Giving Comfort Launches 1.6 Million Message Challenge For World Cancer Day (Feb 4th)

Nonprofit aims to collect messages, photos and videos to honor the 1.6 million people diagnosed with cancer every year in the U.S.

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Giving Comfort, a nonprofit program of the McKesson Foundation dedicated to helping fight cancer with comfort, today announced a message challenge in honor of the 1.6 million people in the U.S. expected to be newly diagnosed with cancer this year. The initiative, called Words of Comfort, is an online portal for users to share words, photos and videos of support for patients undergoing treatment.

"We all know where to give money for research and where to walk or run for the cause, but what most people don't realize is that small comfort items – like fuzzy socks, tea, a journal, or a simple message of care and support – can make a world of difference in the life of a cancer patient undergoing treatment," said Carrie Varoquiers, president of the McKesson Foundation.

Through the Words of Comfort online hub, messages of friendship, hope, survival, and strength will be there for patients to see anytime they need a smile. Giving Comfort will also deliver the messages to patients in need across the country as part of a Comfort Kit: a care package of the most needed and requested items during treatment. 

"I know from my experience with loved ones who battled cancer that the smallest gestures can mean the world to someone in need," said Elizabeth Howland, Managing Director of Giving Comfort, who was a caregiver for her late husband. "We've found that one of the best ways to fight the exhaustion and agony of cancer treatment is with comfort – an aspect of care that is often underappreciated and underutilized."

In addition to this bold initiative, Giving Comfort works to raise funds for and distribute Comfort Kits to cancer patients in need through health care network partners like Ronald McDonald House Charities, The American Cancer Society's Hope Lodges, the Mayo Clinic and hospitals in 33 states.

To share your own photos, videos or words of comfort, visit Words of Comfort or join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Vine using the hashtag #WordsofComfort.

For more information on Giving Comfort, visit www.givingcomfort.org

About Giving Comfort 

This year, more than 1.6 million people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer. Hundreds of thousands struggle to pay for basic needs, leaving them unable to afford the comfort items that make treatment more bearable. A nonprofit program of the McKesson Foundation, Giving Comfort fights cancer with comfort. It provides patients with Comfort Kits – cancer care packages filled with essential items that help ease the discomfort caused by treatment. Patients in need receive Comfort Kits free-of-charge through a network of Distribution Network Partners, which include hospitals, cancer treatment centers and hospitality houses. Through its e-store, Giving Comfort offers Comfort Kits for sale, with all proceeds going toward Kits for those in need. Founded in 2012, Giving Comfort reaches patients in 33 states through partners like the American Cancer Society, Ronald McDonald Houses and the Mayo Clinic. To learn more, visit at www.givingcomfort.org.

SOURCE Giving Comfort