Removing Barriers to Treatment
Cancer doesn't just threaten health. It threatens housing, transportation, utilities, food security, and the ability to stay on treatment. Here's how your support fights back.
Based on 1,964 patient expenses across 12 hospitals, 2022–2026
Barriers Removed
Hospital Partners
Typical Response Time
States Served
Growth Since 2022
The Hidden Cost of Cancer
For blood cancer patients, the crisis extends far beyond diagnosis. Treatment demands daily travel, extended hospital stays, and time away from work. Bills don't stop. Rent is still due. The car still needs gas.
This is financial toxicity — and it forces patients to choose between paying for treatment and paying for life. Each of the 1,964 expenses below represents a moment where that choice was taken off a patient's plate.
42%
of expenses
Getting to treatment
25%
of dollars
Keeping the lights on
16%
of dollars
Keeping families housed
What Your Support Protects
Every expense we cover removes a barrier that could have interrupted treatment.
Aligned with Hospital Priorities
These support categories map directly to the Social Determinants of Health that hospitals track through their Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNA) — an IRS requirement for tax-exempt hospitals. By addressing transportation, housing, utilities, and other non-medical costs, LLBF provides hospitals with measurable community benefit data while delivering real relief to patients.
Keeping the lights on
365 shutoffs prevented
$255
average per expense
18.6% of all expenses
Preventing utility shutoffs during treatment when patients cannot work. Maintaining safe living conditions — heat, electricity, water — is essential for immunocompromised patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Getting to treatment
754 trips funded
$69
average per expense
38.4% of all expenses
Removing transportation barriers so patients can reach treatment centers. Transportation support is the most frequently issued category of assistance, administered through approved payment controls to verified vendors during active cancer treatment.
Keeping families housed
68 families kept in their homes
$709
average per expense
3.5% of all expenses
Preventing housing loss when cancer patients can no longer work. Mortgage and rent assistance keeps families in their homes during the most difficult period of treatment.
Staying close to care
373 nights near the hospital
$118
average per expense
19% of all expenses
Providing hotel and temporary housing near treatment centers for patients who must travel long distances for specialized cancer care, stem cell transplants, and multi-day treatment protocols.
Maintaining dignity
207 essentials provided
$150
average per expense
10.5% of all expenses
Personal essentials and comfort items — such as wigs, clothing, hygiene items, and comfort items — that support dignity and daily stability during cancer treatment.
Treatment necessities
97 needs addressed
$307
average per expense
4.9% of all expenses
Approved treatment necessities — case-by-case items referred by hospital social workers and reviewed under additional controls when a non-medical barrier outside the standard categories threatens care continuity.
Whatever else is needed
79 barriers removed
$215
average per expense
4% of all expenses
Miscellaneous patient support expenses that span multiple need categories, including phone bills, childcare, and other essential costs during treatment.
Putting food on the table
21 families fed
$395
average per expense
1.1% of all expenses
Addressing food insecurity during treatment. Nutritional support is critical for patients undergoing chemotherapy and transplant recovery, especially when treatment side effects limit the ability to prepare meals.
Behind Every Expense, a Barrier Was Removed
Details generalized to protect patient privacy. Based on social worker narratives from our hospital partners.
$50 in transportation assistance → a parent reached the hospital every day during intensive leukemia treatment
A young child diagnosed with leukemia required mostly inpatient treatment. Both parents were employed, but the daily travel created mounting costs the foundation helped cover.
CHOP
$200 utility payment → heat stayed on while a father fought ALL
A father had to stop working after his ALL diagnosis. When the electric bill surged during winter and a shutoff notice arrived, the foundation stepped in to prevent it.
Fox Chase Cancer Center
$667 mortgage payment → family stayed in their home during transplant recovery
A patient who worked in transportation could no longer maintain his job between appointments and side effects. The foundation covered several months of mortgage payments.
St. Luke’s
One Mission, Tailored to Every Hospital
Each hospital's patients have different needs. Our model adapts — from $50 transportation assistance at CHOP to $667 rent payments at St. Luke's. From Philadelphia to Morgantown, WV.
