Facing a cancer diagnosis with the help of community generosity
Marta Meek can attest to the fact that there’s never a good time to get cancer. News of her lung cancer diagnosis came in the middle of a move from Texas to Ellensburg, Washington.
The stress of this cross-country move — coupled with the need for treatment 40 minutes away — weighed heavily on Meek.
Her treatment plan at MultiCare Cancer Center – North Star Lodge included five days of radiation therapy and one day of chemotherapy every week. The cost of transportation for these appointments alone seemed insurmountable, especially because her husband couldn’t take time off, having just started a new job.
That’s when patient advocate Megan Hereth told Meek about the Memorial Foundation’s Patient Assistance fund. The fund assists patients with emergent financial needs that could otherwise stand in the way of their cancer care.
“This fund is important to our patients, as it allows them to receive gas vouchers for coming 25-plus miles one way for an appointment,” Hereth says. “This fund also assists with utility, power, water, sewer or garbage bills during their active treatments. During this time, it’s extremely important for patients to have water and power. It would be a great hardship to have either of them shut off.”
For Meek, the fund provides support in the form of gift cards, which she uses on a taxi service to travel to and from doctor’s visits. With the burden of transportation expenses lifted, she can focus on getting better as she embarks on her lung cancer journey.
“To be quite frank, without access to these cards, I would have been faced with the difficult choice between affording care and fighting my cancer diagnosis,” Meek explains.
Thanks to Memorial Foundation donors whose generosity powers the Patient Assistance fund, she doesn’t have to make this impossible decision. Meek pledges that after she beats cancer, she’ll be first in line to champion the cause.
