In September 2009 Dean Snell lost his 15-month battle with esophageal cancer. As his family gathered together mourning their loss, they knew they had to do something to honor their husband/father and to keep his spirit alive and that was when the Dean Snell Cancer Foundation was established. The Dean Snell Cancer Foundation is an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization providing confidential financial assistance to cancer patients at New England Cancer Specialists (NECS) in Topsham, Maine.
A little over 13 years later, the Foundation has reached a remarkable milestone. On January 9, 2023, the Dean Snell Cancer Foundation assisted a patient with traveling expenses (gas, tolls, hotel) for an urgent appointment with a surgeon in Boston. They didn’t know how they were going to afford the trip, and the Foundation was able to ease that burden. Not only did the patient get to their appointment with expenses paid for, but this support launched the Foundation over the million dollar milestone in patient assistance. The million dollars in assistance over the years includes helping patients and their families with prescription medications, co-pays, medical equipment, transportation to appointments, heating and
utility expenses, food and gas cards, and everyday living expenses.
For more information about the Dean Snell Cancer Foundation and their many fundraising events and event sponsors, visit the Foundation’s website at www.deansnell.org. The website also has information about volunteering and ways to make tax-deductible donations. These sponsorships and donations are instrumental in supporting the Foundation’s mission of continued assistance to cancer patients for many years to come.