Press Release
2015-09-24
Eisai Expands Magnolia Meals at Home® Program to Help People Living with Thyroid Cancer
Eisai, CancerCare®, Cancer Support Community®, Cornucopia Cancer Support Center™ and Meals on Wheels America Continue their Commitment to Providing Meal Assistance to Enable Loved Ones to Spend More Quality Time Together
WOODCLIFF LAKE, NJ (September 24, 2015) -- Magnolia Meals at Home®, a program that delivers nutritious meals at no-cost to patients living with breast cancer and their families, is now helping those living with thyroid cancer. Sponsored by Eisai, the program aims to ease the burden on families by eliminating the need to prepare some meals, enabling loved ones to spend more quality time together. Since its launch approximately three years ago, the service has helped more than one thousand families in New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts and North Carolina.
"Meal time is an important part of keeping families close, a time to recharge and catch up on the day," said Will Pulley, operations coordinator at Cornucopia Cancer Support Center. "The healthy meals provided by Magnolia Meals at Home help patients maintain a sense of normalcy when their daily routines have been disrupted by a cancer diagnosis. Enabling families to focus on each other rather than meal preparation can help to provide the emotional support needed to weather this difficult time."
This novel program is a collaboration between Eisai Magnolia® – Partners Along the Patient Journey, CancerCare®, Cancer Support Community®, Cornucopia Cancer Support Center™ and Meals on Wheels America. Eligible participants will receive up to 2 monthly home meal deliveries, each of which includes up to 10 meals for family members upon request. Eligible participants can enroll through the respective advocacy organization in their area. The meal deliveries are organized by local Meals on Wheels programs, and Eisai employees volunteer to help deliver the meals to families.
"Finding the energy to cook healthy meals is a challenge when faced with the long haul of stage four cancer," said Patty Arges of Durham, North Carolina. "I found the Magnolia Meals at Home program very helpful. Having something quick to microwave allowed me to spend my energy going out to activities and to support groups rather than spending it at home cooking or shopping at the grocery store. They were also delicious."
Thyroid cancer patients are eligible to enroll if they meet at least one of the following criteria*+¥:
- Currently undergoing chemotherapy, radiation therapy (excluding radiation iodine treatment), hormone therapy or targeted therapy
- Has completed radiation iodine treatment‡
- Underwent surgery, chemotherapy or radiation in the past 3 months
- Has been discharged from a hospital (admission was cancer related) in the last 3 months
- Receiving adjuvant or neoadjuvant treatment
*This can include men or women diagnosed with thyroid cancer
+There are no requirements for financial need to participate in the program
¥Patients must live in qualified zip codes in order to receive meals
‡Patients currently participating in radiation iodine treatment are not eligible for the program due to dietary restrictions associated with treatment
"This program truly embodies Eisai's human health care (hhc) mission, which puts patients at the center of everything we do," said Sheryl Lapidus, director, Corporate Advocacy at Eisai, Inc. "Through their participation in the Magnolia Meals at Home program, Eisai employees are able to gain a new perspective and appreciation for cancer patients and their families, the very people they strive to help each day through the work that they do."
To learn more about enrollment criteria, please visit www.MagnoliaMealsAtHome.com or contact CancerCare, Cancer Support Community or Cornucopia Cancer Support Center directly.
About Eisai Inc.
At Eisai Inc., human health care is our goal. We give our first thoughts to patients and their families, and helping to increase the benefits health care provides. As the U.S. pharmaceutical subsidiary of Tokyo-based Eisai Co., Ltd., we have a passionate commitment to patient care that is the driving force behind our efforts to help address unmet medical needs. We are a fully integrated pharmaceutical business with discovery, clinical, manufacturing and marketing capabilities. Our key areas of commercial focus include oncology and specialty care (Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy and metabolic disorders). To learn more about Eisai Inc., please visit us at www.eisai.com/US.
Eisai Inc. has affiliates that are part of a global product creation organization that includes R&D facilities in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, as well as a global demand chain organization that includes facilities in Maryland and North Carolina. Eisai's global areas of R&D focus include neuroscience; oncology; metabolic disorders; vascular, inflammatory and immunological reaction; and antibody-based programs.
