Each and every day last year, an average of eight cancer patients were flying on corporate aircraft thanks to the efforts of the Corporate Angel Network (CAN). In all, 3,021 patients flew during the year — a record. That’s 9 percent more than the previous annual record of 2,778 and a 21 percent increase over 2009. Corporate Angel Network flights have now transported more than 36,000 cancer patients to or from treatment centers since the organization was founded in 1981. There are 530 corporate aircraft operators participating in the program. Last October, 16-month-old William Relyea flew with his mother home to Syracuse, New York from Westchester (New York) County Airport. He had been treated at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center in New York, and he and his mother flew in empty seats on a regular corporate flight coordinated through CAN. William was the 35,000th patient to fly through this arrangement. Dr. Brian Kushner, an oncologist at MSK said, “I see so many patients at the treatment center who are benefiting hugely from this service. Thank you!”
Corporate Angels Post Record Year in 2010
