Life With Cancer Receives Grant to Encourage Cancer Outreach Nationwide

$50,000 Grant Will Increase Access for Cancer Patients, Families

L-R: Gordon Hay, Director, Life with Cancer; Joanne Royaltey, Development Director, Life with Cancer; John Fay, Vice President, Inova Health System Foundation; Rick Dunetz, Side-Out Foundation; Gloria Dunetz, Side-Out Foundation; and Bryant Dunetz, Side-Out Foundation.

Falls Church, VA  – (May 28, 2009) — Inova Health System’s Life with Cancer® has received a $50,000 grant for two years to improve access for cancer patients and families to Life with Cancer programs, and to encourage development of similar comprehensive cancer programs throughout the nation.

“We are truly honored to be awarded this grant from the Side-Out Foundation, an organization whose mission is to fight breast cancer,” said Gordon Hay, Director, Life with Cancer. “This grant will directly and indirectly address the unique needs of patients and their families nationwide, well past the two years that the grant has been awarded us.”

Side-Out Foundation raises funds through volleyball tournaments to assist breast cancer patients and their healthcare providers with cancer education, awareness, detection and treatment.

The grant will fund:

• Redevelopment of the Life with Cancer Web site to provide resources to cancer  patients, their families and healthcare providers
• National teleconferences to educate breast cancer patients about the newest treatments and support programs
• Improved access to Life with Cancer support groups and programs in the Northern Virginia, D.C. and Maryland region
• The two-year $50,000 grant will assist not only Life with Cancer but also the Side-Out Foundation’s ability to continue providing outreach, education and support services to cancer patients and their families on a local, regional and national basis.

Inova Health System’s Life with Cancer offers cancer and treatment education, complementary therapies, support groups, classes, nutrition programs and outreach throughout Northern Virginia, free of charge, regardless of where patients seek care.

Inova Health System is a not-for-profit healthcare system based in Northern Virginia that consists of hospitals and other health services, including emergency- and urgent-care centers, home care, nursing homes, mental health and blood donor services, and wellness classes. Governed by a voluntary board of community members, Inova’s mission is to improve the health of the diverse community it serves through excellence in patient care, education and research. Inova provides a healthy environment for its patients, families, visitors, staff and physicians by prohibiting tobacco use on its campuses.