To alleviate the financial burden of cancer treatment, the American Cancer Society recently awarded a $20,000 transportation grant to the Forrest General Cancer Center. The grant is one of 380 transportation grants totaling $6.2 million awarded to health systems nationwide. The funding will allow health systems to provide eligible patients an estimated 577,350 rides to treatment.
The grant will be used to support the Cancer Center’s Fuel to Fight Cancer Fund which was established to support the travel needs of cancer patients as they travel to and from the Forrest General Cancer Center for treatments. The frequent trips required for treatment can often create both a financial and logistical burden for the patients and their families.
"We are so grateful to be the recipient of an ACS grant,” said Kecia Jones-Harris, Cancer Center director. “This will allow us to continue to support the needs of transportation for patients in our 19-county service area."
Why Transportation Funding is Needed
Lack of transportation to treatment prevents many people living with cancer from getting high-quality care which worsens cancer outcomes.
• In a study presented at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology Quality Care Symposium, American Cancer Society researchers found that 2.8% of cancer survivors reported delays in care due to transportation barriers. Cancer survivors who delayed care due to lack of transportation were more likely to use the emergency room and had the highest risk of all-cause and cancer-specific mortality.
• According to the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Treatment and Survivorship Facts & Figures 2022-2024, cancer survivors experience greater financial hardship than the general population for many reasons including the inability to work. They also have higher out of pocket medical costs compared to people without a history of cancer. The economic burden of cancer is more profound in survivors who are younger or were diagnosed in childhood, underinsured or uninsured, and have lower incomes.
“Not having access to high-quality cancer treatment due to where you live contributes to the disparities we see in cancer outcomes,” said Dr. Arif Kamal, chief patient officer for the American Cancer Society. “It’s important to provide the funding and programming needed to keep a lack of transportation from impacting survival. The local health systems we partner with across the country use this funding to deliver assistance directly to the patients who need it most.”
The American Cancer Society believes all people should have a fair and just opportunity to live a longer, healthier life free from cancer regardless of how much money they make, skin color, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or where they live. In addition to providing transportation funding to health systems, the American Cancer Society runs a Road To Recovery program that provides free rides to and from treatment.
Donations to support the fund can be made at www.forresthealth.org/fueltofight or mail a check to PO Box 19010, Hattiesburg, MS 39404, and note Fuel to Fight Fund.