St. Luke's
Average Per Expense
400
Expenses Covered
Jefferson Health
Average Per Expense
284
Expenses Covered
WVU Cancer Institute
Average Per Expense
742
Expenses Covered
Lehigh Valley
Average Per Expense
197
Expenses Covered
NYOH
Average Per Expense
125
Expenses Covered
CHOP
Average Per Expense
140
Expenses Covered
Penn Medicine Doylestown
Average Per Expense
96
Expenses Covered
Geisinger
Average Per Expense
48
Expenses Covered
MD Anderson - Camden
Average Per Expense
18
Expenses Covered
Fox Chase Cancer Center
Average Per Expense
39
Expenses Covered
Chester County Hospital
Average Per Expense
21
Expenses Covered
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
Comfort Fund launching 2026. First approved expenses will appear here as the partnership ramps up.
Key Insight
St. Luke's averages $253 per expense across 400 grants — covering rent, utilities, and other approved non-medical needs for patients in acute crisis — while WVU Cancer Institute averages $71 across 742 expenses, primarily transportation assistance and lodging for patients traveling for specialized treatment. This isn't one-size-fits-all — it's proof that our model works because it adapts to each hospital's unique patient needs.
Expanding Our Reach Year by Year
From 64 expenses in our inaugural year to 763 in 2025 — and already 213 approved in the first ~5 months of 2026 — LLBF's annual support has grown more than 14× since launch.
Expenses
64
Avg Expense
$168
Expenses
427
Avg Expense
$138
Expenses
497
Avg Expense
$147
Expenses
763
Avg Expense
$120
Expenses
213
Avg Expense
$375
As we've grown, so has the diversity of needs we address. What started as primarily transportation support has expanded to include utilities, lodging, rent, food, and more.
Category Distribution by Year
Small Amounts That Change Everything
77% of what we fund costs between $50 and $250. Transportation assistance. A night in a hotel. A utility payment. These aren't big checks — they're lifelines.
Typical Expense
Average Expense
Smallest Lifeline
Largest Single Grant
Key Insight
Most of what we do costs less than a dinner out. But for a patient facing a transportation barrier on the way to chemotherapy, $50 changes everything. Higher-impact needs like rent (avg $667) and utilities (avg $206) address the acute crises that can derail treatment entirely.
Who We Serve
Blood cancer affects patients of every age. Our support reaches across diagnoses, demographics, and life stages.
Age Distribution
Based on ~466 patient records with age data. Peak: ages 46–75 (56.0%).
Gender Distribution
Based on 308 patient records with gender data.
Diagnosis Mentions
Diagnoses extracted from recent patient records. Many patients have multiple diagnoses or generic "blood cancer" references.
56% of patients we serve are between ages 46–75 — working-age adults and recent retirees whose cancer diagnoses create immediate financial strain on their households.
About This Data
The figures presented in this report are derived from hospital social worker submissions spanning 2022 to the present, including the May 15, 2026 Ramp export covering current-year approved expenses. In our earlier years, hospital partners reported expenses in aggregate rather than on a per-patient basis, and record-keeping methods varied across institutions. As our tracking systems have matured — most recently with the adoption of Ramp for vendor-direct payments — reporting has become more granular and standardized.
Where aggregate records were identified, we applied category-specific statistical methods to estimate individual expense counts. These estimates are designed to preserve total dollar amounts exactly while presenting a more accurate picture of the number of patients served. As a result, expense counts are reasonable approximations rather than exact totals.
The Live Like Brent Foundation is committed to transparency and has made every reasonable effort to present this data clearly and accurately. This report is intended for informational purposes and does not constitute audited financial statements. For audited financials, please refer to our annual IRS Form 990 filing.
Every Barrier Removed Helps Patients Stay Connected to Care
1,964 expenses funded. 12 hospitals. And the need keeps growing. Your donation supports approved non-medical expenses paid on behalf of patients — transportation assistance, a utility payment, a month of rent — whatever it takes to keep them focused on getting better.