Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Fresno City Gets Extension in Herndon 4-Story Apartment Case

12 hours ago

With Major Heat Risk Forecast, This Is a Good Weekend to Stay Indoors in Fresno

15 hours ago

Trump Says Intel Has Agreed to Deal for US to Take 10% Equity Stake

15 hours ago

Epstein Associate Maxwell Says She Never Saw Trump Behave Inappropriately

15 hours ago

Pew: US Immigrant Population Declines for First Time in Nearly 60 Years

18 hours ago

Powell, Citing Jobs Risk, Opens Door to Cuts but Doesn’t Commit

20 hours ago

FBI Agents Search Ex-Trump Adviser Bolton’s Home, Source Says

20 hours ago

Gaza City Officially in Famine, With Hunger Spreading, Says Global Hunger Monitor

20 hours ago

Gavin Newsom’s Redistricting Plan Is on Its Way to Voters. What You Need to Know

1 day ago
Life-Saving Treatment Begins with Transportation
Community-Medical-Centers
By Sponsored by Community Health System
Published 4 years ago on
November 8, 2021

Share

Ada was alone and living in a shelter when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had no family support system and no way to get to her numerous medical appointments.

“A staff person at the shelter connected me with the American Cancer Society,” Ada says, “and ACS gave me the tools and support I needed to understand my diagnosis. I felt calm and without fear thanks to them. With the help and compassion of ACS, I was able to receive free transportation to my life-saving treatments and a place to stay closer to my cancer center.”

Last year, Community Health System helped fund the American Cancer Society’s “Road to Recovery” program — a service that provides rides to and from appointments for low-income and disadvantaged cancer patients. Community also supported the Cancer Society’s temporary lodging program as part of its $175 million community benefit work in fiscal year 2021. The funding provided for 635 rides and 153 hotel rooms for low-income cancer patients in Fresno, says Jennifer Giese, American Cancer Society’s cancer control strategic partnerships manager.

As a non-profit health system, Community invests 10% or more of its operating expenses back into the region as “community benefit” to train new doctors and nurses, for charity care and unreimbursed medical care for the poor and underserved, and for community education and outreach.

While Fresno County has lower cancer rates for every type of cancer except lung cancer compared to the rest of California, patients here struggle with access to care because of high poverty and low insurance rates. During focus groups that Community conducted in 2019 among Black cancer patients to assess health needs, the challenge most often cited was transportation to treatment.

“When I was diagnosed with lymphoma I did not know how I was going to get to treatment because my family could not take off work,” explains Feliza. A friend helped connect her to the Road to Recovery program. “When I found out that I was going to be able to get to treatment thanks to the American Cancer Society I was ecstatic! I no longer had to worry and can now focus on my treatments and getting better.”

Connecting Patients to Local Cancer Facility

Community Cancer Institute’s social workers and nurse navigators often connect patients to American Cancer Society’s various support programs. “It helped save my life, because I am now cancer free,” Sara says of that social worker referral. “I had no family in the area and was not sure how I would get to my (breast cancer) treatment appointments. I never realized a program like this existed.”

Part of the Community Health System, the cancer institute on the campus of Clovis Community Medical Center brings outpatient services, leading cancer technology, plus a myriad of support services under one roof to provide easier access and expedite treatment. In collaboration with UCSF, ground-breaking research and more than 30 clinical trials take place there, making the latest available treatments available to Valley patients.

Peter had a similar experience: “I am eternally grateful to the American Cancer Society for supplying transportation for me when I was battling lung cancer the summer of 2019. The entire team was extremely courteous and professional in assisting me in the multiple doctor appointments I had during an extremely difficult time in my life. And thank you to my medical team for referring me to ACS services. I didn’t know they existed!”

