San Antonio-area cancer patients often face a quiet second battle alongside their diagnosis: figuring out how to pay rent, keep the lights on, or get a ride to chemotherapy. On November 13, a wine-and-dinner fundraiser called Uncork to Support is aiming to help close that gap, with proceeds going directly toward covering those everyday expenses for patients and their families.
The sixth annual event is put on by the Texas Oncology Foundation, which says it helps San Antonio-area cancer patients cover costs like rent, mortgage payments, utilities and transportation to treatment, according to KSAT. This year's theme is Wine and Wonder, and guests are expected to enjoy an evening of dinner, live music, wine tastings and a live auction, with Texas Fine Wines providing the pours for the night.
The foundation runs a Patient Financial Assistance program that it says provides funds for living expenses for eligible cancer patients, according to Texas Oncology Foundation. To qualify, applicants must have a cancer diagnosis documented by a licensed medical provider and be receiving cancer treatment at the time they apply, the foundation says. Qualifying treatment includes anti-cancer drug therapy and radiation therapy underway when the application is submitted.
Funds Stay Local, But Availability Varies
Not every eligible patient is guaranteed help. The foundation notes that funds are limited, and the availability of grant monies may vary based on how much has been raised within a particular community — meaning events like San Antonio's directly shape how much assistance is on hand locally. The foundation is hosting similar Uncork to Support events throughout Texas this fall, part of a broader push described on its website.
Money raised stays close to home. The organization says donations to Texas Oncology Foundation stay local, allowing contributions to directly benefit cancer patients and families within the donor's own community. For San Antonio, that means ticket sales and auction bids from the November 13 event are intended to flow back into assistance for patients in the area rather than a statewide general fund.
Tickets, Timing and the Live Auction
The San Antonio gala runs from 6:30 to 10 p.m., according to a listing from News 4 San Antonio. Tickets are priced at $150 for one, $275 for two, or $1,100 for a table of eight. The event's live auction will feature donations from local businesses, according to KSAT, giving guests a chance to bid on items while supporting the cause in real time.
Those who can't attend in person still have a window to participate. The station's listing notes that an online auction runs separately from the gala, opening Monday, November 9 at noon CDT and closing Friday, November 13 at 8:30 p.m. CDT — giving remote bidders several days to compete for items before the in-person event wraps up that same evening.
The Broader Financial Toll of Cancer
The financial strain driving events like Uncork to Support is not unique to San Antonio. A 2025 study found that among 13,626 cancer survivors surveyed, 4,623 — or 34.2% — reported medical financial hardship, according to ascopubs.org. Survivors who reported that hardship were significantly more likely to also report health-related social needs than those without financial hardship, the research notes, underscoring the kind of day-to-day struggles the foundation's assistance program is meant to address.
KSAT's coverage of the event aired as part of its SA Live segment and included a disclosure that the video was a sponsored placement: the advertiser paid a fee to promote it and may have influenced or authored its content, with the station noting that the views expressed are those of the advertiser and do not necessarily reflect KSAT or its affiliated companies.
