, is impacting the lives of vulnerable cancer patients and helping to ease their physical, emotional, and financial way. Specifically, your gifts are providing visits to our Integrative Medicine program, a place where Nick sought nutritional counseling and care.

As you have come to know, Integrative Medicine offers an excellent complement to conventional medicine. Here at Providence Cancer Center, naturopathic physicians, acupuncturists and massage therapists work alongside other care team members to maximize a patient's ability to journey through their cancer diagnosis and treatments. Research has shown that cancer patients who receive integrative care while they are receiving chemotherapy and/or radiation experience more rapid loss of side effects of treatment, and are less likely to require modifications in their care. In 2015, patient visits to our Integrative Medicine Program totaled more then 3,000.

Although integrative medicine is extremely helpful, most insurance companies do not cover the cost and patients are required to pay out-of-pocket for these services. Providence Integrative Medicine has a financial assistance fund for patients who express financial concerns when starting or during treatment. This program is funded entirely by philanthropic donations, and the Dominic Fouts Memorial Cancer Fund was our greatest contributor and advocate last year. 

The demand for this integrative care is growing - so much so that in September of last year, we launched a partnership with the Northwest College of Naturopathic Medicine to train five students in a landmark Infusion Center Acupuncture Program. Each Friday, 4 students supervised by Dr. Loch Chandler, Medical Director of our Providence Integrative Medicine Program, treat 10-18 patients. These students provide acupuncture to patients right there in the Cancer Center Infusion suites, providing patients with increased comfort and a better patient experience during this active phase of their treatment. Patients who receive acupuncture during infusions experience reduced nausea, reduced anxiety, reduced pain, reduced neuropathy, improved sleep, and quicker recovery post-treatment. And the students benefit, too, from learning a great deal about working with cancer patients in a hospital setting. The greatest benefit is that with generous donor support, there is no charge for this program to our patients. 

Word cannot adequately express our gratitude to the Dominic Fouts Memorial Cancer Fund, and to the sponsors, family and friends who support the Fund through the Dom Diddy Classic. We look forward to participating with all of you again this year, and stand ready to keep fighting this fight to #FINISHCANCER for all.

If you have any questions or would like more information about the impact of your support, please feel free to call or write to:

Shari Lynn Scales, CFRE | Director of Development | 503.215.6220 | shari.scales@providence.org