Impact Report

George S.

Location: Rex Health Care Center, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

George and Sonya were best friends who had been married for thirty-two years.  They lived an uncomplicated life in a rural area near Garner, NC.  But in January of 2010, everything changed when George’s lung collapsed.  Test results revealed the worst: George was suffering from stage III small cell lung cancer.

Like many Americans in the recent economic down turn, George had been laid off.  He and his wife had no insurance and Sonya’s secretary job did not bring in enough money to pay for the specialized care George needed.
Thankfully the hospital social services network at Rex Health Care in Raleigh, NC, paid for George’s treatment protocol of extensive radiation and chemotherapy.  George responded well to treatments, but Sonya had to quit her beloved job.  It was impossible for her to continue to work and drive George the long distance into Raleigh every day.

Now in serious economic trouble, they were forced to try to survive only upon support from unemployment and disability checks.  As you can imagine, these checks simply did not cover all their needs.  Every day they filled their car with gas for the trip to the hospital, and it quickly ate up what little money they had.

George and Sonya knew that without help, they simply would not be able to even physically get to the hospital.

George and Sonya were ecstatic to hear about the NCC Provides Program, which works with medical centers such as Rex Health Care to assist cancer patients with unmet needs.  These might include: gas cards for travel, prescription help, lodging, nutritional supplements and other expenses related to their cancer treatments.

NCC established this essential program because without aid many patients are forced to cancel some of their treatments, or worse yet, discontinue their treatments altogether.

And that was certainly true for George and Sonya.  When NCC representatives sat down with the couple, George stated emphatically, “We have really needed these gas cards—we just wouldn’t be here without them!”  The NCC Provides program also supplied money for George’s prescriptions as well as nutritional drinks and supplements to help fortify his ravaged body.

This is the difference your support of NCC makes to patients struggling with cancer right here in the United States. 

Donate now to help patients, like George, continue their treatments.

Background Information

Since 2005, the National Cancer Coalition has worked with cancer hospitals and medical centers around the southern United States to provide financial assistance through its NCC Provides Program to patients in need suffering with cancer and other serious disease. Our staff works closely with social service representatives at these institutions to qualify appropriate patients to receive assistance through this program. By providing funds for such things as travel expenses, lodging, meals, laboratory/diagnostic testing, nutritional supplements, medicines, and insurance co-pays, NCC is helping patients with very necessary expenses, which might otherwise be an obstacle preventing them from completing their required treatment.

NCC Provides - North Carolina - Rex Health Care Center - USA