Breaking Barriers to Bring Hope to All Cancer Patients

Lazarex News | 10.18.18

Dear Friends:

Fall is here, and the shifting weather puts us in a reflective mood about the seasons of life and the changes they bring. Personally, it has been a year since I joined the Lazarex family! I can’t express the huge impact it has made in my life. I am so grateful for the amazing people I work with - our staff, the board members and volunteers.

Lazarex is poised for great success and that comes with sacrifices and a lot of work. I mention sacrifice because in September we had to make the decision of not accepting NEW patients in the Lazarex CARE Program until the end of the year. Cancer is a big issue and an expensive one. This year so far, we have served over 500 patients and have about 300 patients in our active roster. Patients are living longer in clinical trials and our responsibility to them lasts as long as they are enrolled in the trial. This is a good thing, but financially it becomes more difficult to increase the numbers of patients we serve and stay within budget. We are working very hard to secure more funds to support our mission.

On the other hand, we are very excited with the Lazarex IMPACT Program that is in place at USC and UCSF. With the participation of these institutions we will be able to serve more patients and spread the word about clinical trials in the communities they serve. This program could only be launched thanks to the support of AMGEN. Their altruistic and visionary attitude allowed them to see the benefits of this program. We are very grateful to have them as the IMPACT founding sponsor.

In August we had our beautiful gala, Give Cancer the Boot – Beach Party. We had almost 200 attendees and raised over $170,000 net. I want to personally congratulate the staff on the great teamwork leading to this event and thank all the volunteers that helped that night. I believe our donors had a great time while supporting our cause.

To our patients, thanks for allowing us to be part of your journey. We are in this together. As Mike Snyder, one of our patients says, “Cancer doesn’t get to win, not now, not ever.”

Warmest Regards,

Vera

Very Important Patient Update:

Lucinda's Story

Cancer Free!

See Lucinda’s interview on WUSA9 DC .

At 38 years old, Lucinda, mother of two young children, was diagnosed with stage III Inflammatory Breast Cancer, one of the most commonly misdiagnosed cancers… because there’s often no lump

One month into the clinical trial, the chemo made her feel horrible and she soon realized the expense was too great and her family simply couldn't afford it. She considered dropping out. It was at that point she came across a Facebook post, learning about Lazarex Cancer Foundation. Lazarex said yes to Lucinda and has been reimbursing her for 75% of her out of pocket expenses, allowing her to stay in the clinical trial.

More than a year later, Lucinda has just completed the clinical trial, and she is considered cancer free. What’s more, because of her enrollment and the enrollment of all patients in that trial, the treatment could ultimately offer hope for millions of cancer patients.

DISRUPTING THE SYSTEM

Lazarex IMPACT Program is Breaking Barriers to Bring Hope to

All Cancer Patients

October 16, 2018: A new bill sponsored by Lazarex Cancer Foundation could help people afford to participate in clinical trials.

Clinical trial bill moves forward in Pennsylvania. Governor Tom Wolf is expected to sign a bill into law this week that would give more people access to clinical trials and treatments. Hear from a Lazarex patient in Shippensburg, PA who went through one of these trials after a cancer diagnosis, who's now advocating for the bill. See the CBS21 report and interview with Lazarex patient Ashley and Lazarex Founder Dana Dornsife .

September 24, 2018: Concordia Summit, NYC

Lazarex Cancer Foundation, as a Concordia Summit Programming Partner , held a plenary session to highlight the problem of unequal patient access to cancer clinical trials.

Distinguished panelists included Dr. Cliff Hudis, CEO of ASCO, Dr. Edith Mitchell, Director of Diversity at Thomas Jefferson University, Dana Dornsife, Founder of Lazarex Cancer Foundation and Dr. John Whyte, Chief Medical Officer at WebMD. The panel was moderated by Laura Evans Manatos of Laura Evans Media.

Learn more about how the Lazarex IMPACT Program is breaking barriers.

About Lazarex and What We Do

Our 2017 Annual Report is Out!

Learn about our programs, services, fundraising and budget results for 2017.

READ THE ANNUAL REPORT

Lazarex: Connecting Patients to Tomorrow’s Treatments Today

New video! Features Lazarex patients

and founder Dana Dornsife describing how Lazarex makes lifesaving connections that give hope to patients now and opportunity for new treatments in the future.

PLAY VIDEO

2019 Big Sur International Marathon - Run With Us!

We have bibs for this SOLD OUT race!

For the 8th year Lazarex Cancer Foundation is a participating charity in the Big Sur International Marathon race weekend! Guarantee your entry with Team Lazarex and come April you will experience one of the most breathtaking courses in the world!

GET INFO OR SIGN UP HERE

Charity bibs are the only way into the Big Sur Marathon once it's sold out, and charity runners earn their bib by fundraising for Lazarex. If you know anyone looking to run in Big Sur this spring - please direct them to www.lazarex.org or 925.309.8663.

One of our patients, Scott, recently published a children's book, I Love You Like by Grass & Hopping Publishing, about a grasshopper and his young son. He was inspired to write the book as a gift to his own son, Alec.

Scott, who is currently fighting stage IV neuroendocrine cancer, is uncertain about his future, but through the gift of this book, his son will never doubt how much his father loves him.