Magnolia Meals at Home Delivers Food and Peace of Mind to Breast Cancer Patients

Breast cancer presents a unique set of challenges to patients, making ordinary tasks such as food shopping and preparing meals difficult. Eisai Women’s Oncology Program – Magnolia, CancerCare and Cancer Support Community -- has collaborated with the Meals on Wheels Association of America to provide and deliver free and nourishing prepared meals to households affected by breast cancer so that families can enjoy more quality time together. 

Completely funded by Eisai, Magnolia Meals at Home is available at no cost to the patients. 

Eisai, a U.S. pharmaceutical subsidiary of Tokyo-based Eisai Co., Ltd, located in Woodcliff Lake and Andover, Massachusetts, is a research-based pharmaceutical company that focuses on human health care by trying to find ways to ease the stress that patients with a debilitating illness experience.

According to Kathy Nugent, Director of Special Social Services for CancerCare, Eisai Women's Oncology Program reached out to CancerCare to help them identify patients who could benefit from the Magnolia Meals at Home program.

"Eisai developed the concept of delivering nutritional prepared meals to breast cancer patients for their Magnolia program," Nugent said. "They are a pharmaceutical company dedicated to providing services beyond medication." 

This collaboration between Eisai, CancerCare, Cancer Support Community and Meals on Wheels Association of American began in May of 2012 in the Pascack Valley region and Andover, Mass. 

"Cancer is overwhelming and small gestures, such as prepared meals, provide patients and their families with a measure of relief," Nugent said. Nugent said that approximately 350 families have been served since Magnolia Meals at Home launched.  

In addition to funding the Magnolia program, Christine Verini, V.P. of Corporate Communication and Advocacy for Eisai, said that approximately 200 employees have signed up to volunteer to deliver meals to breast cancer patients.  

"One of Eisai's goals is to meet the unmet needs of the patients," Verini said. "Magnolia studied what breast cancer patients needed to help with the daily stress of living and determined that nutritionally prepared meals delivered to their door would relieve a great deal of stress." 

Jeanne Martin, Director of Meals on Wheels Pascack Valley, schedules the delivery of food for Magnolia Meals on Wheels. Magnolia Meals at Home serves women being treated for breast cancer in and around the Pascack Valley region, including River Edge. 

"Because the program is so popular we are expanding our area to include Passaic and Essex counties," Verini said. 

"Eisai wants to ease the stress of daily living for breast cancer patients and their families," Nugent said. "Because in the end, it's not about the food, but the comfort of knowing that people care about you and your family."