medical expenses

Breast Cancer Charities of America – Help Now Fund

The Breast Cancer Charities of America – Help Now Fund is a program for current breast cancer patients, providing financial assistance for living expenses. Grants range in values of up to $1,000 based on the availability of funds AND needs of the applicant.

This foundation is committed to helping as many people as possible through their cancer related financial struggles with their Help Now Fund.
The Help Now Fund assists with:

rent or mortgage payments
utility bills (electricity, water, and/or gas)
cell phone bills
car payments.

***The Help Now Fund does not assist with transportation costs, food assistance, and cable/internet bills.

**Join our FREE private Breast Cancer Financial Help and Resources – Cancer Butterfly Facebook Group to ask questions, share info, and get in the info sharing first hand 🙂

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Dial 2-1-1 for Local Resources & Assistance

Here is another great resource! Dial 2-1-1 A free confidential service that offers information and support across North America and many parts of Canada!

2-1-1 is a free confidential referral and information helpline and website that offers help relating to financial, domestic, health, or disaster related issues.

2-1-1 can be reached either via phone or computer. Help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

They offer information and support relating to:

supplemental food and nutrition programs
shelter and housing options and utilities assistance
emergency information and disaster relief
employment and education opportunities
services for veterans
health care, vaccination and health epidemic information
addiction prevention and rehabilitation programs
reentry help for ex-offenders
support groups for individuals with mental illnesses or special needs
a safe, confidential path out of physical and/or emotional domestic abuse

Thousands of people call or visit 2-1-1 everyday seeking resources and assistance.

Call 2-1-1 and speak with a live, highly trained service professional in your area from any cell phone or landline. All calls are private and confidential.

**Join our FREE private Breast Cancer Financial Help and Resources – Cancer Butterfly Facebook Group to ask questions, share info, and get in the info sharing first hand 🙂

**Looking to save $$$ on your out of pocket cancer treatment medical costs ??? Click here to check out our FREE complete Cancer Butterfly Foundation Grant List

Click the compass below to check out all of our other FREE resources:

If your “Fairy Godmother” could give you cancer treatment advice

She would say….

“You must let your friends and family help you whenever possible during your treatment. This is the time to take friends and family up on any offers of help!”

If a friend or family member says…..”What can I do to help?”…. You NEED to say “I could use help with…”

Have a list ready of things that you know you could use help with.

Here are a few suggestions of things that others could DO to help you while you go through treatment:

Deliver a meal or two through your meal train
Clean your bathrooms, vacuum & dust, or clean your entire house 🙂
Do your family’s laundry
Mow your lawn or weed flower beds
Water your plants
Pick up your groceries
Babysit your kids so you can take a nap
Wash your car

If things are in order around your home, you will feel less stressed and be more at peace which will greatly help you through your treatment.

The further along you go into treatment the more tired you will be and the less energy you will have, so it is really a good idea to let people start helping you right away because if you wait until you really need it you may be way too tired to even try to schedule the help you need at that point. Better to get in a good schedule of receiving help from the beginning of treatment so that friends and family can slowly work helping you into their own personal schedules too so it is easier on everyone.

Bottom line is…..your friends and family will want to help you and you NEED to let them help. It is good for all involved because you need the help and it will let them give you the gift of helping and give them something to do that will really help you.

Cancer Butterfly has a lot of FREE Resources available to help you get through cancer treatment more comfortably.

Why keeping your cancer medical paperwork organized is important

Once you are diagnosed with cancer it is very frightening and overwhelming to just process all the medical information you are receiving, not to mention everything you need to now keep track of as far as paperwork.

It will be much easier for you if you just start out organized from the beginning of your treatment (or at least start where you are now) if at all possible. I remember once I started and continued through chemotherapy for breast cancer, it got more and more difficult to concentrate on things like reading a book, watching a movie, or focusing on any kind of paperwork.

Keeping things simple and having a specific place for everything will make things much easier and you will be able to stay on top of your paperwork much better and find what you need when you need it if you are organized.

There are several money saving programs available to help cancer patients with their cancer treatment related out of pocket co-pays. These programs require specific information from your medical paperwork (EOB’s – Explanation of Benefit) forms from your health insurance regarding each of your medical visits in order for them to determine your out of pocket expenses. Once you have all your information in order you will be ready to apply for Cancer Grants and Cancer treatment medical discounts.

Welcome to Cancer Butterfly! Learn how to save money on your cancer treatment!

The Cancer Butterfly website is officially open!

My name is Danielle Rivera and I am a seven year breast cancer survivor, I created this site to celebrate my seven year breast cancer survivor anniversary on September 4, 2016.

Since going through ten months of cancer treatment myself, I learned how expensive cancer treatment can be and what a burden it can financially be on a family.

This is a site designed to help cancer patients learn how to save money on their out of pocket cancer treatment expenses.

The resource pages will help guide you smoothly through your treatment by providing information on the different types of wigs available, how to set up an electronic meal delivery calendar, dental advice for how to take care of your gums and teeth during chemotherapy treatment, tips on how to keep all your medical paperwork organized, and even how to get free hotel nights and airfare for medical treatment or for a much needed vacation 🙂

Our family was able to save $4,276.61! This is the actual amount I saved on my “out of pocket” cancer medical expenses, this amount would have come directly out of our families pocket had I not found additional programs and resources that help cancer patients with their “out of pocket” cancer related medical expenses.

I am excited to share all the resources that I uncovered during my treatment and help guide cancer patients and their families along the way. My family lives on the central coast of California. My husband is a Firefighter for the US Forest Service and we have two daughters, Jessica who just turned 13 years old and Emily who is 9 years old.

Saving money has turned into somewhat of a hobby of mine, whether it is on groceries, household items, hotel stays, air fare, or cancer treatment, I am interested to find out how to save money and look at it as a fun rewarding challenge that I am excited to help others succeed with as well, especially cancer patients!