MY BREAST CANCER SUPPORT
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Mission Statement
To provide financial and emotional support to breast cancer patients and their families on the seacoast of New Hampshire and in southern Maine.
About This Cause
MISSION & PROGRAMS My Breast Cancer Support’s mission is to provide financial and emotional support to breast cancer patients throughout the Greater Seacoast area of New Hampshire and Southern Maine on their individual paths toward wellness. In our 16th anniversary year, we are proud to report that we have directly served over 5,000 local breast cancer patients through the following core programs and activities: 1) Patient Assistance Grants: MBCS provides financial relief to women diagnosed with breast cancer and who also experience significant financial hardship due to their illness. Patients who have benefited from the program over the years have shared stories about having to choose between buying groceries or paying for treatment, or between heating oil in the winter or needed prescriptions. For too many women and families, this devastating diagnosis and the unplanned medical expenses associated with it, create a struggle to make ends meet which is compounded by the anxiety of dealing with a potentially life-threatening illness. 2) Care Packages & “Hope Chests:” MBCS gives every newly diagnosed patient at our collaborating hospitals a gift bag containing a scarf (often used during chemo), a journal, water bottle and literature about MBCS services. These bags are given to patients at a time when they feel hopeless in order to promote healthy modes of coping with stress and anxiety. As an ongoing source of support, MBCS “Hope Chests,” based in oncology departments of our partner hospitals, are stocked with gift cards for gas, groceries, restaurants and theaters for uplifting family outings, and services such as therapeutic massages for pain management. Funding History: While research has led to major advances preventing and treating breast cancer, many patients still struggle with the economic burden of cancer. MBCS will continue to raise funds for the critical needs of patients in Maine and New Hampshire undergoing treatment. By cultivating relationships with individual, foundation and corporate donors who are aligned with our mission, we have succeeded in doubling our annual funds raised since 2010, and we continue to raise funds and awareness through community evens like our “Celebrate Pink 5K”, our “Evening by the Sea Gala”, and events hosted throughout the year by our corporate sponsors. PROJECT INFORMATION The Need: According to the CDC, New Hampshire has the highest incidence rate of breast cancer in the U.S., and breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in both Maine and New Hampshire. Maine also has an incidence rate higher than the national average. Every year, an estimated 2,500 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the two states. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to lower breast cancer screening rates across the country due to cancellation of many routine medical exams, with many routine exams never re-scheduled. MBCS is bracing for a potential wave of new diagnoses in 2022, as our region continues to re-open, and people continue to re-schedule routine exams that had been cancelled or delayed over the past 18+ months. Targeted Population: For women and their families with low- to median incomes who lack health insurance, or whose insurance does not cover 100% of screening or diagnostic tests, our aim is to help meet their basic needs as they go through treatment. There is growing evidence that stress can negatively affect patients' outcomes. The Commission on Cancer has mandated that healthcare providers evaluate patients for distress and refer them to programs like MBCS. A cancer diagnosis is not only a physical and emotional shock to the women we serve, but it is also a monetary hit to their household budgets. Many patients must take time off from work although they are not entitled to sick pay. For patients who had already been living paycheck-to-paycheck, this decrease in income leaves their families unable to cover basic expenses. For patients seeking disability or other forms of government support, the wait to receive benefits can often be too long to help with this month’s rent, an already overdue bill, or this week’s groceries. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), people undergoing cancer treatment who can effectively cope with stress have been shown to have lower levels of depression, anxiety, and symptoms related to the cancer and its treatment. NCI also reported evidence from experimental studies suggesting that psychological stress can affect a tumor’s ability to grow and spread. MBCS is dedicated 100% to providing the financial and emotional support that breast cancer patients need to alleviate their stress, so they can focus 100% on their care.