Home » Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation receives $40,000 grant to support breast cancer patients

Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation receives $40,000 grant to support breast cancer patients

Donation will help provide assistance with essential living expenses

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation has received a $40,000 grant from Susan G. Komen Kentucky that will be used to help local breast cancer patients at Saint Joseph East with essential living expenses. The grant funds will be used to help underserved women and men who have been newly diagnosed with breast cancer or have a recurrence of the disease with everyday expenses like lodging, transportation, copays, utilities, childcare, food, and telephone services.

“The costs of treatment and everyday living expenses can become a financial burden for many breast cancer patients, and they shouldn’t have to choose between paying their rent or receiving treatment,” said Leslie Buddeke Smart, CFRE, president, Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation. “We are incredibly thankful to Susan G. Komen Kentucky for their generous grant donation. We know many local individuals battling breast cancer in the Lexington community will benefit from this relief and ultimately, it will help save lives.”

“Experts estimate that if scientific research were halted today, we could still eliminate 33% of the breast cancer deaths in this region by eradicating disparities,” said Lynda Weeks, development director, Susan G. Komen Kentucky. “That is a staggering number and something we can obliterate. By collaborating with the medical community and offering financial assistance to qualified patients, we can turn this statistic around and save more lives.”

Financial barriers for eligible patients include: income less than double the federal poverty rate (Individual under $25,000/year & Family of Four under $51,500/year), Medicaid eligible, unemployed, and health care costs exceed available resources.

For more information on breast cancer services at Saint Joseph East, call 859.967.5613, or visit https://www.chisaintjosephhealth.org/east-cancer-care.