» Community of Navigation and Support (CNS)

Patient Advocate Foundation Co-Pay Relief Program

jenn.gutierrez — Tue, 25 May 2010 18:25:46 +0000

The National Patient Advocate Foundation has an amazing co-pay relief program benefiting not only malignant brain tumors, but 18 other life threatening or chronic diseases. This is a great hidden resource for all of us battling this horrid disease.
This program is set up unlike other programs I have seen before. Each disease has its separate fund and each opens on the first of the month. The fund closes when all the funds have been allocated for that month. The application will open back up again on the first of the following month. The initial application asks a few simple questions to make sure qualify for the fund you are applying for. A paper application will then be mailed to your home for you and your physician to fill out.
I can only speak for how the malignant program runs, but basically it is set up as a reimbursement plan. PAF obtains a 12 month history from your pharmacy and will reimburse you on your out of pocket expenses. Your allotment of money is good for 12 month or until you allotment of funds is depleted.
For more information, or to apply for the program, please visit http://copays.org/

Resources Presented to Charleston Area Cancer Centers

BTAO — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:55:31 +0000

(L-R) Jan Williams-12 yr. Survivor; Julie Houston-President (BTAO); Christine (Patient Educator); Rachel Beard (Admin. Asst.) Dr. Pierre Giglio (Neuro-Oncologist) of MUSC-Hollings Neuroscience Department

600 patient backpacks full of resources were delivered to 3 Charleston Area Cancer Centers-MUSC-Hollings; Roper-St. Francis and Trident. These backpacks bear The Brain Tumor Awareness Organization logo and are full of valuable resources to assist patients immediately upon diagnosis.

The backpacks contain materials from:

Genentech
Schering-Plough
The American Brain Tumor Association
The National Brain Tumor Society
The Patient Advocate Foundation
The Healing Exchange B.R.A.I.N. Trust
Caring Bridge
Journey Forward.org
The Lance Armstrong Foundation
The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship
The Brain Tumor Awareness Organization Resource Booklet

This project was made possible through funding provided by The Zucker Ride for Hope in Charleston, SC. The next ride event is October 25, 2009 To participate visit Zucker Ride For Hope

(L-R) Jan Williams-12 yr. Survivor, Julie Houston-President (BTAO), Laurie Lybrand (Cyberknife Coordinator) Kelly Weeks (ACS Patient Navigator) Roper-St. Francis Radiation Oncology Dept(L-R) Jan Williams-12 yr. Survivor, Julie Houston-President (BTAO) Anne (Support Group Facilitator) Michell Horton (Neuro-Oncology Manager) at Trident Cancer Center

(L-R) Jan Williams-12 yr. Survivor, Julie Houston-President (BTAO) Anne (Support Group Facilitator) Michell Horton (Neuro-Oncology Manager) at Trident Cancer Center

The Brain Tumor Awareness Organization would like to thank all the partners in this project who saw the need for brain tumor patients to have credible resources and access to various assistance programs-delivered to them in a backpack by a Neuro-professional.
With so much information available, it was our goal to connect them directly with those resource partners that could navigate them through their journey with self-advocacy tools, survivorship plans, one-on-one support, financial assistance and more. In addition to these resources, we have provided some simple worksheets to assist patients and their families through various tasks such as budgeting, creating a support network and managing correspondences. These worksheets can be downloaded from our website on our Support page.

The Trident Neuro Oncology Team

BTAO — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 01:57:49 +0000

Today we met with the Neuro Oncology Team at Trident Healthcare Systems at the North Charleston location. What an amazing center! Upon entering the center, the colors were warm and soothing and the layout was easy to navigate and the information desk is right there ready to answer your questions and provide direction.

The staff is excited about their new stereotactic radiosurgery machine which is an upgrade from their previous machine. We enjoyed touring the center and visiting their resource room where patients are able to meet with one of the members of the neuro-team and learn about resources which can meet their needs.

We look forward to returning to Trident and providing support for their outreach efforts in the community, additional resources for the patients that they serve and to raise awareness so that we can make an impact on this disease!