When John Lewis and his wife saw a post about the Foundation’s Travel Grant Program (a program providing financial assistance for travel for mesothelioma treatment) on Facebook, their reaction was: “That’s exactly what we need.”
Lewis, 45, was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma and was approved for a clinical trial in Seattle.
“We live in Portland, Oregon and we were traveling to Seattle, Washington for our treatment because they were running a clinical trial there,” said Lewis. “It is 187 miles away, and our treatment sequence was significant, so it was chemotherapy session; it was a two-week stay surgery; it was radiation therapy. So, there was a lot of presence required in a city where we did not live, so the Travel Grant Program was just unbelievably helpful to us.”
Financial assistance for travel for mesothelioma treatment
Lewis and his wife, Nikke, spent weeks looking for financial assistance for travel to mesothelioma treatment before they learned about the Foundation’s program. The social workers in the Swedish Hospital in Seattle were unable to offer them any kind of financial assistance.
“This disease takes people away from doing their everyday jobs, and when you are removed from the work environment, a lot of financial benefits from working disappear, and you know, you find yourself financially in a difficult position,” said Lewis.
The Foundation’s travel grant covers two types of travel: travel for a consultation with a mesothelioma expert, and/or travel for enrolling in a mesothelioma clinical trial. The program provides up to $1,000 in eligible expense reimbursement for expert consultation and up to $6,000 in eligible expense reimbursement for participation in a mesothelioma clinical trial.
What did the travel grant cover?
The grant that Lewis received covered gas and accommodations, which included a combination of hotels and Airbnb expenses to meet their budget, and it covered some Uber and bus rides.
“We had a lot of hotel stays,” said Lewis. “We had to be in Seattle for five weeks for radiation therapy. We have to be at the hospital every day for five weeks, so there were a lot of expenses, and travel back and forth, so it was about $6000 altogether; it is a significant amount.”
His treatment also included four rounds of chemotherapy, which meant being up in Seattle on four different occasions for injections. “We drive up, stay a night in a hotel, get the chemotherapy and then drive home the next day,” said Lewis. His chemotherapy sessions were followed by a lung resection, which is a major surgery that helped him keep both of his lungs, but he had to stay for two weeks in the hospital. Nikke managed to stay at a nearby Airbnb during that time.
The reimbursement process
Lewis and Nikke paid their expenses out of pocket, using a credit card, “then the Foundation reimbursed us directly by direct ACH payment to our bank account, I believe, and so by the time the credit card payment came, we had the money to pay off the bill. That’s how it worked.” The Foundation requires that the expenses for each trip to participate in a clinical trial not exceed $1000 and the total expenses for all the trips not exceed $6000.
Starting the application
To start the financial assistance for travel process, Lewis contacted the Foundation by email. Then he was directed to fill out an application and submit a medical authorization form signed by his doctor along with an expenses form.
Applying for the Foundation’s Travel Grant Program was easy for Lewis who considers himself tech-savvy, and he credits his previous role as a sales manager for the smooth experience. Our staff member, Meghan Butler, is available to help if anyone needs assistance filling out the application or has any questions.
Now, Lewis is in the monitoring stage: “I feel fortunate, and I am doing pretty good right now,” he said — thanks to his wife who encouraged him to join the Foundation’s Facebook page.
You can learn more about financial assistance for mesothelioma patients program here.
