Patient Services

Cancer brings devastation to individuals and families, yet the suffering goes far beyond diagnosis and treatment.  For low and middle income families, cancer can result in a financial burden so profound that the National Cancer Institute has coined the term “financial toxicity” to describe the financial crisis of a cancer diagnosis.  This financial burden doesn’t just create high rates of emotional distress; it also negatively affects patient outcomes and quality of life for the whole family.  CARE is about helping the people of Doña Ana County today, local people recently diagnosed with any type of cancer and in treatment to cure, shrink or stop the progression of their cancer.  Please read more about financial toxicity under the tab in the menu.

Cancer Aid Resource & Education, Inc. (CARE) is always raising funds to provide assistance to our local community of Doña Ana County, especially people who have recently been diagnosed with any type of cancer and are receiving treatment:  chemotherapy, radiation, surgery or a transplant.  Today, CARE provides services to improve the quality of life of our Doña Ana County cancer patients and their loved ones so that cancer suffering may be alleviated in Doña Ana County.    Today, CARE provides financial assistance based on eligibility and funds availability to our local cancer patients and their families to alleviate some of the stress of the financial hardship of their cancer journey so they may concentrate on treatment, healing, recovery and survival.

CARE’s Care and Support Program’s focus is to provide financial assistance to cancer patients and their families to help them cope with their cancer treatment by assisting them with non-medical expenses/basic living needs expenses while they are in active treatment for any type of cancer.  CARE may also provide emergency funeral expense assistance based on eligibility.  All assistance is based on eligibility and funds availability. All assistance will require the patient’s application, documentation, including their oncologist’s verification of treatment at each request for financial assistance.  The patient will sign applicable vouchers which will ensure transparency and accountability for the benefit of all patients.  The focus is to help cancer patients for as many months as possible while they are in treatment and to provide this assistance based on what will each individual patient chooses will benefit them most, up to the cap.

Most patients CARE has helped has provided assistance to them for 3 to 6 months, all based on what each patient says will benefit them most.  Some patients choose assistance that will help them more months, which has been up to 12 months.

CARE may include a variety of assistance to our local community and our local cancer patients.   The financial assistance CARE provides our Doña Ana County cancer patients, children and adults, is for non medical/basic living needs expenses up to the cap, for example:

• Gas cards to get to treatment
• Food and nutritional supplements cards
• Utilities
• Rent or mortgage payment
• Medical travel expenses for qualifying active cancer treatment (this assistance can include lodging, meals, airfare  – and is available to patients who do not have a secondary insurance or medicaid)
• Telephone (to keep the family connected and for communication with their doctors)
• Self pay health insurance or COBRA health insurance (this usually applies to patients who are unable to work or who are unable to work enough hours to have their health insurance deducted from their pay)
• Other consideration of non-medical financial assistance may be considered on a case by case basis (patients may make their request in writing)

Exclusions.  The following items will not be considered for financial assistance:   

• Medical/Hospital bills
• Any Co-Pays
• Doctor bills
• Any medical test bills
• Medical supplies
• Prescription payments
• Any tube feeding costs
• Cable bills 
• Internet/Entertainment
• Bundle bills (bills that combine phone, TV and internet)
• Car insurance bills
• House insurance & property tax bills
• House repairs

Any resident in Doña Ana County, child or adult, can be diagnosed with cancer and become the cancer patient CARE will help.

All financial assistance is paid directly to third parties, patient’s vendors/non medical providers.