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Jerome Winegarden, MD, had bad news to deliver. A patient’s cancer was progressing, and the patient would need to stop his oral cancer medication.
That would normally mean tossing a 30-day supply of pills, said Winegarden, an oncologist with Trinity Health, a statewide health system in Michigan.
But not in this case.
Winegarden pointed to a sign on his exam room wall from YesRx, a nonprofit cancer drug repository program, that read: “Thank you, Michiganders! Donating cancer medication and supportive medication helps patients in Michigan.”
When Winegarden suggested donating the pills to YesRx, the patient was grateful. Turning a bad situation into hope for somebody else is “very powerful for patients,” Winegarden said. “We were going to be able to do something with [the medication], not just destroy it.”
In just 2 years of operation, YesRx has accepted donations and provided oral cancer or supportive care medications worth millions of dollars to nearly 1200 patients, at no cost to them, according to a recent analysis assessing the Michigan-based program. These patients couldn’t afford their prescribed medications or required immediate access and couldn’t wait for insurance approval, the researchers reported. The donated unopened or unused medications would otherwise have been wasted.
“This program is exactly what patients need: a safe way of recycling their unused prescriptions that actually benefits others with cancer,” said Fumiko Chino, MD, associate professor at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, in a statement on YesRx.
Filling a Need
A growing body of research shows that patients with cancer face an increased risk for financial toxicity, given the high costs of oral cancer drugs as well as changes to insurance coverage that may require greater cost sharing by the patient. The financial burden on patients can be significant, with more than half reporting trouble affording their medications, an issue that can lead to persistent medical debt as well as gaps or delays in care that may impact patient outcomes.
Alongside the affordability problem is one of waste. A 2023 analysis found that the mean cost of drug waste associated with dose reductions or discontinuations of oral anticancer drugs came to $4290 per patient.
The YesRx program, however, turns that negative into a positive.
If YesRx has a relevant drug in stock, “we can get the medication into the patient’s hands within 24-to-48 hours,” said Maja Gibbons, PharmD, an oncology pharmacy specialist with Corewell Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Facilitating quick access is one key goal of the program, said YesRx co-founder and chief medical officer Emily Mackler, PharmD, who led the recent analysis. “All the things we’re trying to do are to make sure that the patient doesn’t experience those gaps that can really be critical for their outcomes,” Mackler this news organization.
The drug repository concept has been around for decades. While there is no federal program, 29 states have general drug repository programs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
One of the oldest repositories, Iowa’s SafeNetRx, which started in 2001, reports that it has given free medications worth $155 million to almost 161,000 patients. SafeNetRx also began a partnership with state cancer centers to boost oral anticancer drug donations. From 2016 to 2022, the repository donated 84,000 chemotherapy doses worth $15 million to patients in need, reported Natalie K. Heater and colleagues at Northwestern University in Health Affairs Scholar.
In addition to Iowa, four other states have cancer drug repositories: Florida, Montana, Nebraska, and Michigan.
Michigan enacted a drug repository law in 2006, but YesRx did not start until 2023. The Michigan Oncology Quality Consortium, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Trinity Health, and the Michigan Society of Hematology and Oncology provided funding to get YesRx off the ground. YesRx, which grew from nine sites in 2023 to 105 in July 2025, helps new sites get certified as a repository by the state.
The program accepts donations of any room-temperature oral cancer or supportive care medication that is in its original, sealed manufacturer packaging and has at least 6 months before it expires. Controlled substances are not eligible, but medications such as anticoagulants and antiemetics are. Donations are sent by overnight delivery to Trinity Pharmacy at Reichert Health. Trinity receives and inspects donations, and redispenses medications for all YesRx participants.
Nearly 1600 people have donated oral cancer medications, valued at $28.6 million, according to the 2-year look at the program. “I am blown away by how many donations come in,” Mackler this news organization.
In the first 24 months, 1171 patients received, on average, a 1-month supply of a medication worth $18.4 million, at no cost. Slightly more than half (53%) were age 65 or older. The most common diagnoses among recipients were breast cancer (28%), leukemia (18%), lung cancer (12%), and prostate cancer (9%).
