SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — An upcoming Public Television feature will examine how a San Mateo nonprofit supports people affected by breast and ovarian cancer with navigation, education, financial help and community support that continues long after treatment appointments end.
Bay Area Cancer Connections will be profiled in an upcoming feature of “All Access hosted by Andy Garcia,” the educational short-form series distributed to Public Television stations across the country. Production is scheduled to take place at the organization’s home base in San Mateo, California, with additional filming aboard its Mobile Resource Center, the vehicle that carries practical resources directly into Bay Area communities and beyond. Founded in 1993 by breast cancer patient Jill Freidenrich and her surgeon, Dr. Ellen Mahoney, the nonprofit has spent more than three decades building a model of support that runs alongside clinical treatment.
The feature will focus on the organization’s central educational message: cancer reaches far past physical health, reshaping work, finances, relationships and emotional footing. Services include personalized navigation and resource coordination, evidence based education, emotional support, financial assistance, wellness and survivorship programming, a boutique, and specialized care for people living with metastatic disease. Nothing is standardized. Support is matched to where a person actually is. Partnerships with hospitals, clinicians and community groups extend that help into daily life, reaching patients, caregivers, providers and philanthropists alike.
“At BACC, we believe no one should have to navigate cancer alone. We want to be a safe place to land when everything feels uncertain, and a place people can continue to turn to as their needs change. We strive to meet each person where they are, geographically, emotionally, and in their cancer experience, with support that extends through everything that comes before, after, and in between. At the heart of our mission is a simple promise: to be there with compassion, trusted information, and meaningful support, so no one has to face cancer alone.” – Rina Bello, Executive Director, Bay Area Cancer Connections
Support in cancer care remains unevenly connected. Medical systems deliver sophisticated treatment, yet the emotional, practical and financial weight of a diagnosis frequently lands on patients and families who have no map for it. Bills arrive. Work schedules collapse. Difficult conversations wait at home. Bay Area Cancer Connections treats that gap as a structural problem rather than a personal failing, and argues that whole person support belongs inside the cancer experience from the start. Its position is straightforward: people should reach trusted information, counseling, survivorship resources and financial assistance regardless of which hospital or clinic manages their treatment plan.
Treatment advances have changed the arithmetic of survivorship. More people finish therapy and live for decades; others live years with metastatic disease that will not be cured. Both groups carry needs that clinical visits rarely address, among them fear of recurrence, scan anxiety, lasting side effects, shifting identity and altered relationships. Demand for long-term support is climbing accordingly. Bay Area Cancer Connections is responding by widening healthcare partnerships, broadening virtual and in-person access, strengthening survivorship and metastatic programming, and testing cost effective service models designed to keep personalized support available as the number of people needing it grows.
About “All Access hosted by Andy Garcia”: “All Access hosted by Andy Garcia” is an educational short-form documentary series airing on Public Television stations across the country. Each feature examines the work of organizations, institutions and companies addressing questions of public interest, presenting the people and practices behind them in an informational format built for a general audience. Topics range across healthcare, education, technology, industry and community service. Additional information about the series, its production process and its library of past features is available at allaccessptv.com.
About Bay Area Cancer Connections: Bay Area Cancer Connections supports anyone affected by breast or ovarian cancer with personalized, no cost services that complement medical treatment. Established in 1993 and based in San Mateo, California, the nonprofit offers navigation and resource coordination, evidence based education, emotional support, financial assistance, wellness and survivorship programs, specialized services for people living with metastatic disease, a boutique, and a Mobile Resource Center serving surrounding communities. The organization works in partnership with healthcare providers and community groups throughout the region. Details on programs, eligibility and ways to get involved are available at www.bayareacancer.org.
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SOURCE All Access
