Serving Pediatric Cancer Families & Healthcare Costs

Well, it is that time of year again. Our Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation chapter does a holiday adoption program. We have averaged 55 families the last few years. This year because of the economy we have had a number of sponsors tell us that they do not have the resources to help us out. Unfortunately the sponsors for the local Ronald McDonald House and Seattle Children's Hospital Oncology Dept. bailed too. So, we will likely have a lot more needy families to serve. I have faith that we will get enough generous people who want to help...but it is worrisome. Many of our families have been wiped out emotionally, physically and monetarily just by the diagnosis and ensuing treatment costs. Even with insurance that 20% that is yours can devastate anyone. So many people do not have insurance at all. It is unfathomable to me that we live in a country like ours and have people who cannot afford their co-pays, medications, treatments, etc. I pray that President Obama can fix this problem and that insurance companies and medical facilities will have some of that courage to do the right thing that I wrote about in my last posting.