Survivor Stories
Kim Howell
McKees Rocks, Allegheny County
Her Diagnosis
I discovered a lump in my breast around the 1st of September 2007 and I knew immediately that it was bad.
I had no health insurance and called the American Cancer Society. They gave me a voucher for a mammogram which I took to Allegheny General Hospital. I had a mammogram and an ultrasound-guided needle biopsy. Two days later I met with the surgeon who told me I had infiltrating ductal carcinoma, and shewent through my options - mastectomy or lumpectomy - and talked about a battery of tests, including MRI. I told her I didn’t have insurance and didn’t know how I could have even the tests, let alone surgery.
Saving Grace
The hospital social worker spent some time with me going over various programs and, as hard as she tried, she couldn’t find anything that would help me. I sat there and cried. I decided I could live with the cancer in me and die from it, or find some way to make payment arrangements which would mean I’d lose my house. Then Carolyn, the surgeon’s nurse, came in to the room and handed me a piece paper with a phone number and the name Adagio* written on it and she said, “Call them. They will see that you are taken care of.”
Within seven days of contacting Adagio I was approved for the FREE Treatment Program for Breast Cancer (BCCPT), which has completely covered all my testing, blood work, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and will cover me for tamoxifen for the next five years. I was able to have treatment where I wanted, at the breast care center at Allegheny General Hospital. BCCPT has also allowed me to have the OncoTypeDX, an amazing test that measures risk of recurrence. The test indicated that I have a 30% chance of recurrence within 10 years.
Speaking Out to Help Others
The FREE Treatment for Breast Cancer Program allowed me to be positive because I wasn’t concerned about where I was going to get the money for all this. I was able to fight breast cancer with all my might without directing any energy to money issues.
My only concern has been that the social worker, who was genuinely trying to help me, did not know about BCCPT. Every surgeon’s office should know about this, and the professionals who diagnose the breast cancer in cities, towns, rural communities, everywhere. That’s why I agreed to speak at the PBCC’s FREE Treatment Program for Breast Cancer (BCCPT) Seminar. I would have never spoken in public before, but this experience has made me very passionate. I don’t want anyone to be afraid to go to the doctor or to feel that they are less important than people who have insurance. I want them to know that they matter, that they need to live, and that there are supportive people and this wonderful program to help them.
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McKees Rocks, Allegheny County
Her Diagnosis
I discovered a lump in my breast around the 1st of September 2007 and I knew immediately that it was bad.
I had no health insurance and called the American Cancer Society. They gave me a voucher for a mammogram which I took to Allegheny General Hospital. I had a mammogram and an ultrasound-guided needle biopsy. Two days later I met with the surgeon who told me I had infiltrating ductal carcinoma, and shewent through my options - mastectomy or lumpectomy - and talked about a battery of tests, including MRI. I told her I didn’t have insurance and didn’t know how I could have even the tests, let alone surgery.
Saving Grace
The hospital social worker spent some time with me going over various programs and, as hard as she tried, she couldn’t find anything that would help me. I sat there and cried. I decided I could live with the cancer in me and die from it, or find some way to make payment arrangements which would mean I’d lose my house. Then Carolyn, the surgeon’s nurse, came in to the room and handed me a piece paper with a phone number and the name Adagio* written on it and she said, “Call them. They will see that you are taken care of.”
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“I don’t want anyone to be afraid to go to the doctor or feel that they are less important than people who have insurance.” - Kim Howell |
Speaking Out to Help Others
The FREE Treatment for Breast Cancer Program allowed me to be positive because I wasn’t concerned about where I was going to get the money for all this. I was able to fight breast cancer with all my might without directing any energy to money issues.
My only concern has been that the social worker, who was genuinely trying to help me, did not know about BCCPT. Every surgeon’s office should know about this, and the professionals who diagnose the breast cancer in cities, towns, rural communities, everywhere. That’s why I agreed to speak at the PBCC’s FREE Treatment Program for Breast Cancer (BCCPT) Seminar. I would have never spoken in public before, but this experience has made me very passionate. I don’t want anyone to be afraid to go to the doctor or to feel that they are less important than people who have insurance. I want them to know that they matter, that they need to live, and that there are supportive people and this wonderful program to help them.
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