Goshen, N.Y. – Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus has recognized Casey MacDonald of Cornwall as the Citizen of the Month Award winner for the month of February.
MacDonald, a long-term cancer survivor, was recognized for her advocacy for cancer patients and their families in Orange County and the Hudson Valley for the past 15 years.
“Like so many of us, Casey and her beloved family have been personally affected by cancer,” Neuhaus said. “Her experience inspired her to raise awareness about the disease and to offer help and comfort to those battling cancer. We are grateful for the work that she performs with The Cancer Resource Center of the Hudson Valley and its many partners. Casey has demonstrated an enormous amount of strength, resiliency and courage, and I’m glad to recognize her for her efforts.”
MacDonald is founder and president of The Cancer Resource Center of the Hudson Valley (HudsonValleyCancer.org), a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit which provides educational resources and support services to improve the quality of life of patients and their families in nine counties. She was diagnosed with lymphoma in 1996 and has been in remission for 23 years.
MacDonald’s motivation for launching the nonprofit is personal. Seven members of her family have been diagnosed with 10 different cancers, including her husband, Edward, and her father, Richard. Both were diagnosed within six weeks of each other in 2007, her father with terminal liver cancer and her husband with multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer. MacDonald’s father passed away in 2008 and her husband is doing well today.
During her personal experiences with cancer, MacDonald said that she noticed a disconnect between the cancer patient, the doctor’s office and cancer-related organizations. MacDonald is a nationally certified oncology patient navigator and holds a Master’s Degree in health advocacy from Sarah Lawrence College. She created the nonprofit whose mission is to connect cancer patients and their families to resources, services, programs and organizations on a national, state, regional, and local level to make the cancer journey easier to bear. The website is a navigational tool which helps patients find resources such as financial assistance, co-pay assistance, prescription assistance, lodging, support groups, and more.
Located in Montgomery, they are the only cancer resource center of its kind in the region. MacDonald said her organization has worked with approximately 1,600 patients since its inception.
The Cancer Resource Center of the Hudson Valley’s partners include Advance Testing Co., Affinity Wealth Management, Belsito Communications, Bonura Hospitality, Devitt Management, Gabriel Steel Erectors, Holt Construction, Hospice of Orange and Sullivan Counties, Independent Helicopters, Mid-Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital, Orange County Ironworks, Orange Regional Medical Center, and Walden Savings Bank.
“I’m incredibly honored and humbled to be selected as the Citizen of the Month for February 2020,” MacDonald said. “I appreciate that County Executive Neuhaus is recognizing my story and the Cancer Resource Center of the Hudson Valley. February is also National Cancer Prevention Month, so I would encourage Orange County citizens to schedule their annual cancer screenings and don’t wait to get checked out if something doesn’t feel right.”
Neuhaus introduced his Citizen of the Month Award, which acknowledges outstanding Orange County residents, in January of 2017. To nominate someone for the Citizen of the Month Award, please email ceoffice@orangecountygov.com or mail a letter to “Citizen of the Month” at 255-275 Main Street Goshen, N.Y. 10924. Be sure to include the nominee’s name, hometown, a list of their accomplishments, why you are nominating them and any other pertinent information. Nominees must be from Orange County.
For more information, contact Justin Rodriguez, Assistant to the County Executive for Communications and Media Relations at 845.291.3255 or jrodriguez@orangecountygov.com.
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