Co-Founders Corner | A Place to Call Home
Co-Founders' Corner
Co-founder Corner is a series where we share what we see and hear through our work with local breast cancer patients. These stories reflect the everyday realities behind each request for support and the many ways your generosity makes a difference.
Home is where you return after treatment, close the door, and settle into familiar surroundings. For some women facing breast cancer, keeping that home becomes one of their greatest worries.
When treatment interrupts work and income drops, rent and mortgage payments still come due. Savings may help for a while. As bills accumulate, a woman can find herself facing eviction, staying temporarily with relatives, or sharing crowded quarters while wondering what comes next.
Research shows how closely financial hardship and housing concerns are connected. A study published online in 2025 in JCO Oncology Practice analyzed national survey data from 2013–2018 for 13,626 adults with a history of cancer. Among those experiencing medical financial hardship, 44.6% reported housing insecurity. Overall, 34.2% reported medical financial hardship, which included difficulty paying medical bills, worry about those bills, or delaying care because of cost. These findings cover people with many types of cancer and help illustrate the financial pressures patients can face.
The National Cancer Institute shared a breast cancer patient’s experience in a 2024 article. The demands of treatment made stable employment difficult, and she accumulated more than $8,000 in overdue rent. With help from Mount Sinai’s medical–legal partnership, she obtained an emergency grant that paid the arrears, allowing her to remain in her home and continue treatment.
Through our work at Dance for the Cure, we hear how heavily housing worries weigh on patients. A woman may be trying to keep up with appointments while opening overdue notices or asking family members how long she can stay. For someone with children, the worry extends to their routines, their belongings, and the security of having a familiar place to come home to.
“When a woman tells me she’s afraid of losing her home, that stays with me. She’s dealing with treatment and trying to figure out how to pay her bills. Helping with a housing expense gives us a practical way to ease some of that pressure.” - Kathleen Cirioli, DFC Co-founder
DFC provides monetary gifts to breast cancer patients experiencing financial hardship in Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset counties. That assistance can help cover rent, mortgage payments, or relocation expenses. Our contribution is financial, helping patients meet a pressing expense when their resources are stretched.
Help with an overdue payment can contribute to keeping someone in her home. For a patient who needs to move, a gift can help cover the costs of getting settled. The assistance responds to an immediate need, with the aim of making a difficult situation more manageable
“Our donors make it possible for us to respond when a local woman needs help with an essential expense. A gift toward rent or a mortgage payment can mean a great deal to someone worried about keeping her home during treatment.” - Joanne Liscovitz, DFC Co-founder
A place to call home carries so much meaning when life has become uncertain. Your support helps DFC offer financial help at a time when a woman may be wondering how she will make her next payment. We’re grateful to be able to help, and grateful to the community that makes it possible.
Sources Used
Xing and colleagues, JCO Oncology Practice, published online June 20, 2025; January 2026 issue. Food Insecurity, Housing Insecurity, and Transportation Barriers to Care Among Cancer Survivors With Medical Financial Hardship
National Cancer Institute, July 18, 2024. Treating the Whole Person: How Cancer Centers Are Addressing Social Needs
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