The evening Leah filled out the application for help through Susan G. Komen’s financial assistance program, she was hoping to find a lifeline. Leah was diagnosed with invasive carcinoma breast cancer in September 2021, and it had thrown her life into disarray.
Between appointments and copays, keeping up with everyday expenses had become increasingly difficult. “I was exhausting every possible option I could find for assistance, for any lifeline, any help,” she said.
Komen provides financial support for eligible individuals undergoing breast cancer treatment at any stage and those living with metastatic breast cancer to cover non-medical expenses to enable them to focus on their treatment. The financial assistance can go toward rent or housing, transportation, utilities, childcare, groceries and more.
Two days later, Leah’s phone rang. It was someone from Komen. “That phone call and the funds Komen provided for me, they changed my entire outlook on my cancer journey,” Leah said. “I just cried, thanking God for her intervention in this raging storm that’s threatening to take me out.” Leah used the funds to pay her utility bills and keep her services from being turned off.
“Even above the funds, that personal outreach, the ease and turnaround of the assistance process was awesome,” Leah said.
But it was more than that. “To say that I feel small, weak and ill-equipped is an understatement,” she said of her diagnosis and treatment. “Komen’s help was a beacon of light in a storm that doesn’t seem to have many. They truly made a difference in my life.”
To learn more about Komen’s financial assistance and to see if you’re eligible to apply, visit here.
