The Victoria U. G. Buffum Endowment Fund Committee recently announced that grant applications for FY15 are now being accepted. Named in honor of and established by the late Victoria (Vicki) Buffum, a Vermont Cancer Center patient who lost her battle with cancer in 2002 at the age of 58, the Fund provides grants ranging from $1,000 to $50,000, for up to three years.

Buffum’s goal was to transform the cancer patient medical care process to be more patient-friendly and focused on patients and families. Following her gift, friends and family and VCC clinicians established a committee to review the distributions from the endowment, aligned and united by her mission and commitment to cancer patient support.

Applications for funding may be written for programs or projects directed at providing resources or services for patients and families and must address one or more of the following goals of the endowment:

1. The development of education and training modules that foster patient/health care provider communications;
2. The development of educational programs focusing on patient and family issues related to blood diseases and cancer;
3. Pilot funding for no more than three years;
4. Projects from health care providers for supportive care research;
5. Development of patient support groups focusing on different blood and cancer disease sites;
6. Development of educational outreach programs within the community and region promoting a multitude of cancer care issues; and
7. Development of patient-friendly environment to promote the above goals and facilitate patient/caregiver interactions.

Current Buffum grant projects include:
• Cancer Patient Support Fund
• Integrating Palliative Care into the Vermont Cancer Center
• Earlier Integration of Oncology Rehabilitation
• Exercise Therapy, Education and Nutritional Direction after Venous Thromboembolism (EXTEND)
• Navigating the Path to Wellness
• Oncology Massage
• Therapeutic Power of Sound and Music
• Multiple Myeloma Support Group

For more information about the Victoria Buffum Endowment Fund, or to make a contribution, contact Manon O’Connor, senior director of development at the Vermont Cancer Center at 802-656-4471 or manon.oconnor@med.uvm.edu.