Fighting Chance P.O. Box 1358/112 Hampton Street Sag Harbor, NY (631) 725-4646 www.fightingchance.org

Fighting Chance is the first free-of-charge cancer counseling and resource center of its kind established on the East End of Long Island, New York. Independent from any hospital and funded solely by charitable contributions, Fighting Chance gives patients and their caregivers a better chance – a fighting chance – to beat cancer by helping them to take informed action. Free access to hard-to-find resources and professional counseling is available from the time of diagnosis through treatment to survivorship.

Fighting Chance was founded in 2002 with the aim of being a clearinghouse for cancer care resources on the East End. Today, the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization is a model for cancer care delivery in rural communities. Marking its fifth anniversary in 2007, Fighting Chance has counseled around 2,000 cancer patients and caregivers, distributed 10,000 guides and receives 5,000 visitors per month to its website (www.fightingchance.org).

What makes Fighting Chance distinctive is the comprehensive range of services, free-of-charge, to the five towns of the East End. Professional counseling is available in one-on-one sessions, in support groups and via e-mail. Patient navigation of the health care system is provided by a dedicated staff member and a unique, 75-page guide to local cancer care resources, Coping with Cancer on the East End, is updated annually. Each year, Fighting Chance also hosts a symposium, Day of Hope, for the community to hear first-hand from luminaries about the latest cancer treatments.

Duncan Darrow founded Fighting Chance in 2002 as a result of his mother’s battle with lung cancer and his role as caregiver. The demands of daily living required managing not only physical and emotional burdens but intellectual ones too. Navigating the health system and negotiating the logistics of treatment - especially in a rural setting - were daunting. Out of the Darrow family’s experience has come a way to help others who are fighting cancer.