HomeMy WebLinkAboutBack-Up DocumentsLeague Against Cancer, Inc./Liga Contra el Cancer, Inc.
HISTORY, GOALS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS TO DATE
League Against Cancer was founded in Florida in 1975, modeled after a similar organization that
began serving cancer patients in 1925, in Havana, Cuba. That organization grew to include a
world renowned oncology center and operated until the Cuban Revolution in 1959. In Miami,
LIGA's Medical Center serves as an intake and treatment facility for individuals who have been
diagnosed with cancer. Once determined to be eligible for cancer related services, patients
receive the appropriate treatment and follow-up services completely FREE of charge. Services
are provided at LIGA's own facility, in private physician offices and at local hospitals/Medical
Centers, depending on medical need.
LIGA accepts patients - children and adults - without distinction of race, creed or nationality,
provided that they have established legal residence in the State of Florida, thus saving hundreds
of thousands of dollars to Florida's tax payers. League Against Cancer provides (FREE) from
case review and social services to surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, laboratory services
and radiology, medication, prosthetics, home nursing and nurses aid services, home medical
equipment, transportation, hospice care, breast and PAP screening, psychological support, and
moral support to patients and their families.
League Against Cancer has served (including follow-up) over 67,811 persons from 50 countries,
since its foundation in 1975. LIGA began keeping statistics in 1982 and since then as of
December 31, 2018, we have provided over 26,744 Papanicolaou Tests (Pap Smears); 35,577
Chemotherapy & Radiotherapy treatments; over 164,363 laboratory tests, over 49,495 radiology
procedures, including Scans, Mammograms, Ultrasound and MRI and 2,285 prostate screenings.
In the same period, close to 14,771 patients have been admitted to local hospitals under the
supervision of this organization and these patients have been treated for a wide range of different
types of cancer.
A person who seeks medical help is interviewed by a Social Worker to determine financial
eligibility. An evaluation committee reviews each case and approves each case eligible under the
League's guidelines. The patient is then examined by an oncologist who makes a preliminary
diagnosis and refers the patients to an expert in that specific field. The doctor, in consultation
with colleagues, prescribes the necessary treatment including surgery if needed. LIGA, which
receives special rates from local laboratories and hospitals, pays the bills. More than 150 doctors
provide voluntary services to the League's patients. In addition, the staff is supported by a corps
of over 200 full and part-time volunteers in the operation of the clinic. The strong involvement of
volunteers keeps the administrative costs at about 20% of total costs, three times less than of a
traditional doctor's office.
Volunteers from Palm Beach to South Miami -Dade County help the organization's on -going
fundraising efforts throughout the year. The main sources of income are the League's annual
fund-raising telethon on Telemundo-WSCV Channel 51, state and county grants, an annual raffle
and private donations. Many lives have been saved, much suffering has been spared, and many
destitute cancer victims have been able to die with a level of dignity usually reserved for those
who have medical insurance or personal wealth.
History' 2. 2019