stress levels and allows breast
cancer survivors to focus on healing while improving survivorship
outcomes.
Cancer is one of the most costly
diseases to treat. Patients and their
families face high deductibles
and co-pays, not to mention lost
income as a result of some of the
toxic side effects of treatment,
making it impossible to work.
Patients need strong financial
navigation and support services
to financially bridge this period of
time. And while co-pay support
is available to some, there is very
little to help patients with non-medical, non-negotiable bills, for
housing, transportation, utilities
and health insurance. Patients who
experience a loss of income may
not comply with the prescribed
treatment plan, making potentially
life-altering decisions if they cannot pay for their care.
Molly MacDonald’s 2005 breast
cancer diagnosis came at a time
of job transition. Having been
through a financially devastating
divorce with five children, no alimony and sporadic child support,
she had no savings to weather the
storm. Without her income and
the addition of a $1300 COBRA
premium the family experienced
what is now known as “financial
toxicity.” Meeting other working
women in treatment on unpaid
leave, experiencing similar challenges and not able to find a single
organization to help financially
bridge unpaid time off during
FMLA, she launched what became
The Pink Fund.
With very little money to launch,
MacDonald traded a dining table
for the organization’s heart &
The greatest challenge came in the
first year of operation when two
people she trusted to help sent her
a courier-delivered letter severing
their business relationship with
her and taking the non-profit and
its name as their own. Neverthe-
less, she prevailed. Despite the ob-
vious obstacles she was enduring
she became determined to make
a difference, and did. She says, “I
believed in myself and that belief
propelled me forward despite nu-
merous obstacles and challenges.”
Within a month, MacDonald re-
launched as The Pink Fund with a
donated website and a front-page
story written by now retired and
award winning medical writer of
The Detroit Free Press, Pat Anstett
Kiska, on the front page of the
women’s section.
Other challenges were building a
cohesive board of directors who
understood the nature of non-profit governance and their roles
and limitations, and a committed
and passionate staff.
Since founding The Pink Fund in
2006, MacDonald has used her
voice to advocate for women in
treatment for breast cancer experiencing financial toxicity, sharing
her story and theirs.
She is a sought-after speaker on
this subject, demonstrating the real
problems and decisions patients
make around treatment, when cost
of care and lost income are factors.
As a columnist for Breast Cancer
Wellness Magazine, MacDon-
ald writes on ways patients can
mitigate the financial burdens of
treatment. She sits on the board
of VBID, Value Based Insurance
Design out of the University of
Michigan, where insurance com-
panies, pharma, providers, and
consultants meet to discuss how
to reduce the cost of health care
to patients while providing high
value outcomes.
In 2018, she presented a case study
on financial toxicity with respect
to breast cancer and sat on a panel
exploring potential solutions at
the Patient Advocacy Engagement
Conference in Baltimore. She led
a roundtable discussion at the
eyeforpharma I M Patient Conference in Philadelphia, and sat on a
patient panel at the Association for
Value Based Cancer Care Summit
in New York City. She has been
invited to join the speaking faculty
in April 2019 at CBI’s Formulary,
Copay and Access Conference.
“At The Pink Fund we look at the
number of women and families
helped, about 273 annually; and
the amount of bills paid on their
behalf ($3 million as of November 2018),” says MacDonald. “The
program dramatically reduces
stress on the patient and their
family, allowing them to focus
on getting better. The tangible
financial support The Pink Fund
provides, removes one less worry
as they undergo treatment. One
cannot quantify or qualify hope,
but ultimately hope is what The
Pink Fund delivers. Finally, all one
needs to do is read the thank-you
notes we receive to understand the
success of the program.” •
