TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/1187758
22 | M R EP O RT FEATURE T he National Cancer Institute reported that an estimated 1.7 million people were diagnosed with cancer in 2018, and in 2017, an estimated 15,270 children under the age of 19 were diagnosed with cancer. Around 1,790 died of the disease. The impacts of cancer, though, go far beyond what most see in a hospital or in a treatment center. A cancer diagnosis does not stop bills, financial concerns, or mortgage payments from coming in. According to Family Reach, cancer patients are 2.65 times more likely to file for bankruptcy, and those that do, have a 79% higher mortality rate. Carla Tardif, CEO of Family Reach, said she has been around these families for the past 11 years, seeing what they're going through, and "being their voice." "People didn't know what I was talking about, and it was swept under the rug. There's a lot of shame for the families that are in it," Tardif said. "People don't talk about their finances anyway, and when there's a cancer diagnosis involved, it feels even more taboo." Tardif and Family Reach have been advocates for these families for the past 23 years, providing financial services to ensure patients continue with their cancer treatments while also continuing to make mortgage payments. Family Reach was founded in 2003 by two families in New Jersey, both of whom had lost a child to cancer. "They saw firsthand how finances were affecting families and their ability to get [themselves or] their child to the other side of cancer," Tardif said. The families began their efforts by raising more than $100,000 through a golf tournament. All funds went back to the two hospi- tals where their children were treated—New York Presbyterian and Memorial Sloan Kettering—and it was sent to a certain group of people. The Unseen Struggle Here's how Family Reach is working to make sure cancer patients have one less thing to worry about—losing their home. By Mike Albanese "People don't talk about their finances anyway, and when there's a cancer diagnosis involved, it feels even more taboo." —Carla Tardif, CEO, Family Reach