MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – Each year in the United States, over $3 billion dollars in cancer medication is thrown away due to a list of reasons, simultaneously becoming unaffordable for over 50% of patients in just their first two years of treatment.
In the Upper Peninsula, over half of its counties experience the highest rates of cancer mortality in Michigan.
Since 2023, the non-profit YesRx has made a profound effort to improve these numbers, by accepting unopened or unexpired medications, before routing these donations to Michigander cancer patients at no charge, utilizing over 100 provider partnerships around the state.
“Right now, the Upper Peninsula is an area where we’re still expanding, and we need to do work,” said YesRx Chief Executive Officer, Siobhan Norman. “We are a nonprofit organization, and we do all of this work at no cost to the cancer clinicians who utilize our services, and most importantly at no cost to the patients who receive the medication.”
The Superior Health Foundation (SHF) has recently provided YesRx with the Community Health Pilot Grant, which provides upcoming non-profits with the proper funding to carry out their mission.
“Cancer for treatment is expensive. There are people who go bankrupt within a year or two of receiving cancer treatments,” said Nicky Bates, program officer for SHF. “While this program is not new downstate, it is new up here. And to be able to expand on the U.P., we’re really excited to see it take off and flourish.”
Another major focus in YesRx’s mission is towards those in Indigenous communities.
“We know that outcomes related to a diagnose of cancer are poorer in our Native American communities,” said YesRx Chief Medical Officer, Emily Mackler. “We’ve really made a concerted effort to ensure that those communities and health clinics have access to the cancer medication repository, and we can help provide that access and medications to them nearer to home, versus having to travel long distances.”
These combined efforts to fight financial burdens in cancer treatments are expected to substantially increase Yoopers’ access to this medication, by saving money and keeping this access to care in the U.P.
