Houston, Texas (NAPSI) - For many cancer patients, getting the care they require can mean the financial hardship of traveling to a treatment facility far from home for weeks or months at a time. Fortunately, that’s where Extended Stay America’s “Keys to Hope” program steps in.
Extended Stay America, the largest owner-operated hotel chain in the U.S., recently made an unprecedented donation to the American Cancer Society, providing 40,000 free and deeply discounted hotel stays to patients who have to travel to receive cancer treatment.
The program is already changing lives, like the Grady family, whose 31-year-old-son Mike was diagnosed with Stage 2 testicular cancer. “You never think cancer will touch your family,” said Jan Grady, Mike’s mother. “When it does, it’s like the rug is pulled out from under you.” Mike’s treatment at a facility in Boulder, Colo., about an hour away from his home, included five-hour chemotherapy sessions every day for the first week of three, three-week cycles.
“Knowing he couldn’t drive back and forth every day, I called the American Cancer Society for help and was told about the Extended Stay America program,” Jan said. For the first week of daily treatments, Mike’s father, Peter, traveled from North Carolina to be with him and the two stayed at the Extended Stay America hotel near the treatment center. “Without this, it would have been a tremendous financial hardship. This program lessened our burden by thousands of dollars.” Since completing his treatment, Jan reports, “Mike is doing wonderfully! He has a new job and has gradually resumed his training for trail running races.”
Patients and caregivers can take advantage of the donation at all the hotel chain’s 632 locations across 44 states, including hotels conveniently located near U.S. News and World Report top-ranked cancer hospitals such as University of Texas M.D. Anderson, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Johns Hopkins Hospital and many more.
“The American Cancer Society is dedicated to removing the barriers that cancer patients face when seeking treatment,” said Kristen Solt, vice president, Hope Lodge Network, American Cancer Society. “Traveling for treatment puts an additional burden on people who are already experiencing emotional and financial stress.
“We’re thrilled to have the Extended Stay America donation as every room we provide makes a huge impact. In Houston, for example, the demand for lodging well exceeds our resources, and now with Extended Stay America’s rooms, we are able to meet many more patients’ needs for lodging while in Houston.”
To request a room, patients and their caregivers should contact the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345. To join in the fight against cancer, visit www.ExtendedStayAmerica.com or call 1-800-804-3724. For information about American Cancer Society programs and services, visit www.cancer.org or call 1-800-227-2345.
