Pilot program seeking support to provide housing, food and transportation for DFW cancer patients

If you or someone you know has undergone cancer treatment, you know they may be too tired to work or cook. And depending on their financial situation, those barriers can make it hard to focus on getting well. McKesson launched a pilot program to meet those basic needs to help cancer patients’ chances of committing to treatment and surviving.

NBC 5 talked to program coordinators and a woman who received services through the DFW Community Based SDOH (Social Determinants of Health) Cancer Care Program.

Program participant Julie Vance shared that the first time she called the Community Council of Greater Dallas, it was because she needed help with housing. She was working, but homeless. A woman had asked for help keeping her dogs sheltered and Vance invited the woman to bring her dogs to her car, where she was living.

“I was living in my car out by the library,” Vance said.

That act of kindness led to her guest passing along the number to the nonprofit and they helped Vance get an apartment. She says was making it until she started feeling unwell and an emergency room visit led to a cancer diagnosis.

“They found stage four cancer in my lungs both lungs, I have a tumor in my neck,” said Vance.

Unable to work, she needed rental assistance. This time, she called the Community Council just as they were about to launch a pilot program to help people in her shoes.

“One in two men and one in three women in the us are experiencing cancer in some way or shape or form and it’s something that affects everybody,” said Niki Shah, VP of Impact, Innovation & Activation at McKesson.

She says leaders at McKesson posed the question, ‘What happens after someone is diagnosed with cancer?’

Their discussions led the company to develop and provide funding for a cancer care program.

“How do we create a easy way for people in the community to get basic services that they need so that they can achieve their best possible health outcomes,” Shah said.

McKesson partnered with Community Council of Greater Dallas, Feonix Mobility Rising, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, and Visiting Nurse Association (Meals on Wheels and Hospice and Palliative Care).

Together, they started filling critical needs, knocking down barriers that were blocking patients from treatment.

According to McKesson, since February of 2023 they’ve given over 1,000 medical transport rides and delivered more than 3,000 meals through Meals on Wheels. Community Council of Greater Dallas has helped patients pay their rent to maintain housing while in treatment.

Of the 36 people they’ve served, they report that 6 are in remission.

And the program also gave people like Julie something invaluable. Hope

“If it weren’t for the council, I wouldn’t be here today.”

The pilot program ended in March, but coordinators say there is a backlog of hundreds of patients who would benefit from these services and they need more partners and funding to expand the program.

Community Council of Greater Dallas has applied for grants to help but says they need much more funding to meet needs. Housing is their biggest need.

Community Council of Greater Dallas also invites families to learn about programs and resources to improve their health and quality of life at Family Fit Fest on April 27. NBC 5 and Telemundo 39 are sponsors of the event.