HEADstrong to Fund an Innovative Transportation Project

(Holmes, PA) โ€“ This year, the HEADstrong Foundationโ„ข is planning the launch a brand new transportation project called Nickโ€™s Lifts. Nickโ€™s Liftโ€™s is intended to offset the expense incurred by both patients getting to and from treatment. For HEADstrong, patientsโ€™ opinions are always valued. HEADstrong brainstorms new ideas with patients, families, and survivors, in effort to make their lives easier. When HEADstrong discovered that transportation was adding more stress to patients and their families, they went to work to find a solution. In turn, the idea of the transportation project was developed.

Typically, major cities with research hospitals offer the best possible cancer care for patients.ย  These areas boast top ranked medical facilities, a concentration of specialized oncologists and researchers and technologically advanced medicine.ย  When doing a simple Google search, nearly every result is a list of the top 20 cancer treatment centers. Out of the top 20 hospitals, every single one is located in a major metropolitan area. Clearly, this is not conducive for people who live in rural areas. By offsetting costs, the transportation project will ensure that every patient, no matter where he or she lives, has access to the best possible treatment centers. In order to transform this idea into an effective project, HEADstrong is teaming up with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Together, HEADstrong and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Eastern Pennsylvania will co-present the transportation project. Both organizations are committed to fighting blood cancer and believe the transportation project will be a great resource for those receiving care. When asked about these two entities joining forces, Nickโ€™s brother and Chief Marketing Officer at the HEADstrong Foundationโ„ข, Pat Colleluori said, โ€œIn working directly with physicians and patients we identified that the decision to seek specialized care often times often is comprised for convenience and that costs associated with transportation was hindering people from seeking the best possible attention from some of the best medical facilities and doctors in the country.โ€ Colleluori explained how once HEADstrong created the idea for the transportation project, the next step was to find a viable partner to put the project into effect. Colleluori believes that the partnership between HEADstrong and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is dynamic and will help patients and their families.

HEADstrong strives to improve the quality of life for those affected by cancer, and the transportation project is an important component to accomplish this goal. Colleluori explained, โ€œIt is a matter of presenting options to patients, especially those who need specialized care.ย  We want to expose the best possible care to more patients in hope of achieving the best possible outcomes. The transportation project is another way to strengthen our commitment to patients and families.โ€

About HEADstrong Foundation
The HEADstrong Foundationโ„ข is a 501(c)(3) committed to improving the quality of life for cancer patients and their families through providing essential services. HEADstrongโ„ข is an athletic rooted organization that serves the cancer community by granting direct financial assistance to those financially impacted as a result of the disease, by providing complimentary long-term housing and amenities for those traveling to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for cancer related treatments through Nickโ€™s Houseโ„ข, by funding innovative cancer research through the Nicholas E. Colleluori Lymphoma research fund, by serving family meals and offering outlets of entertainment, by providing fresh groceries to patients being discharged from lengthy hospital stays, by delivering comfort kits to newly hospitalized patients preparing for treatment or transplant, and by lending an arm of support through their peer to peer advocacy group. The blueprints for the Foundation were conceptualized by Nicholas โ€œHEADโ€ Colleluori in 2006, from his hospital bed while he underwent treatment for non-Hodgkinโ€™s Lymphoma, which ultimately claimed his life.ย  Today, Nickโ€™s vision is being fulfilled through the relentless efforts of his family, athletes and supporters across the country uniting in the fight against cancers. For more information on the HEADstrong Foundationโ„ข and how they are Getting aHEAD of Cancerโ„ข go to www.HEADstrong.org.