Merkerson is best known for her portrayal of NYPD Lieutenant Anita Van Buren in the long-running NBC series, “Law & Order.” Her character faced an ovarian cancer diagnosis in the drama’s final season.

The series, which focused almost exclusively on solving the case at hand, occasionally explored its characters’ personal challenges, like this scene in which Lt. Van Buren reviews her employer-provided health plan:

Merkerson’s screen credits include Radio, Black Snake Moan and the television movie Lackawanna Blues, for which she won numerous acting awards including an Emmy, Golden Globe and Image Award.

This year’s “Partnerships in Hope” awards dinner will honor Deborah Dunsire, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company.  Dr. Dunsire has more than 20 years of experience in all aspects of pharmaceutical business, and has played a critical role in the development of products that contribute to cancer patient care. Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company is a longtime supporter of CancerCare’s free educational services for people affected by cancer.

Learn more about the “Partnerships in Hope” awards dinner.

While the past few years have seen breakthroughs in cancer treatment, these breakthroughs can come with a hefty price tag—even for those with insurance. “The cost of cancer is increasing at a rate of about 15 percent per year, (which is) nearly three times the rate of increase of overall health costs,” explains CancerCare Program Division Director Rosalie Canosa in the article. “It’s mind-boggling. [But] understanding the costs you can expect before you even begin treatment can help you manage the impact more effectively.”

“You can get to that lifetime cap pretty quickly with cancer,” she says. “A lot of policies are capped at $1 million. It doesn’t take long to get there.”

“Start this conversation with your health care team,” Canosa advises. “Often they’re linked to resources, including less-expensive options.”

Read the article, which appears online at www.bankrate.com.

CancerCare offers limited financial assistance for costs associated with cancer treatment, such as transportation to and from treatment, home care, child care, and over-the-counter pain medication. Learn more about our financial assistance programs, or fill out an application for financial help.

The CancerCare Co-Payment Assistance Foundation provides up to $10,000 per year in co-payment assistance to eligible individuals with insurance. The foundation currently offers assistance for the following diagnoses:

• Colon or colorectal cancer

• Gastric cancer

• Glioblastoma

• Non-small cell lung cancer

• Pancreatic cancer

• Renal cell cancer

Learn more about the foundation and how to apply for assistance.

Tic Tac has also launched the Tic Tac Extraordinary Caregiver Contest on the Tic Tac USA Facebook page to honor caregivers who help people affected by cancer. Three caregivers will each receive $2,500 to use toward an extraordinary experience, and the nominators of the three winning entries will each receive a $500 gift card. Nominations will be accepted through October 3, and voting for the finalists will take place November 1–11.

Do you know an extraordinary caregiver? Submit their story for the chance to win an extraordinary experience. 

Additionally, Tic Tac has again made available its limited edition Pink Grapefruit flavor. The flavor will be available at select drug, grocery and convenience stores from August through November 2011.

The concert, part of the “Concerts for a Cure” series, will be hosted by Lisa Dee, who created the event after losing her son, Vincent, to leukemia. Lisa’s goal is to raise $1 million for cancer research and to support cancer-related charity organizations.

Friday’s kick-off concert will include live blues and rock n’ roll from four bands, as well as a silent auction and 50/50 raffle for exclusive prizes.

Visit “Concert for a Cure’s” website to download a coupon for $10 off the price of tickets, as well as to purchase tickets and learn more about the series. Tickets purchased online are $25, and tickets purchased at the door are $30.

People affected by brain tumors may be eligible to receive up to $10,000 per year in co-payment assistance through the CancerCare Co-Payment Assistance Foundation. Learn more.

The recent Connect Education Workshop, Brain Tumors: Current Treatments and Hope for the Future, is now available as a podcast on our website. Listen to the podcast.

Researchers who attended the 2010 ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) Annual Meeting also reported on promising new treatments for brain tumors. Read about them in our ASCO 2010 guide, or order free copies from our reading room.

Are you a long-distance caregiver? It is difficult when we want to be there for our loved ones but can’t. We can feel helpless and “out of the loop.” However, there are ways we can help, even from a distance. Here are some useful tips [read more]…

Got a question about caregiving? Submit it online now.

The series, now in its ninth year, features cancer experts from around the country in a live one-hour conference that can be listened to over the telephone or via live stream from CancerCare‘s website.

The workshops are collaboration of CancerCare and the National Cancer Institute: Office of Cancer Survivorship and Office of Communications and Education, LIVESTRONG, American Cancer Society, Intercultural Cancer Council, Living Beyond Breast Cancer and National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship.

The Apr. 12 workshop features:

• Lillian M. Nail, PhD, RN, FAAN, Survivor Perspective, Rawlinson Distinguished Professor of Nursing, Senior Scientist, School of Nursing, Oregon Health & Science University
• Tim A. Ahles, PhD, Member, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Director, Neurocognitive Research Laboratory, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
• Patricia A. Ganz, MD, Professor, UCLA Schools of Medicine and Public Health, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control Research, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center 

The following three workshops will address topics such as weight changes after treatment, stress management for caregivers, and living with uncertainty about recurrence.

Pre-registration for these free workshops is required.  To register, and to learn more, visit www.cancercare.org/connect.

CancerCare offers specialized services for post-treatment survivors and their loved ones, including support groups, counseling, and free publications. Learn more.

Last year, our team of dedicated runners and walkers raised more than $50,000 for CancerCare’s free, professional support services for women diagnosed with breast and gynecological cancers. 

Register to join our team before Feb. 28 and save $5 by using the limited-time promotion code NYTEAM5. Early bird registration is $30;  regular registration is $35.

Don’t live in New York? You can still support the CancerCare EIF Revlon Run/Walk team by making a donation on the CancerCare team page.

For more information about the walk, and how to join our team, contact team co-captain Deborah Sussman at dsussman@cancercare.org.

Support groups connect people in similar situations and provide an environment in which they can share their feelings and build a community of support.

CancerCare‘s online support groups enable individual participants to communicate via a password-protected message board that is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Each support group is active for a 14-week period and each is moderated by a professional oncology social worker, who provides guidance, resources and reliable information to the participants.

CancerCare currently offers 25 different support groups online. Each is targeted to a specific population, such as people undergoing treatment for cancer, cancer survivors, caregivers and the bereaved.  Groups now recruiting include:

• Triple negative breast cancer patients
• Caregivers of loved ones with lung cancer
• Men with cancer
• Young adult caregivers of spouses and partners

 All support groups are completely free of charge, but registration is required.  Learn more.

The report advocates tailoring care to “the diverse physical, psychological, social and spiritual consequences of cancer for the individual patient,” an approach deemed the standard of care for all patients. In keeping with this approach, says ASCO, the health care teams of people with advanced cancers and those at the end of life should move away from focusing solely on disease-directed interventions (trying one treatment after another even though research shows they are not likely to make a significant difference). Instead, doctors should develop a treatment plan centered on evidence-based options and end-of-life patients’ preferences about how they want to spend the time they have left.

For patients and families, ASCO has released a 24-page booklet, Advanced Care Planning, to help them understand the options for care throughout the course of illness, including palliative, hospice, and  end-of-life care. The booklet also covers other important topics, such as the role of family in making treatment decisions, questions to ask your doctor about advanced cancers, and additional resources for information and support.