Over the course of the last 6 months, it has been a very emotional time- it's stressful with all of the bills coming in. With WCF coming alongside us, it's freed up a lot of money that wouldn't have been there. It's really been a life-changing experience. It's a blessing to know that there are people out there who are willing to help.

First of all I want to say thank you, I am just so grateful for your foundation because I was very concerned about how I was going to pay for my insurance. You guys are able to support me, my husband, and our two sons through your assistance. Knowing that I can go to the doctor and have my insurance paid for is a blessing. I am very, very thankful. This experience has changed me, and because of your assistance, I am more willing to pay it forward to others. I am very grateful. I mean this from the bottom of my heart.

I would like to thank the Wichita Cancer Foundation for being a lifesaver, literally. I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in March, and I have been unable to work. WCF has been paying my health insurance, so I can receive treatment. My family would like to thank you also. Without your help, I do not know what I would have done. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart!

To all you donors, to all you selfless and kind people: thank you. Thank you, thank you, for caring about somebody else, that you don't even know. To put up your money to assist people in Kansas [is inspiring]. That is what I love about Kansas, that's just how we are. We are the kind of people who help other people. You folks represent the cream of the crop- kind, compassionate, and caring. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

The Wichita Cancer Foundation gave me some needed peace during such a scary time. Having a cancer diagnosis is one thing, but the stress of finances on top of it all was a lot. They paid for my premium and that made sure I was covered by my insurance!! Thank you WCF!

I am a dental hygienist and a single mother of two girls. In August of 2018, I began experiencing some severe abdominal pain that lasted about a week. My wonderful mother forced me to go to the emergency room, and that trip was the beginning of a life-changing experience.

An abdominal CT was done, and the ER doctor explained that there was a mass on the tail of my pancreas. I have enough medical background to know that you never want to hear the words “mass” and “pancreas” in the same sentence. The doctor explained that the chance of it being cancer is a lot slimmer than if it was in a different location, but I would need to see a surgeon right away to have it removed. Next, there were biopsies, consultations, vaccinations, hospital stays, immediate care visits, and at least 15 primary care visits. That was all before surgery, which was performed two months after the initial scan. In October, my surgical oncologist performed a distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy, which consisted of a five-day stay in the hospital.

As I was recovering from surgery and still did not know if I had cancer or what kind, the bills started coming in. There wasn’t just one bill per visit or procedure, but there was a bill from the hospital that did the scan, the anesthesiologist from my biopsy, the gastroenterologist who did the biopsy, the place the biopsy was performed, the radiologist who read the CT scans, the ER doctors, the hospital stays, and my primary care doctor, just to name some. A week after surgery, I was informed I had a mucinous static neoplasm, a form of cancer that hasn’t yet become invasive. If it has the opportunity to become invasive, it can be very aggressive. I was very lucky. I also had to add an oncologist to my list of specialists. I’m not complaining. I was so lucky.

The only treatment I currently need is routine CT scans and blood work. I also have to see many other specialists to figure out how to live without a spleen and half a pancreas. Anytime I have a fever, I have to go to the ER for blood work. My blood sugar is getting high, and becoming diabetic may be inevitable, but I truly believe I am so lucky.

I work for a small dental practice that doesn’t offer medical insurance, so I have to buy my policy from the market place. I fall into the three percent of Kansans who have to buy private insurance and do not qualify for subsidies. I found out about the Wichita Cancer Foundation shortly after being diagnosed. I figured I wouldn’t qualify since I wasn’t undergoing chemo or radiation, but I was approved, and what a relief! There were thousands of dollars of medical bills I had to get caught up, and their help made it possible. I have to have CT scans every four months for the next three years. My first follow-up CT was done in February, and everything looked clear! When I got the bill for $968 for that test alone, I didn’t freak out because I knew I had some help during this hard time. I can’t explain how much the WCF has helped me. Being emotionally healthy is so important to our physical health and not stressing as much about paying for the medical treatment I need has helped me almost fully recover.

In 2016, there were several major circumstances that caused a financial hardship in my life that led to needing financial assistance from the Wichita Cancer Foundation. In April 2016, I was diagnosed with having two large fibroid tumors that needed to be surgically removed. In May 2016, I lost a full-time job, which also caused me to lose medical coverage provided under the company I worked for. As a result, I qualified for the Obama Health Care program, but paying the monthly premium still posed another problem. After earnestly looking for a permanent, full-time job, I had no other option but to take a part-time job position, which only paid $8.50 per hour and did not offer health insurance benefits because of the part-time status.

In August 2016, the fibroid surgery was performed, but during the surgery, the surgeon ran blood tests, which revealed my white blood cell count was 45,000. The normal range should be under 10,000. Three days after the surgery, I was sent to an oncologist, where the doctor performed a bone marrow biopsy. After the test results came back a few weeks later, I was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia and immediately prescribed Gleevec Chemotherapy tablets, which I must take daily without missing a dosage. I needed to start treatment right away, but the cost would be very expensive.

Then I learned about the Wichita Cancer Foundation. From that moment until now, they have generously supported me. This was a true matter of life or death. If I was not able to get the care I needed, my diagnosis would have been a death sentence. Thanks to the Wichita Cancer Foundation, I got the insurance I needed to receive the care for me to fight.

