SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - Jun 15, 2011) - Cancer fighters will soon get help paying for alternative cancer treatments, thanks to the new not-for-profit organization, the Jeacline Heaven Can Wait Cancer Foundation (www.JeaclineHeavenCanWaitCancerFoundation.org), which was launched today.
"For many cancer fighters, me included, traditional treatments do not work," said Jeacline Marinkovic, founder. "Yet the few respectable alternative cancer treatments in the U.S. are prohibitively expensive for most people because they are not covered by insurance. We want to raise money to make it possible for cancer fighters to get the alternative cancer treatments they need."
The foundation has three goals:
1. To offer financial assistance to cancer patients whose medical insurance does not cover alternative cancer treatments that are used successfully by doctors around the world and are known to have beneficial, life-extending, and even curative effect on the patient's condition.
2. To change how doctors choose treatments for patients.
3. To move insurance companies to cover a broader range of treatments.
Marinkovic was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in October 2007. In spite of two surgeries and almost a year of chemotherapy, the cancer has returned and spread.
Her situation is not all that unusual. An Australian study done at the Department of Radiation Oncology, Northern Sydney Cancer Centre, by oncologists G. Morgan, R. Ward and M. Barton evaluated the effectiveness of chemotherapy. The oncologists found that chemotherapy makes only a minor contribution (2 to 3 percent) to five-year survival rates. The doctors concluded that "to justify the continued funding and availability of drugs used in cytotoxic chemotherapy, a rigorous evaluation of the cost-effectiveness and impact on quality of life is urgently required." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15630849
After traditional treatments for her colon cancer failed, Marinkovic researched alternative cancer treatments, yet found that her insurance refused to pay for them. That inspired her to set up the foundation.
"With such a low cure rate from traditional chemo and radiation, it is questionable why there is not more support for more-effective, less-toxic and less-expensive treatments," she said. "Yet insurance companies will cover chemo, which can cost $5,000 a month, rather than pay the few hundred dollars a week that alternative cancer treatments cost. I hope that our foundation will give cancer fighters hope when they know there is money to help them afford the alternative cancer treatments they need."
Marinkovic is presently undergoing alternative cancer treatment at the Arcadia Clinic in Kassel, Germany. She is the first American ever treated at this clinic.
About the Jeacline Heaven Can Wait Cancer Foundation
The Jeacline Heaven Can Wait Cancer Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization (presently waiting for status approval) to help cancer fighters pay for alternative cancer treatments. For more information about the San Francisco organization, visit the website at www.JeaclineHeavenCanWaitCancerFoundation.org, or e-mail info@Jeacline.HeavenCanWaitCancerFoundation.org.
Contact Information:
Contact:
Kay Paumier
Communications Plus
408-370-1243