A survey about the program revealed that recipients spanned about 90% of Michigan counties, with around 40% living in rural areas. Survey respondents highlighted the value of YesRx, with most saying it was easy to use and that they could not have provided this assistance without support from the program.
“YesRx can kind of swoop in,” said Winegarden. When a new prescription presents an issue for a patient, Winegarden checks if YesRx has a 30-day supply of the drug. If it does, patients “can get started on their treatment while we figure out the financial piece of it.”
Gibbons connects with patients in need through oncologists and financial navigators, as well as education sessions she runs for patients starting treatment. The Corewell location in Grand Rapids also holds “YesRx Donation Days,” when patients and caregivers can drop off medications.
In just over a year, Corewell has provided “more than half a million dollars’ worth of medication to our cancer patients,” she said. “It’s just a large relief for patients to know that this is going to be able to help someone else out,” said Gibbons.
Many of the cancer drugs “can be challenging for patients to get rid of,” Gibbons said. YesRx “is helping make sure that these medications don’t end up in things like landfills and water systems where they should not be.”
Mackler says she has big plans for expanding access. Next on the agenda is to enlist more practices in rural areas, especially in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
“We want to be accessible to anyone in the state with cancer,” said Mackler. “We would love to be able to help other states get to this point as well.”
Winegarden and Gibbons have reported no relevant financial relationships.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
Jerome Winegarden, MD, had bad news to deliver. A patient’s cancer was progressing, and the patient would need to stop his oral cancer medication.
That would normally mean tossing a 30-day supply of pills, said Winegarden, an oncologist with Trinity Health, a statewide health system in Michigan.
But not in this case.
Winegarden pointed to a sign on his exam room wall from YesRx, a nonprofit cancer drug repository program, that read: “Thank you, Michiganders! Donating cancer medication and supportive medication helps patients in Michigan.”
When Winegarden suggested donating the pills to YesRx, the patient was grateful. Turning a bad situation into hope for somebody else is “very powerful for patients,” Winegarden said. “We were going to be able to do something with [the medication], not just destroy it.”
In just 2 years of operation, YesRx has accepted donations and provided oral cancer or supportive care medications worth millions of dollars to nearly 1200 patients, at no cost to them, according to a recent analysis assessing the Michigan-based program. These patients couldn’t afford their prescribed medications or required immediate access and couldn’t wait for insurance approval, the researchers reported. The donated unopened or unused medications would otherwise have been wasted.
“This program is exactly what patients need: a safe way of recycling their unused prescriptions that actually benefits others with cancer,” said Fumiko Chino, MD, associate professor at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, in a statement on YesRx.
Filling a Need
A growing body of research shows that patients with cancer face an increased risk for financial toxicity, given the high costs of oral cancer drugs as well as changes to insurance coverage that may require greater cost sharing by the patient. The financial burden on patients can be significant, with more than half reporting trouble affording their medications, an issue that can lead to persistent medical debt as well as gaps or delays in care that may impact patient outcomes.
Alongside the affordability problem is one of waste. A 2023 analysis found that the mean cost of drug waste associated with dose reductions or discontinuations of oral anticancer drugs came to $4290 per patient.
The YesRx program, however, turns that negative into a positive.
If YesRx has a relevant drug in stock, “we can get the medication into the patient’s hands within 24-to-48 hours,” said Maja Gibbons, PharmD, an oncology pharmacy specialist with Corewell Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Facilitating quick access is one key goal of the program, said YesRx co-founder and chief medical officer Emily Mackler, PharmD, who led the recent analysis. “All the things we’re trying to do are to make sure that the patient doesn’t experience those gaps that can really be critical for their outcomes,” Mackler this news organization.
The drug repository concept has been around for decades. While there is no federal program, 29 states have general drug repository programs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
One of the oldest repositories, Iowa’s SafeNetRx, which started in 2001, reports that it has given free medications worth $155 million to almost 161,000 patients. SafeNetRx also began a partnership with state cancer centers to boost oral anticancer drug donations. From 2016 to 2022, the repository donated 84,000 chemotherapy doses worth $15 million to patients in need, reported Natalie K. Heater and colleagues at Northwestern University in Health Affairs Scholar.
