Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana
Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana (CSNE) has been serving Allen County since 1944 as a local chapter of the American Cancer Society. In the 1950’s the organization decided it wanted to retain more control of how money was spent and became a local organization. A few years ago, upon the request of area doctors and oncologists, Cancer Services of Allen County enlarged its service area to 11 counties in NE Indiana and was renamed Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana. This allows CSNE to greatly extend its outreach.
Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana has been serving people with cancer since 1944. Its service area includes Allen, Adams, DeKalb, Huntington, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Noble, and Steuben, Wabash, Wells, and Whitley counties. Its mission is to enhance the quality of life of those affected by cancer in Northeast Indiana by providing meaningful resources, information and compassionate assistance.
A Dreaded Diagnosis
Cancer. It’s a word that strikes fear into the heart of every person. Almost everyone knows someone who has received this diagnosis, but can you imagine if that person were you or a loved one? How would you deal with it? Would you know where to turn for help?
According to the Indiana Cancer Institute, there will be an estimated 37,250 new cases of cancer in 2018 alone, and that statistic only takes into account the 10 most common types of cancer! It’s a growing problem in today’s society, and facing it takes a big toll on individuals and their families financially, emotionally, and physically.
How Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana is Making a Difference
With so many Hoosiers affected, having a resource like Cancer Services is more important than ever. For nearly 75 years, Cancer Services has been serving the Allen County community (and many surrounding counties) by offering financial assistance, legal consultation, medical equipment loans, educational resources, and private and family counseling. In fact, the client advocates at Cancer Services have been known to serve more than 3,000 people with new cancer diagnoses every year.
In a time when things can feel hopeless and out of control, it’s nice to know that an organization like Cancer Services is close-to-home and ready to help patients navigate the financial, emotional, and physical burden that comes along with a cancer diagnosis.
The Client Advocate Program
Cancer Services is helping to enhance the lives of those affected by cancer. One way they are doing this is by providing clients—particularly low-income clients—with access to financial assistance, practical resources, educational opportunities, and emotional support to reduce the emotional and financial burden of cancer.
Cancer Services serves all people touched by cancer, without regard to gender, age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion or socioeconomic status. However, the majority of their clients are low-income and at high-risk. In 2017, 63% of those clients’ reporting income qualified for financial assistance and 77% were below the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed) threshold—this is a poverty indicator used by the Indiana Association of United Way for families that are not able to afford basic living needs. This population is at a high risk of losing access to healthcare.
Stacey Stumpf, Director of Development and Marketing for Cancer Services shares, “I’m thankful to work for Cancer Services and to work with cancer patients. They provide inspiration and hope with their strength and willingness to confront devastating situations.”
She shares that children are especially inspiring and encourage everyone at Cancer Services to remain optimistic. They strive to encourage clients to focus on making things better rather than focusing on what’s wrong.
Contributing to a Worthy Cause
Fighting cancer is hard enough, cancer patients shouldn’t have to worry about anything else. Not how they will pay for chemo. Not how they will deal with their hair loss. Not how they will tell their family and friends. Not how they will find transportation to their appointments. Cancer Services can help with all of these things and more!
That’s why the PHP Foundation recently named Cancer Services as one of our 2018 Foundation Grant Award winners. The mission of this organization is aligned with PHP’s mission in serving those most in need as both organizations are local and have employees that are accessible. We hope that by contributing towards the mission of Cancer Services, we can help ease the burden on those in our community who are facing the uphill battle of cancer. It’s a hard fight, and we want to do whatever we can to make it easier.
About Cancer Services
Stacey Stumpf, Director of Development and Marketing
Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana has been serving Allen County since 1944 as a local chapter of the American Cancer Society. A few years ago, upon the request of area doctors and oncologists, Cancer Services enlarged its service area to 11 counties in NE Indiana. This allows CSNE to greatly extend its outreach.
Mission: Cancer Services' mission is to enhance the quality of life of those affected by cancer by providing meaningful resources, information and compassionate assistance.
