About Us

Michigan Community Outreach to Address Financial Toxicity (MI-COST) is a community-academic partnership, bringing cancer survivors, caregivers, and advocates together with researchers from Wayne State University (WSU) and the Karmanos Cancer Institute (KCI) in Detroit. Our goal is to connect people with cancer and their loved ones with information and resources to help manage the financial impact of cancer.

MI-COST builds on the work of several Cancer Action Councils (CACs), facilitated by Michigan Cancer HealthLink, a program of the KCI Office of Cancer Health Equity and Community Engagement (OCHECE). CACs bring together groups of cancer survivors, caregivers, and advocates who apply their knowledge about cancer and their communities to identify research and intervention priorities and develop resources to improve the lives of people affected by cancer. In 2019 financial hardship was identified as the highest priority topic for research and intervention across all of the CACs.

Through a Community Health Impact Award from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, we convened a Community Advisory Board (CAB) of seven CAC members who identified priority topics to address in educational resources related to financial hardship. Based on those topics, we hosted a webinar series and developed the content on this website, including information related to common financial, insurance, and employment issues faced by people with cancer. We also developed a database of resources available to help cover costs for people with cancer in Michigan and beyond.