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For people facing cancer, the medical diagnosis is only the beginning of a much larger challenge. Treatment can bring unexpected expenses, transportation problems, time away from work, insurance concerns and emotional stress. In Abilene and across West Central Texas, Cancer Services Network has spent nearly three decades helping patients and their families navigate those challenges.
Founded in 1998, Cancer Services Network (CSN) began with a simple but important realization: cancer patients needed help not only receiving medical treatment, but also overcoming the practical and financial obstacles that could prevent them from getting that treatment in the first place. Abilene oncologist Dr. Victor Hirsch saw that many patients were struggling to get to and through cancer treatment. He and his wife Sherry, reached out to members of the community for help, Billye Proctor Shaw, Mr. & Mrs. Jim Aneff, Marianna Rasco, Suzie Shahan, and others, and CSN was founded. Since then, the organization has helped more than 10,000 cancer patients, averaging about 400 cancer patients each year and about 30 new referrals monthly.
A Community Response to an Overwhelming Diagnosis
The idea behind Cancer Services Network is that cancer care extends far beyond a doctor’s office or treatment center.
Patients may have access to medical care but still face difficult questions: How will I get to doctor’s appointment? How will I pay for a prescription? What happens if I cannot work, and my utility bill is due?
CSN was created to help answer those questions.
The organization aids in areas such as prescriptions, transportation, nutritional supplements, medical equipment and supplies, wigs and prostheses, utilities and emergency financial needs. It also provides advocacy, education, referrals and emotional, social and spiritual support. The goal is to remove some of the barriers that can make it harder for patients to stay on their treatment plans.
That mission has also expanded geographically. Cancer Services Network serves residents in 19 counties throughout West Central Texas: Brown, Callahan, Coleman, Comanche, Eastland, Fisher, Haskell, Jones, Kent, Knox, Mitchell, Nolan, Runnels, Scurry, Shackelford, Stephens, Stonewall, Taylor and Throckmorton counties. Patients can qualify for assistance even if they receive their cancer treatment outside the immediate Abilene area.
Nearly 30 Years of Growth
What started as a community effort in 1998 has developed into an established nonprofit resource for cancer patients throughout the Big Country.
CSN’s work has focused on people who need practical assistance while dealing with cancer, particularly those who may have limited financial resources. The organization also operates within a larger network of cancer-care providers and community resources. Abilene has several medical facilities providing cancer treatment, including Hendrick Cancer Center and Texas Oncology-Abilene. CSN’s role is different but complementary: it helps address the everyday financial and practical problems that can make cancer treatment more difficult.
The organization also recognizes that caregivers and families are affected by cancer. Its programs include resources for caregivers and referrals to additional services, reinforcing the idea that cancer treatment is not an experience faced by patients alone.
A Significant 2026
For Cancer Services Network, 2026 has been a year of community involvement, fundraising and expanding awareness of the needs faced by cancer patients. The new Executive Director, Amber McKinney, continues to share the story, mission, and passion that the founders started in 1998.
One of the organization’s major annual events is the Fur, Fowl and Fin fundraiser, held every June in Abilene. The 2026 event featured a menu including bison, elk, steak and salmon, live music from the Mulberry Canyon Band and, for the first time, a VIP section. Fundraising events such as this are important because CSN provides its services to patients at no cost, making community donations and sponsorships essential to maintaining those programs.
Amber and Teah Sharp, the new Program Director, also highlighted an increase in its pediatric caseload from recent years. Together they saw a need and development that is particularly significant because a child’s cancer diagnosis can affect an entire household. It creates financial, transportation and emotional challenges for parents and caregivers in addition to the medical needs of the child. This year the team partnered with Roc Solid and are now able to provide playgrounds for children with cancer.
CSN’s 2026 community fundraising efforts have also emphasized the broad impact of its services. The organization says that, for some patients, CSN is their primary source of support during cancer treatment.
Looking Toward the Future
As Cancer Services Network looks beyond 2026, its greatest opportunity may be continuing to expand the number of people who know the organization exists and can turn to it for help.
The need is substantial. Cancer treatment can create economic pressure even for families who were financially stable before a diagnosis. For people living in smaller communities across West Central Texas, transportation and access to resources can add another layer of difficulty.
CSN’s future growth depends heavily on maintaining strong relationships with donors, volunteers, medical providers, community organizations and local businesses. The organization already encourages community members to participate through donations, volunteering, event sponsorships and third-party fundraisers.
Another important area for continued growth is awareness. CSN served a large 19-county region, reaching patients outside the Abilene area was essential. The team and Board of Directors saw the need and focuses on assisting everybody they can. Therefore, a comprehensive multi-year expansion plan for the years following is a goal for the team.
In September 2026, CSN announced they will begin developing relationships and servicing clients in 24 counties, adding Hamilton, Lampasas, McCulloch, Mills, and San Saba.
What is clear from its current work and the CSN staff is that they intend to continue strengthening the support network available to cancer patients and families, while relying on community partnerships to sustain that mission, and keep the mission that their legacies envisioned.
A Mission That Started with One Simple Need
Nearly 30 years after Dr. Victor Hirsch recognized that cancer patients needed help getting through treatment, the fundamental purpose of Cancer Services Network remains much the same: make the cancer journey a little less overwhelming.
The organization cannot eliminate a cancer diagnosis, replace medical treatment or make the uncertainty of cancer disappear. What it can do is help remove some of the obstacles surrounding treatment.
For a patient who needs transportation financial reimbursement, help paying for medication, nutritional support, that help can be more than financial. It can mean being able to continue treatment. It can mean one less bill to worry about. And it can mean knowing that the community has not forgotten about them.
As Cancer Services Network moves through 2026 and prepares for the years ahead, its history offers a clear lesson: what began as one physician recognizing a community need has grown into a regional network of support that has touched thousands of lives and helping our neighbors.
The future of Cancer Services Network will ultimately depend on the same thing that helped create it nearly three decades ago — a community willing to recognize a need and come together to meet it.
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