Read more at Community Medical Centers

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno Crash Sends Car Into Building After Running Red Light

DON'T MISS

Fresno City Gets Extension in Herndon 4-Story Apartment Case

DON'T MISS

Atwater Prison Inmate Charged for Threatening to Kill Prosecutor’s Family

DON'T MISS

Multiple Passengers Are Killed After Bus Crashes in Western New York

DON'T MISS

Fresno Firefighters Contain Cambridge Avenue Blaze, No Injuries Reported

DON'T MISS

With Major Heat Risk Forecast, This Is a Good Weekend to Stay Indoors in Fresno

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Intel Has Agreed to Deal for US to Take 10% Equity Stake

DON'T MISS

Epstein Associate Maxwell Says She Never Saw Trump Behave Inappropriately

DON'T MISS

Wrongly Deported Migrant Abrego to Be Released Soon, Lawyer Says

DON'T MISS

Remembering Ron McCary, Who Did It All for KMJ

UP NEXT

Tina Is a Lovable, Huggable Bundle of Feline Joy

UP NEXT

You’ll Sing ‘Me and My Shadow’ After Adopting This Cool Cat

UP NEXT

Adopt Eevee and She’ll Bring Sunshine Into Your Life

UP NEXT

Tater Is One Hot Potato When It Comes to Adoptable Kittens

UP NEXT

Handsome Lugosi’s Winning ‘Purrsonality’ Will Win You Over

UP NEXT

Could Cuddly Colby Be the Darling Gem for You?

UP NEXT

Ringo Is Ready to Rock Your World With ‘Pawsitive’ Vibes!

UP NEXT

Clover Is Eager to Bring You Good Luck and Great Joy

UP NEXT

This Charming Cherry Is Ready to Sweeten Your Life

UP NEXT

Wondrous Webster Has the Makings of a Wonderful Family Member

Multiple Passengers Are Killed After Bus Crashes in Western New York

14 hours ago

Fresno Firefighters Contain Cambridge Avenue Blaze, No Injuries Reported

14 hours ago

With Major Heat Risk Forecast, This Is a Good Weekend to Stay Indoors in Fresno

15 hours ago

Trump Says Intel Has Agreed to Deal for US to Take 10% Equity Stake

15 hours ago

Epstein Associate Maxwell Says She Never Saw Trump Behave Inappropriately

15 hours ago

Wrongly Deported Migrant Abrego to Be Released Soon, Lawyer Says

16 hours ago

Remembering Ron McCary, Who Did It All for KMJ

16 hours ago

I Was Preyed On for My VA Benefits. California Can Stop It

16 hours ago

Texas Senate Debates Redistricting Bill, Is Expected to Pass It Easily

17 hours ago

Trump: DC Mayor Bowser Must Get Act Together or Won’t Be Mayor Anymore

17 hours ago

Fresno Crash Sends Car Into Building After Running Red Light

A driver ran a red light Friday at the intersection of Herndon and West avenues, clipping another vehicle before crashing into a nearby buil...

12 hours ago

12 hours ago

Fresno Crash Sends Car Into Building After Running Red Light

12 hours ago

Fresno City Gets Extension in Herndon 4-Story Apartment Case

The crest of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is seen at their headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 10, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File photo
14 hours ago

Atwater Prison Inmate Charged for Threatening to Kill Prosecutor’s Family

First responders work at the scene of a bus crash on the New York State Thruway about 30 miles east of Buffalo, N.Y., on Friday afternoon, Aug. 22, 2025. The tour bus traveling from Niagara Falls to New York City crashed on a highway outside Buffalo on Friday, killing multiple passengers, including at least one child, and leaving some people trapped beneath the vehicle, officials said. (Lauren Petracca/The New York Times)
14 hours ago

Multiple Passengers Are Killed After Bus Crashes in Western New York

On Friday, August 22, 2025, Fresno firefighters contained a house fire on East Cambridge Avenue, preventing major damage and reporting no injuries. (Fresno Fire)
14 hours ago

Fresno Firefighters Contain Cambridge Avenue Blaze, No Injuries Reported

Fresno heat hot heatwave High Humidity
15 hours ago

With Major Heat Risk Forecast, This Is a Good Weekend to Stay Indoors in Fresno

A smartphone with a displayed Intel logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. (Reuters File)
15 hours ago

Trump Says Intel Has Agreed to Deal for US to Take 10% Equity Stake

Ghislaine Maxwell appears via video link during her arraignment hearing in Manhattan Federal Court, in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S. July 14, 2020 in this courtroom sketch. (Reuters File)
15 hours ago

Epstein Associate Maxwell Says She Never Saw Trump Behave Inappropriately

Search

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Send this to a friend