Thank you so much for the monthly funding that I’m receiving to help with the cost of my insurance premium. Both my wife and I are survivors, and the Wichita Cancer Foundation is the first organization that has helped us financially since my wife was diagnosed eight years ago with colon cancer. Many thanks to your organization for making our life easier. The funding will help to decrease the stress in paying the premium. Thanks again.

Dear Board of Directors, foundation staff, and all the wonderful people who pledge to help others: thank you from the bottom of my heart. Without your kindness and deep down love and concern for others, I would have struggled and stressed to meet my medical expenses. With your help, I am living my life with hope and taking my daily pills so I can continue to live in part remission. This journey has been a long but good one. My outstanding, wonderful doctor, the center, and the foundation are THE BEST OF THE BEST! God sent all of you down as angels to help people in need. You will never be forgotten. Love, thank you, and God bless with my heart.

With limited funds, I was going to drop out of treatment because I was unable to pay the $600 per month required for the Cobra payments. I have no words to explain the gratefulness I feel to have had my Cobra payments covered. I owe my very life to those payments, which allowed me to continue treatment.

I am 32 and was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer in 2016. I had all of the recommended chemotherapy, mastectomy, and radiation, but during a routine CT scan, it was discovered the cancer had metastasized to my bones. We decided to participate in a clinical trial, so we have been traveling weekly to Houston, Texas. The Wichita Cancer Foundation has helped pay for our insurance premiums and has been a blessing for our family. Traveling expenses add up, and since I have been a stay-at-home mom, we are limited to one income with no other assistance available beyond the Wichita Cancer Foundation and the generosity of friends and family. Thank you!

My name is Leah. At 32, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and about five years later, I had a recurrence. Since then, I'll continue to have treatments on a three-week cycle. About six months ago, I lost my job and had to start paying for Cobra. The income loss with the unexpected payment was devastating. When the staff told me about the WCF, I filled out the application and prayed! When I found out I had been approved, it was one of the best days of my life! Having that weight and worry off your shoulders is overwhelming. If you're thinking about giving to the WCF, I pray that you will. They are wonderful people doing wonderful things. For those of you who donated your hard-earned money, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I am a firm believer in being pro-active. I do a mammogram every year. Last October, I was having sharp pain in both of my breasts, so I called my primary doctor. She had me go ahead and do my annual mammogram, and they found nothing out of the ordinary. In the next few months, the pain started getting more and more painful, sharp jabs like needles. A co-worker of mine kept insisting that I get a second opinion, so I called my primary doctor, and she sent me to Wichita... [The doctor] did a sonogram and found a mass right away. She sent me to […] Cypress, they did a biopsy and found that, indeed, I had cancer.

[The doctor] performed a double mastectomy soon after. I have been seeing an oncologist from Wichita. He came highly recommended, and at this time and date, I am doing well, am almost completely healed, and am taking a type of chemo/hormone therapy medication. I feel very blessed to be able to submit my story for assistance. This has been and looks to be a long fight, but I have a wonderful family and friends to help me through this. I thank you very much for allowing me to file for this gracious opportunity for assistance. Thank you!

Because my team and I feel so fortunate to do work that we love, we believe it is the duty of our firm to give back to others and the local community when possible. Throughout each year, we provide pro bono work to the Wichita Cancer Foundation, serving as their designated marketing firm.

From creative direction and graphics for a new video to the design and development of a new website, it has always been a joy and honor working with the passionate leadership of the Wichita Cancer Foundation, as well as meeting inspiring patients whose lives have been positively impacted by the organization's mission.

I was able to have a front-row seat when the Wichita Cancer Foundation first gathered in our boardroom at CrossFirst Bank. Seeing the quality of people who worked tirelessly to create the Wichita Cancer Foundation was very inspiring and a testament to its mission of serving cancer patients throughout the state of Kansas.

I admire the work that the Wichita Cancer Foundation does within our local community and across the state of Kansas, and I am proud to partner with them in their mission of easing the financial burden that specialized treatment and medical care often impose.

Throughout my life, I have always vowed to support charities that not only make a positive difference in the community but also have a mission that I believe in. When I was a child, my mother passed away due to a rare form of cancer, so when I discovered the positive contributions of the Wichita Cancer Foundation and its mission to provide financial assistance to local cancer patients, it seemed almost serendipitous. I look forward to supporting them in the future and witnessing the impact they will continue to make in people's lives.

We could not be more excited to partner and work with the Wichita Cancer Foundation in its mission to assist families walking through cancer treatment. Finances should not stand in the way of cancer patients receiving the care they need. The Wichita Cancer Foundation's commitment to ensure patients have access to treatment by easing the financial burden is life-changing.

As a family, we have personally walked this path and know how important community and support are during treatment. The Wichita Cancer Foundation's passion for providing financial assistance in a way filled with grace, love, and compassion is a mission we are proud to support. Together we can have a profound impact on the lives of families throughout the state of Kansas.

I first heard of the Wichita Cancer Foundation last year when I met Wyatt Sheeder. Upon meeting him, it was easy to see his passion and how much he cared about the Wichita Cancer Foundation's work. I knew I wanted to learn more about the organization and see how we could be involved.

We were stoked to help donate to their fundraising events, knowing that every dollar goes directly to someone in need, and there are so many right now. We look forward to working with them each year, and hopefully, by working together, we can all make a difference.