About Cornucopia Cancer Support Center
Cornucopia nurtures the mind, body and spirit of those journeying with any type of cancer, their families and caregivers through complementary therapies, movement classes, individual and group support, along with information and resources, all in a non-clinical setting. In addition to reaching individuals in the Triangle through on-site services, we also assist individuals throughout the state and nation through two "no border" programs – Peer Connect is a confidential telephone-based peer-to-peer support program that matches individuals with others who have had similar experiences on their cancer journey; and That Cancer Show™ a weekly talk radio program airing on WPTF 680 AM and WSJS 600 AM that brings experts and participants together to talk about pressing issues about the cancer epidemic.
Cornucopia's services are provided free of charge to patients, their family and caregivers. Information is available online at www.cancersupport4u.org or by calling 1-919-401-9333.
About CancerCare
Founded in 1944, CancerCare® is the leading national organization providing free, professional support services and information to help people manage the emotional, practical and financial challenges of cancer. Our comprehensive services include counseling and support groups over the phone, online and in-person, educational workshops, publications and financial and co-payment assistance. All CancerCare services are provided by oncology social workers and world-leading cancer experts.
CancerCare programs and services help 170,000 people each year. We distribute 800,000 publications and welcome more than 2 million website visits annually. In the past year, CancerCare provided more than $15 million in financial assistance. The size and scope of CancerCare has grown tremendously since 1944, but it has never wavered from its mission of providing help and hope to people affected by cancer. To learn more, visit www.cancercare.org or call 800-813-HOPE (4673).
About the Cancer Support Community
As the largest professionally led nonprofit network of cancer support worldwide, the Cancer Support Community (CSC) is dedicated to ensuring that all people impacted by cancer are empowered by knowledge, strengthened by action and sustained by community. CSC achieves its mission through three areas: direct service delivery, research and advocacy. The organization includes an international network of Affiliates that offer the highest quality social and emotional support for people impacted by cancer, as well as a community of support available online and over the phone. The Research and Training Institute conducts cutting-edge psychosocial, behavioral and survivorship research. CSC furthers its focus on patient advocacy through its Cancer Policy Institute, informing public policy in Washington, D.C. and across the nation. For more information, please call the toll-free Cancer Support Helpline at 888-793-9355, or visit www.CancerSupportCommunity.org. So that no one faces cancer alone®
About Meals on Wheels America
Meals on Wheels America is the oldest and largest national organization representing local, community-based Senior Nutrition Programs in all 50 states and territories. Collectively, these programs are serving approximately one million meals daily to our nation's seniors, either by delivering meals directly to the home of a senior whose mobility is limited – commonly referred to as Meals on Wheels – or by providing meals in a group setting, such as those served in a senior center. More than 70 percent of the members of the Association provide both types of services for seniors in their communities. As a national organization and network, Meals on Wheels programs are working together to end senior hunger in America. Visit www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MealsOnWheelsAmerica or follow on Twitter at https://twitter.com/_mealsonwheels.
Important contact information for enrollment in Magnolia Meals at Home
In North Carolina, please contact:
Will Pulley
Cornucopia Cancer Support Center
PO Box 51188 • Durham, NC 27717
Phone: 1-919-401-9333
wpulley@cancersupport4u.org
In New Jersey and New York, please contact:
Kathy Nugent, LCSW
CancerCare
141 Dayton Street • Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450
Phone: 1-201-301-6809
Toll-free: 1-800-813-HOPE ext. 6809
knugent@cancercare.org
In Massachusetts and New Hampshire, please contact:
Jane E. Brown
Cancer Support Community
1050 17th Street, NW • Suite 500 • Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 1-617-733-5848
Toll-free: 1-888-793-9355
jane@cancersupportcommunity.org
Additional contact information:
Don Miller
Meals on Wheels America
14 N. Lee Street • Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Phone: 1-571-339-1632
Toll-free: 1-888-998-MEAL (1-888-998-6325)
don@mowaa.org
All media inquiries, please contact:
Teresa Cronin
Eisai Inc.
201-949-4326
Magnolia® and Magnolia Meals at Home® are registered trademarks of Eisai Inc.
Cornucopia's logo is a trademark of Cornucopia Cancer Support Center
CancerCare is a registered trademark of Cancer Care Inc.
The We Are Meals on Wheels logo is a trademark of Meals on Wheels America.
The Cancer Support Community logo is a registered trademark of CSC.