Lazarex Cancer Foundation

The mission of Lazarex Cancer Foundation is to improve patient access to cancer clinical trials. At Lazarex Cancer Foundation, we strive to improve cancer health outcomes, FDA cancer clinical trial diversity and enrollment, and patient access to care by providing assistance with clinical trial navigation, reimbursing trial related travel costs, and partnering with at-risk communities to mobilize resources. We provide resources for cancer patients who have been told they have no other options, but who are not yet done with their journey in life and refuse to give up.

The vision of Lazarex Cancer Foundation is that everyone affected by cancer will have hope, dignity,

Goal One: Lazarex CARE program (Creating Access Reimbursing Expenses) Daily direct patient advocacy, clinical trial navigation and out of-pocket clinical trial expense reimbursement program.

Goal Two: Lazarex IMPACT (IMproving Patient Access to Cancer Clinical Trials) Institutional Cancer Center prgm to increase clinical trial enrollment, retention & minority participation in cancer clinical trials

Goal Three: Lazarex Cancer Wellness HUBs - a “safe space” for community members to talk about their health concerns re: cancer and explore their options from prevention through treatment and clinical trials.

COVID -19 constraints presented challenges but we were able to hold our BoD retreat virtually which included leadership and skill development.

Our staff always worked in the LCF office until March when we went into lock down. Only our Patient Services team was deemed "essential" and continued to work from the office. We created policies and procedures that covered working from home and being in the office during the pandemic. We executed state and federal required workplace notices and training virtually. Fortunately we were just switching to the cloud so it wasn't long before we could access all our files as needed. All meetings were converted to online meetings using zoom or google. We got cameras for most computers since our work desktops or laptops did not have built in cameras. We converted our in person fundraisers and annual summit to virtual/online events (no small feat). We reached out to donors, volunteers and patients through various mediums to consistently assure them that we were conducting business without interruption, fulfilling our mission and obligation to the cancer patients we serve. We converted our applications and forms for assistance to fillable PDF's to reduce paper and turn around time. We applied for PPP loans to keep our staff intact. When it became clear we were in for the long haul the remote staff moved their work office equipment to their homes. Our success with remote work allowed us to downsize this year to a smaller office and realize significant savings. Remote work allowed some staff to relocate and continue to work for Lazarex. We also hired our Health Equity & Diversity Coordinator (a former BOD member) who lives out of state. Most third party fundraisers were cancelled unless they could be done online, same with our community outreach. Ironically we hit a record high number of cancer patients assisted (25% more than in 2019). With some delays we were still able to launch our IMPACT program at 2 new institutions, and deferred the opening of our pilot Cancer Wellness HUB, but got it ready to go. We also brought on a new BOD member and 3 had state bills passed in 2020.