In addition to Iowa, four other states have cancer drug repositories: Florida, Montana, Nebraska, and Michigan.
Michigan enacted a drug repository law in 2006, but YesRx did not start until 2023. The Michigan Oncology Quality Consortium, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Trinity Health, and the Michigan Society of Hematology and Oncology provided funding to get YesRx off the ground. YesRx, which grew from nine sites in 2023 to 105 in July 2025, helps new sites get certified as a repository by the state.
The program accepts donations of any room-temperature oral cancer or supportive care medication that is in its original, sealed manufacturer packaging and has at least 6 months before it expires. Controlled substances are not eligible, but medications such as anticoagulants and antiemetics are. Donations are sent by overnight delivery to Trinity Pharmacy at Reichert Health. Trinity receives and inspects donations, and redispenses medications for all YesRx participants.
Nearly 1600 people have donated oral cancer medications, valued at $28.6 million, according to the 2-year look at the program. “I am blown away by how many donations come in,” Mackler this news organization.
In the first 24 months, 1171 patients received, on average, a 1-month supply of a medication worth $18.4 million, at no cost. Slightly more than half (53%) were age 65 or older. The most common diagnoses among recipients were breast cancer (28%), leukemia (18%), lung cancer (12%), and prostate cancer (9%).
A survey about the program revealed that recipients spanned about 90% of Michigan counties, with around 40% living in rural areas. Survey respondents highlighted the value of YesRx, with most saying it was easy to use and that they could not have provided this assistance without support from the program.
“YesRx can kind of swoop in,” said Winegarden. When a new prescription presents an issue for a patient, Winegarden checks if YesRx has a 30-day supply of the drug. If it does, patients “can get started on their treatment while we figure out the financial piece of it.”
Gibbons connects with patients in need through oncologists and financial navigators, as well as education sessions she runs for patients starting treatment. The Corewell location in Grand Rapids also holds “YesRx Donation Days,” when patients and caregivers can drop off medications.
In just over a year, Corewell has provided “more than half a million dollars’ worth of medication to our cancer patients,” she said. “It’s just a large relief for patients to know that this is going to be able to help someone else out,” said Gibbons.
Many of the cancer drugs “can be challenging for patients to get rid of,” Gibbons said. YesRx “is helping make sure that these medications don’t end up in things like landfills and water systems where they should not be.”
Mackler says she has big plans for expanding access. Next on the agenda is to enlist more practices in rural areas, especially in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
“We want to be accessible to anyone in the state with cancer,” said Mackler. “We would love to be able to help other states get to this point as well.”
Winegarden and Gibbons have reported no relevant financial relationships.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
Jerome Winegarden, MD, had bad news to deliver. A patient’s cancer was progressing, and the patient would need to stop his oral cancer medication.
That would normally mean tossing a 30-day supply of pills, said Winegarden, an oncologist with Trinity Health, a statewide health system in Michigan.
But not in this case.
Winegarden pointed to a sign on his exam room wall from YesRx, a nonprofit cancer drug repository program, that read: “Thank you, Michiganders! Donating cancer medication and supportive medication helps patients in Michigan.”
When Winegarden suggested donating the pills to YesRx, the patient was grateful. Turning a bad situation into hope for somebody else is “very powerful for patients,” Winegarden said. “We were going to be able to do something with [the medication], not just destroy it.”
In just 2 years of operation, YesRx has accepted donations and provided oral cancer or supportive care medications worth millions of dollars to nearly 1200 patients, at no cost to them, according to a recent analysis assessing the Michigan-based program. These patients couldn’t afford their prescribed medications or required immediate access and couldn’t wait for insurance approval, the researchers reported. The donated unopened or unused medications would otherwise have been wasted.
“This program is exactly what patients need: a safe way of recycling their unused prescriptions that actually benefits others with cancer,” said Fumiko Chino, MD, associate professor at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, in a statement on YesRx.
