The Vancouver Island Lodge located in Victoria. Canadian Cancer Society
Raynee Novak – The Chilliwack Progress – Mar 17 2024
The Cancer Travel and Accommodation Services helps ease cancer patients with out of community treatments
The Canadian Cancer Society has several programs to help aid B.C. cancer patients by making their treatment more accessible, affordable and easier to navigate.
One program is the Cancer Travel and Accommodation Services (CTAAS) program. It helps cancer patients access funding to get to treatment, gives them a place to stay during treatment and eases the process of obtaining treatment outside of a patient’s community.
“The Cancer Travel and Accommodation Service started in 2023. It provides travel grants for people who have to travel out of their home communities for cancer treatments,” said Carolyn Knox, senior director of access to care. “It also includes our lodges, which we have four of in the province: Victoria, Prince George, Kelowna and Vancouver.”
The funding for the travel program comes from the Ministry of Health. The Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) put in a proposal and the B.C. government funds this program for the society. The CCS distributes the funds based on individual needs.
“The travel treatment fund, which is our grant program that gives people direct payments for their own travel and it’s based on income and how far away from a cancer centre they are,” said Knox.
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For more information about the CCS’s Cancer Travel and Accommodations Service, visit: cancer.ca/en/living-with-cancer/how-we-can-help/cancer-travel-and-accommodation-services-bc.
