Ellie Fund

The Ellie Fund’s Healing Together Patient and Family Care Program (Healing Together Program) was established to provide for the immediate needs of breast cancer patients and family members. All services are available free of charge and accessible to those most needing assistance. About 1 in 8 women will develop invasive breast cancer in their lifetime (source: www.BreastCancer.org). Despite advances in treatment options, early detection and prevention, there are approximately 5,890 (source: www.cancer.org) new cases of breast cancer in Massachusetts each year, and even more women living with breast cancer for years. A breast cancer diagnosis means physical, emotional and financial stress, not only on the patient but the entire family.

The Ellie Fund’s staff interviewed oncology social workers and breast cancer patients to fully understand what support they needed during breast cancer treatment to maintain some sense of normalcy in their homes. Based on these discussions, the Ellie Fund created the Healing Together Program in 2005, providing critical support services such as grocery cards, prepared/delivered meals, transportation to medical appointments, childcare, and light housekeeping.

The Ellie Fund was founded in 1995 by Jeff and Eliot Popkin to honor their mother Eleanor “Ellie” Popkin’s courageous fight against breast cancer and the giving spirit for which she was known