Battling cancer tests patients and their loved ones. Luckily, a transportation company is teaming up with a nonprofit organization to help them out.

A New Collaboration

Lyft is collaborating with the American Cancer Society to help cancer patients and their families in various cities across the country. Through the ACS's Road to Recovery program, cancer patients can access Lyft's services to get them to their medical appointments. The users do not have to worry about paying for the rides, the ACS is covering the transportation costs.

Initially, the Lyft partnership program began in Las Vegas and Miami.  The partnership is expanding to various cities across the country. The cities are expected to have access to this partnership include Cincinatti, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Denver, Houston, New Jersey, and St. Louis.  

The Road To Recovery

Cancer patients would contact the American Cancer Society staff members to coordinate rides by using Concierge, which is Lyft's third-party web request platform.The ACS staff would coordinate the request for the patient using Lyft's tool and they would be informed by ACS or through text confirmation of their ride.   If a patient that is under 18-years-old or is unable to walk by themselves, they might need to bring a caregiver with them. The American Cancer Society also advised customers that it would take a few business days to coordinate rides.

"Even the best treatment can't work if a patient can't get there. Every day, thousands of cancer patients need a ride to treatment. Inadequate transportation remains one of the biggest roadblocks to receiving proven, high-quality cancer care. The American Cancer Society is addressing this by providing cancer patients with free rides to treatment through the Road to Recovery Program," said Chuck Westbrook, Senior Vice President for Cancer Control Programs at the American Cancer Society exclusively to Tech Times.

Cancer News

The American Cancer Society worked with medical professionals representing 22 organizations from around the world released a study that showcased that consuming higher levels of Vitamin D could lessen a person's chance of getting colon cancer. Researchers stated that Vitamin D could increase resistance against cancer cells by creating a barrier that would stop cancer tumors from entering the stomach. They also noted that Vitamin D could be found in food products such as orange juice, salmon, egg yolk.

Nature Genetics published a study where there is a saliva-based test that could help determine if men have prostate cancer. The researchers were able to combine 100 previously known DNA factors with 63 newly discovered genes called single nucleotide polymorphisms to determine if the patient could succumb to prostate cancer. The test is expected to cost men under $100.

A woman appeared on the HGTV television show Beachfront Bargain Hunt received life-saving help from a viewer. Dr. Erich Voight, a nose, ear, and throat specialist, recognized a lump on Nicole McGuinness's throat and contacted her on social media to advise her to get medical assistance. Thanks to Voight, McGuinness went to her doctor, and after getting a sonogram of the lump, they found out it was thyroid cancer. The duo met for the first time on Good Morning America.

To learn more about the American Cancer Society's Road to Recovery Program, call 800-227-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.