Getting treatment for a serious illness often wipes out a patient’s bank account. Workers and volunteers at Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers (RMCC) saw it happen over and over, and in 1999 decided to do something about it. Doctors, patients and other associates of RMCC, the state’s largest provider of cancer care, launched a non-profit foundation with the goal of providing emergency financial assistance to adult cancer patients to cover their living expenses.
Since 2000, the Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers Foundation (RMCCF) has given over $1 million to more than 2,000 cancer patients, says administrator Stephanie Shulman.
The foundation provides assistance to every qualified applicant. To receive assistance, the patient must earn less than 60 percent of Colorado’s median income, or about $37,000 for a family of four. That might not seem like much, but many applicants report no income at all, Shulman says.
continued… “Often times that’s because cancer treatment means you’re too sick to work,” she says. “It’s financially devastating for people whether they do or don’t have insurance.”
RMCCF is supported through a series of grants and fundraisers, and starting today the organization will have an unlikely partner in Mountain Living magazine. The magazine partnered with contractor Ken Pieper and Associates to build a 9,205-square-foot, five-bedroom home that surpasses Built Green standards. The Larkspur home was built with environmentally friendly materials, including fire-resistant cultured logs, and runs on a low amount of electricity.
For the next two weeks, the home will be open for public tours, with the net proceeds from the admissions price benefiting RMCCF. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors.
“It’s been a great thing for us and we’re humbled to be involved in this,” Shulman says.
For directions and more information on the Natural Built Dream Home, go here.
