WAYGFT? What Are You Grateful For Today? A Dawn’s Heart Initiative

Flagship direct service

First 180

First 180 helps newly diagnosed cancer patients and their families manage the first 90 to 180 days of diagnosis, testing, treatment planning, and disruption to everyday life.

Illustration of an open notebook, calendar, compass, and pen at sunrise. No people are shown.

Pilot Development

First 180 is in pilot development. It is not accepting applications, referrals, or health information.

Cancer patient and family navigation and support. Place on the continuum: Crisis to support. Intended result, when the work can be measured: Families are organized, connected, and better able to manage the first months after diagnosis.

We do not treat the cancer. We help patients and families navigate everything cancer suddenly does to their lives.

Understand, organize, connect, support, follow through

  1. Understand

    Listen to the patient and caregiver, clarify immediate pressures, and identify what matters most now.

  2. Organize

    Create a practical plan for appointments, documents, household disruptions, transportation, and follow-up.

  3. Connect

    Link the family with hospital navigation, benefits, transportation, food, counseling, caregiver, and community resources.

  4. Support

    Provide encouragement and, when approved and appropriate, limited gap assistance for needs that other resources do not meet.

  5. Follow Through

    Check whether referrals were completed, needs changed, and the family requires another connection or next step.

Boundaries

  • First 180 does not provide medical treatment or medical advice.
  • First 180 does not replace hospital, clinical, social work, or professional patient navigation.
  • Referrals and financial assistance remain subject to program criteria, available funds, privacy practices, and Cure on Wheels oversight.

A future pilot intends to track time to first response, needs identified, referrals completed, assistance delivered, and follow-up at 30, 90, and 180 days. These are proposed measures, not published results.

There is no intake form. Please do not send medical records or diagnosis details.