Cancer patients and their caregivers in Northern New Mexico have enough to worry about when facing treatment without trying to pay for hotels and transportation costs. Healthy eating also becomes problematic, and that's where the Cancer Institute Foundation in Santa Fe comes in.

Offering transportation reimbursement, lodging assistance — and now, grocery gift cards and nutritional education — to patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation, the foundation aims to lighten the load for patients and the people who love and support them.

"Their job is to get well; ours is to help them with nonmedical support services," CIF Executive Director Corinne Collins said. Since 2005, the foundation has offered transportation reimbursement and lodging assistance to people in need, as well as support groups for patients and caregivers and free, community-wide screening programs.

Meals That Heal, the new initiative, was an outgrowth of a pilot program funded by the Susan G. Komen Foundation that targeted breast-cancer patients, according to Eileen Berry, CIF development director. "Good nutrition is vital to cancer patients, and this program was long contemplated," Berry said.

So far, Albertsons and Sunflower Farmers Market are participating in the program, donating $50 gift cards to the foundation. Qualifying patients may receive up to $400 in groceries annually, Collins said. In addition, the foundation will make and pay for reservations at nearby hotels, including Santa Fe Suites on St. Francis Drive and RainbowVision Santa Fe. Transportation costs are based on IRS medical-reimbursement rates.

Collins noted that the foundation is a nonprofit organization separate from the Cancer Institute of New Mexico. At first, she said, it was geared toward patients receiving treatment at the Cancer Institute; now, its services are available to all those in Northern New Mexico suffering from and receiving treatment for cancer in Santa Fe.

The foundation has a full- and part-time staff of five. Volunteers provide daily service to patients undergoing treatment at the Cancer Institute, as well as ongoing counseling for individuals and groups and support. The sixth annual Sweetheart Auction, set for Feb. 5, is the foundation's major fundraising effort of the year.

The event, which will be held at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center, features a dinner buffet, an open wine bar, a raffle with a cash jackpot and both silent and live auctions featuring more than 300 donated items such as travel, meals and artwork. Tickets are $45 each.

"This is one of the best deals and one of the best parties in town," said Collins, echoing CIF Board Chairman Bud Hamilton, who said the event "has always been a wonderful party, but it takes on a new meaning this year as we try to raise the funds for this new initiative.

"Our goal is to raise at least $50,000 to launch Meals That Heal, while we continue to raise funds for all of our ongoing programs," Hamilton said.

Collins added that all of the money earned or donated to the foundation "stays in the community, which is one reason we have incredible community support."

Those who wish to participate in any of the foundation's assistance programs must qualify financially; support and informational programs are open to all cancer patients and their caregivers.

For more information, contact Caroline Owen at 955-7956 or caroline@cancerinstitutefoundation.org.