For carcinoid cancer patients who are feeling too ill to cook, shop or clean; for those who have experienced hair loss due to chemotherapy; or need lodging when traveling to cancer treatments there are some wonderful resources available.
Cleaning for a Reason Foundation says “Fighting cancer is difficult enough, but living with it is even tougher,” and that’s where they step in. This nonprofit offers free professional housecleaning services to improve the lives of women undergoing treatment for cancer – any type of cancer. There are 808 Cleaning for a Reason partners in 50 states and Canada. Visit their website, http://www.cleaningforareason.org, to find out more about how to apply and the locations of the cleaning services.
Angie’s Spa is a nonprofit organization that provides spa services to men and women undergoing chemotherapy. The three hospital programs that are currently funded are Northridge Hospital Medical Center in California, Hartford Hospital in Connecticut and Southampton Hospital in New York. “These therapeutic massages are designed to alleviate painful side effects, provide relaxation to enhance traditional treatments, and give cancer patients a self-esteem boost.” To read more about this service, visit http://www.angiesspa.org.
If you live in one of the 5 boroughs of New York City, Newark and Hudson County in New Jersey, God’s Love We Deliver has a special Cancer Program that provides free meals to people who are living with various stages of cancer and are currently receiving treatment. How can you get on the meal program? Call client services at 212-294-8102 or 800-747-2023 to begin the registration process. For more information: http://www.godslovewedeliver.org.
There are a number of places throughout the country that offer free wigs for cancer patients, including Cancer Care, American Cancer Society, the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the University of Michigan’s Comprehensive Cancer Center Wig Bank Program.
Cancer Care has a special page devoted to carcinoid tumors, CLICK HERE. Here you can find education workshops, podcasts, literature such as “Coping with Cancer: Tools to Help You Live,” “Helping Children When a Family Member Has Cancer,” and tips for communicating with your health care team (in both English and Spanish), as well as financial assistance information. Cancer Care provides limited aid to eligible families for cancer-related costs such as transportation and child care.
Carcinoid cancer patients and their families can find help and hope if they have to travel far from home for treatments. Each American Cancer Society Hope Lodge “offers cancer patients and their families a free, temporary place to stay when their best hope for effective treatment may be in another city. Not having to worry about where to stay or how to pay for lodging allows Hope Lodge guests to focus on the most important thing: getting well.”
And a Hope Lodge also provides “a nurturing, home-like environment where patients and caregivers can retreat to private rooms or connect with others who are going through many of the same experiences.” To read more about the program and see a complete list of Hope Lodges throughout the United States, CLICK HERE.
The website Cancer Fairy Godmother has links to a wide variety of resources for cancer patients including information about financial assistance as well as assistance with medications for uninsured patients, resources for care at home, and more. Please note: Sadly, as of 2019 it appears this website no longer exists.
The National Cancer Institute has an extensive list of Resources for Financial Assistance for Patients and Their Families: https://cissecure.nci.nih.gov/factsheet/FactSheetSearch8_3.aspx. Search resources by topics such as Health Insurance/Co-Payments, Lodging (during treatment), Illness/Disability Compensation, Medications, and Practical Needs (mortgage, rent, food, transportation).
You can also read our earlier blogs Take Them a Meal: How to Help a Carcinoid Patient and Grocery Shopping Tips & Comfort Food for Carcinoid Cancer and Neuroendocrine Tumor Patients for information about grocery shopping services and how friends and family can plan meals for carcinoid patients.
