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Wendy Anzalone Patient Advocate B Y L ORI Q UILLER A BOUT 40 PERCENT OF A MERICANS REPORT SKIPPING A RECOMMENDED MEDICAL TEST OR TREATMENT , AND 44 PERCENT SAY THEY DIDN ’ T GO TO A DOCTOR WHEN THEY WERE SICK OR INJURED IN THE LAST YEAR BECAUSE OF COST , ACCORDING TO A NATIONAL POLL FROM NORC AT THE U NIVERSITY OF C HICAGO AND THE W EST H EALTH I NSTITUTE . meet people every day who have just heard the words, ‘You have cancer,’ and all of a sudden that diagnosis throws their lives into a kind of turmoil especially when they have children, parents, a spouse. I’ve had patients sit in front of me and decline treatment for fear that the cost of the treat- ment could bankrupt their family and leave them destitute. We try to assure them that is not the choice they are facing, and we can help them get these costs covered,” Cancer Wellness Foundation of Central Alabama Executive Director Wendy Anzalone said. “Eliminating the confusion and the fear patients and their families experience as a result of a cancer diagnosis is part of the mission of the Cancer Wellness Foundation. Through the work we do providing assistance with transportation and medication during treatment, we are giving help and giving hope to the patients of Central Alabama.” The Cancer Wellness Foundation of Central Alabama was founded in 1997 to provide supportive services to cancer patients in more than 28 counties across Central Alabama including patients who lack the resources necessary to otherwise receive comprehensive health care. The foundation provides medically uninsured and underinsured patients with transportation, medication and patient advocacy solutions…all by donations. Originally created by a group of oncologists, the Cancer Wellness Foundation of Central Alabama was created to answer the question of why patients stopped keeping their appointments for treatments. What was holding them back and could it be fixed? “About half of our patients come from rural areas and drive 50 miles or more just to get here. If you’re going through chemotherapy or radiation, which can sometimes be several times a week, you’re spending a lot of time in your car on the road. That means you’re paying more for gas and upkeep of your vehicle,” Anzalone explained. “Treatment and med- ications are already expensive, and for some, just the travel back and forth to the center is expensive over a prolonged period. The physicians determined there was a need for transportation assistance. They felt no one should have to give up their treatment just because they didn’t have the gas money to get to their treatment facility. If putting gas in your car is becoming a problem, that’s a simple fix.” As advocates for their patients, Anzalone and her team also find ways to help them pay for their medications in two ways: copay grants and free medications for those who qualify. Anzalone said the Cancer Wellness Foundation of Central Alabama is unique in that it is the only foundation of its type in Alabama that offers assistance to cancer patients during the entire spectrum of their treatments while other or- ganizations may only help before or after treatments. “We see between 800 and 1,000 patients a year and about a quarter of the Montgomery Cancer Center’s cancer patients where we are based,” Anzalone said. “We are limited to cancer patients who live in the River Region because we want to help locally. Our donors want to know their monies are being used to help cancer patients right here in our area. They don’t want money wasted or sent out of state to large organizations who don’t always understand the needs of patients living in central Alabama. We are proud to be good stewards of the money donated to our foundation. Our donors want most to help their neighbors and friends and their donations do just that. Currently, the foundation is working to expand some of our services to include financial assistance and nutritional supplements to our patients. This could include assisting someone with car payments who has been out of work because of treatments or providing post- operative supplies, for example, or providing a nutritional supplement to increase a patient’s caloric intake to provide for better overall health and well being. Every person who is facing cancer doesn’t have to feel alone. We want them to know they’ve come to a place where we will work to find them the help they need as they journey toward wellness.” n 26 AL/ Metro 360 www.almetro360.com SPOTLIGHT 360................................................................................................................................ “I