Having cancer can really hit your wallet hard, but there are organizations that can help lighten the load by covering co-pays, housing (if you need to go to another city for treatment), and even such daily expenses as groceries, rent and utilities.

• Hope Lodge: Travelling out of town for treatment when required can be prohibitively expensive, so the American Cancer Society has a FREE place where cancer patients and their caregivers can stay when home is far away. Currently, there are 31 Hope Lodge locations throughout the U.S., offering private rooms and a nurturing home-like environment so patients can focus on getting well. Accommodations and eligibility requirements vary by location and availability is first come, first served. To find out more, Click Here, or call 800-227-2345.
• The Cancer Card Xchange collects and distributes FREE gift cards to cancer patients around the country in the denomination of $10 to $100. They accept donations of restaurant, store, movie theater and gas gift cards that people have lying around and aren’t using. Donors can also make tax-deductible donations of money or gift cards in honor or memory of loved ones. To make a referral or request a card, Click Here.
• CancerCare Co-Payment Assistance Foundation: This national non-profit helps metastatic breast cancer patients cover the insurance co-payment cost of chemo and targeted treatment drugs. Patients must meet certain criteria related to their diagnosis, treatment and financial situation and must have private insurance or Medicare. If you do not qualify, the organization will refer you to other patient assistance programs that may be able to help. Click Here or call 866-55-COPAY (6729).
  • Please Note: Depending on demand and length of their waiting list, CancerCare they occasionally suspends taking new referrals. Check back to see whether they have opened up their distribution. Or make a donation to help them continue.
• Breast Cancer Assistance Program: As part of the Sisters Network, a leading voice for African American breast cancer survivors, this program provides FREE services to women facing financial challenges during treatment, radiation and chemotherapy, including medical related lodging, co-pays, office visits and prosthesis. They also provide FREE mammograms. Click Here
• Financial Wellness Tool Kit: Are you struggling with the financial burdens of a breast cancer diagnosis? Sharsheret, a national not-for-profit organization supporting young women and their families, of all Jewish backgrounds, facing breast cancer, offers a FREE Tool Kit addressing the often complicated issues of health insurance, disability rights, financial planning, and estate planning. Sharsheret’s Financial Wellness Tool Kit includes guidelines from experts in the field, tools to record and organize your personal information, vital resources and helpful tips from other Jewish women who have faced illness. Click Here or call 866-474-2774.
• Jill’s Wish: In honor of Jill Conley, who died too young from breast cancer, Jill’s Wish offers those newly diagnosed or with terminal breast cancer, FREE grants for daily living expenses to help minimize the financial struggle during treatment. Click Here

Good to Know

• Fight Club Survivor Boutique: If money is tight, there is help. Fight Club Survivor organization has an online boutique for new and hand-me-down breast cancer items. You can find lightly used wigs, scarves, breast forms and mastectomy/lumpectomy bras. All items are available on a first come first served basis and inventory changes constantly. Everything is FREE (you just have to pay shipping). Click Here
• Livestrong: Livestrong Fertility Discount Program is not free, but it helps cancer survivors (both men and women) access discounted rates on fertility preservation services. To determine whether you are eligible to apply, Click Here
• Cancer and Careers:  Going back to work after a cancer diagnosis? Submit your resume for FREE, personalized feedback from one of Cancer and Careers professional career coaches. Click Here
• Alliance in Reconstructive Surgery Foundation: Women who have undergone mastectomy can apply for FREE grants from AiRS, dedicated to providing education and financial aid for medical expenses related to breast reconstruction surgery. Click Here