Filling a Need
A growing body of research shows that patients with cancer face an increased risk for financial toxicity, given the high costs of oral cancer drugs as well as changes to insurance coverage that may require greater cost sharing by the patient. The financial burden on patients can be significant, with more than half reporting trouble affording their medications, an issue that can lead to persistent medical debt as well as gaps or delays in care that may impact patient outcomes.
Alongside the affordability problem is one of waste. A 2023 analysis found that the mean cost of drug waste associated with dose reductions or discontinuations of oral anticancer drugs came to $4290 per patient.
The YesRx program, however, turns that negative into a positive.
If YesRx has a relevant drug in stock, “we can get the medication into the patient’s hands within 24-to-48 hours,” said Maja Gibbons, PharmD, an oncology pharmacy specialist with Corewell Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Facilitating quick access is one key goal of the program, said YesRx co-founder and chief medical officer Emily Mackler, PharmD, who led the recent analysis. “All the things we’re trying to do are to make sure that the patient doesn’t experience those gaps that can really be critical for their outcomes,” Mackler this news organization.
The drug repository concept has been around for decades. While there is no federal program, 29 states have general drug repository programs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
One of the oldest repositories, Iowa’s SafeNetRx, which started in 2001, reports that it has given free medications worth $155 million to almost 161,000 patients. SafeNetRx also began a partnership with state cancer centers to boost oral anticancer drug donations. From 2016 to 2022, the repository donated 84,000 chemotherapy doses worth $15 million to patients in need, reported Natalie K. Heater and colleagues at Northwestern University in Health Affairs Scholar.
In addition to Iowa, four other states have cancer drug repositories: Florida, Montana, Nebraska, and Michigan.
Michigan enacted a drug repository law in 2006, but YesRx did not start until 2023. The Michigan Oncology Quality Consortium, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Trinity Health, and the Michigan Society of Hematology and Oncology provided funding to get YesRx off the ground. YesRx, which grew from nine sites in 2023 to 105 in July 2025, helps new sites get certified as a repository by the state.
The program accepts donations of any room-temperature oral cancer or supportive care medication that is in its original, sealed manufacturer packaging and has at least 6 months before it expires. Controlled substances are not eligible, but medications such as anticoagulants and antiemetics are. Donations are sent by overnight delivery to Trinity Pharmacy at Reichert Health. Trinity receives and inspects donations, and redispenses medications for all YesRx participants.
Nearly 1600 people have donated oral cancer medications, valued at $28.6 million, according to the 2-year look at the program. “I am blown away by how many donations come in,” Mackler this news organization.
In the first 24 months, 1171 patients received, on average, a 1-month supply of a medication worth $18.4 million, at no cost. Slightly more than half (53%) were age 65 or older. The most common diagnoses among recipients were breast cancer (28%), leukemia (18%), lung cancer (12%), and prostate cancer (9%).
A survey about the program revealed that recipients spanned about 90% of Michigan counties, with around 40% living in rural areas. Survey respondents highlighted the value of YesRx, with most saying it was easy to use and that they could not have provided this assistance without support from the program.
“YesRx can kind of swoop in,” said Winegarden. When a new prescription presents an issue for a patient, Winegarden checks if YesRx has a 30-day supply of the drug. If it does, patients “can get started on their treatment while we figure out the financial piece of it.”
Gibbons connects with patients in need through oncologists and financial navigators, as well as education sessions she runs for patients starting treatment. The Corewell location in Grand Rapids also holds “YesRx Donation Days,” when patients and caregivers can drop off medications.
In just over a year, Corewell has provided “more than half a million dollars’ worth of medication to our cancer patients,” she said. “It’s just a large relief for patients to know that this is going to be able to help someone else out,” said Gibbons.
Many of the cancer drugs “can be challenging for patients to get rid of,” Gibbons said. YesRx “is helping make sure that these medications don’t end up in things like landfills and water systems where they should not be.”
Mackler says she has big plans for expanding access. Next on the agenda is to enlist more practices in rural areas, especially in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
“We want to be accessible to anyone in the state with cancer,” said Mackler. “We would love to be able to help other states get to this point as well.”
Winegarden and Gibbons have reported no relevant financial relationships.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.