National Cancer Center shelter for young cancer patients recognized as top innovation case

The National Cancer Center (NCC)’s shelter for pediatric and adolescent cancer patients has been selected as an outstanding government innovation case.

The NCC announced on Friday that it received an Excellence Award in the “Participation and Communication Innovation Category: Creating Together with the People” at the “2025 Government Innovation Excellence Case Competition” hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare for its operation of “La Famille House.”

The NCC cited the operation of La Famille House as the core achievement behind this award.

La Famille House, which means “family” in French, is a shelter for adolescent cancer patients and their families. Noting the reality that patients and families traveling long distances from the provinces for treatment face burdensome lodging costs and emotional difficulties, the NCC opened La Famille House in January 2024. It provides practical care support, including free lodging for up to six weeks and complimentary psychological and emotional recovery programs.

The NCC said that this initiative alleviated about 55 million won ($38,980) in annual financial burdens for patients and caregivers, while also reducing anxiety and tension during treatment. Furthermore, La Famille House has positioned itself as a platform that goes beyond simply providing lodging to offer psychological and social support, thereby positively contributing to treatment continuity, it added.

“La Famille House is a representative example of the National Cancer Center fulfilling its social responsibility as a public medical institution,” NCC President Yang Han-kwang said. “We hope it becomes a reliable haven where patients and their families can nurture new hope even during the difficult treatment process.”