December 14, 2009
The ancient Japanese tradition of senbazuru promises that a person who folds 1000 origami cranes will be granted a wish, such as long life or recovery from illness.
Boston-based Millennium Pharmaceuticals, owned by the Japanese pharmaceutical, The Takeda Company, recently launched a website honoring the senbazuru tradition, where people facing cancer–patients, caregivers, loved ones–can express their hopes and wishes for the New Year. Each message of hope posted at the site is represented by a bird-shaped paper figurine.
Millennium Pharmaceuticals is a funder of CancerCare’s Door to Door program, which provides financial assistance to cover transportation costs for people undergoing treatment for multiple myeloma.
Leave your wish at 1000 Cranes of Hope.com (the site is free but log-in registration is required). For every wish left at the site, Millennium will make a donation to a healthcare-related charity.
1 Comment | 
Caregiving, Coping with Cancer, Financial Assistance, Mind-Body-Spirit | Tagged: caregivers, coping, cost of care, Door to Door program, financial resources, multiple myeloma, transportation grants | 
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Posted by Jeanie M. Barnett
July 20, 2009
Are you (or someone you know) being treated for multiple myeloma? If so, you may qualify for a new financial assistance program from CancerCare that helps defray the cost of getting to and from your medical care appointments. Called “Door to Door,” the new program offers grants of up to $600 annually to multiple myeloma patients to cover transportation costs such as gasoline, tolls and parking, and taxi, bus and cab fare.
Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the bone marrow. About 20,000 people are diagnosed with this type of cancer each year in the U.S. Advances in the treatment of this cancer have dramatically increased patients’ life expectancy–an estimated 60,000 people in the U.S. are now living with multiple myeloma–and consequently lengthened the duration of treatment, which often is given several times a week over many months.
Particularly for patients on a fixed income, these travel expenses add up and create a financial burden that may prevent them from keeping up with their health care, notes CancerCare Exeuctive Director Diane Blum. “The Door to Door program will provide much-needed relief to this patient population.”
For more information, call 800-813-HOPE (4673) or visit www.cancercare.org.
1 Comment | Financial Assistance | Tagged: bone marrow cancer, Door to Door program, multiple myeloma, transportation grants | Permalink
Posted by Jeanie M. Barnett
