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But help was just around the corner. During her treatment, she wasreferred to a non-profit organization whose sole purpose was to help peoplewith their expenses while undergoing treatment. Thanks to No Wooden Nickels,Dionne received some relief for medical bills piling up. No Wooden Nickelspaid her utility bills and through their scholarship fund, paid for herdaughter's college textbooks, too.
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No Wooden Nickels is the brainchild of Lorna Khawaja, a former systemsengineer turned advocate for cancer patients and their families. It was duringher father's battle with prostate cancer in 2005 that Lorna first noticed howlittle indirect but critical financial support there was for people goingthrough treatment for cancer.
With help from their expanding list of referral partners, word spreadabout the organization, both in Illinois where it's headquartered and acrossthe nation. And for good reason, too: it's the only organization of its kindto provide indirect expense assistance to struggling cancer familiesexclusively.
In operation since 2005, NWN has assisted patients from as far away asAlaska.
"Although a portion of our funds are earmarked for assistance outside ofIllinois, MedStart-5 wasn't designed to leave the State until 2010. It wasimportant for us to control growth," Lorna says. She concedes, however, "Whenyou're trying to assist a nine-year-old girl with a brain tumor in hospice ora wife whose husband's passing left her with no life insurance, savings andpossibly homeless, you begin to re-shuffle your strategy."
Unlike insurance companies, No Wooden Nickels does not use a standardformula to determine which families receive assistance. They understand eachsituation is unique, and evaluate applications on a case-by-case basis.
One challenge No Wooden Nickels currently faces is that like other start-up charitable organizations, funding is in short supply. MedStart-5 needs ahealthy shot in the arm of funding operational costs. "We're currentlysearching for strategic alliances and partnerships that will move us to thenext level. It would afford us the opportunity to support more families andhire staff. It's never a good feeling having to turn anyone away for suchbadly needed assistance," Lorna states.
Endorsing preventive care through education, the organization hosts itsannual Health Fair for Men in Chicago. They receive tips from medicalprofessionals on how to decrease their chances of getting a host ofpreventable diseases. Screenings for PSA, diabetes and cholesterol areperformed free of charge. Their website hosts articles on cancer therapies,inspirational stories by cancer survivors and a newly added ask-the-doctorcolumn which address expectations after diagnosis and general healthquestions.
Learn more about MedStart-5 and No Wooden Nickels athttp://www.nowoodennickels.org.
This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information,visit http://www.ereleases.com.Media Contact: Lorna Khawaja Executive Director No Wooden Nickels 888-842-2654 847-399-0590 (Direct) [email protected]
SOURCE No Wooden Nickels
