About

The Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation (BMCF) is a national non-profit organization created to support all cancer and transplant patients as they navigate the challenges of diagnosis and treatment. The Foundation was started by social worker and patient advocate Christina Merrill in 1992.

What We Do

The Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation helps patients and their families throughout every aspect of their experience by providing vital financial assistance, patient navigators, counseling, emotional support programs, physician and hospital referrals, and opportunities for community and connection, including the CancerBuddy app.

Thanks to our fundraising events and generous donations, every single one of our services is free. So far, the BMCF has distributed over $12 million dollars in financial support and assistance to over 150,000 patients.

Christina Merrill, Founder & CEO

As a young social worker at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Mount Sinai Medical Center, Christina Merrill witnessed firsthand the multitude of challenging hurdles patients have to navigate. Seeing the tremendous need for additional financial assistance and emotional support that most patients require–but aren’t always receiving–she began trying to help, even donating her own money to cover patients’ co-pays or transportation costs.

Realizing that she could only help so much as one person, Christina decided to start raising money to make a bigger impact on the lives of cancer patients. In 1992, Christina launched the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation (BMCF), throwing her first fundraiser at the Copacabana Club in Manhattan. Her father, well-known jazz pianist Joe Bushkin, was the first performer for this first of many fundraisers.

Today, Christina has expanded BMCF to offer solutions for every challenge she sees patients facing. The BMCF offers counseling to support mental health, crowdfunding to raise additional funds, and Patient Navigators to connect with the right medical team. Christina also concepted CancerBuddy, a peer support app to help cancer patients feel less alone and find a supportive and uplifting community.

Leadership

The BMCF is guided by a medical advisory board of nationally-recognized cancer specialists, as well as specialty advisory boards of nurses and of social workers. These, along with our distinguished Board of Directors and Junior Board, comprise our leadership teams:

Board of Directors > Young Professional Junior Board > Medical Advisory Board > Nursing Board > Social Work Board >

Testimonials

“I know my dad would not be here today if we had not connected with Christina and the BMCF. Their doctor referrals, advocacy, and fundraising platform, Carelines, helped him get through his AML diagnosis. Today, he is happy and cancer free!”
-Taylor M.
“My 13-year-old son JoJo has been battling a rare and aggressive form of Sarcoma. The Carelines fundraising program has been my lifeline of support to get us through this very tough time.”
-Aviva V.
“Thank you for introducing me to Dr. Ben. He wasn't taking on new patients, but agreed to take on me! This could not have been done without the BMCF team and their referrals program. I feel heard and cared for in so many ways.”
-Megan H.
“I was diagnosed with breast cancer at 26, and being diagnosed so young it's been important to be able to connect with other cancer survivors through the CancerBuddy app. I now have a community and it's very life-changing.”
-LaShae R.

Your contributions directly support cancer patients

With rising cancer rates, our work has never been more important. All donations for the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation go to services that directly help cancer patients, survivors, and families. The Foundation relies 100% on private donations. We depend on individual and corporate donors, as we don’t receive government or public funding. We offer innovative ways to contribute, and options for doubling the impact of donations. Thank you for your support, it means so much to so many patients.

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