Success Stories
Survivor’s Bell at the Hulston Cancer Center.
Judy Veillon shares her story of fighting cancer and the bell she donated to give cancer patients a way to “ring” out the joy of being a survivor.
Bambi Yoast
A faithful patient, Bambi Yoast has received a mammogram every year since turning 40. She believes in preventative care after losing her mother to cervical cancer at 39.
It was time for her visit again and she was worried because she was having a lot of pain in her left breast. Then her dad had a stroke and her health had to wait.
Sadly Bambi’s father died, her husband was laid off from his job and the insurance that paid for her annual mammogram was gone. Fear began to compound with the pain she continued to feel. She worried-#1 do I have cancer and #2 how do I pay for this.
Bambi decided her health was too important to wait. She scheduled her mammogram and decided she would figure out the finances later. After a biopsy was completed, it was determined she did have cysts, but thankfully, they were benign.
Through it all Bambi remained positive. She had hardships from her husband’s job loss, the medical bills and compounding it all was her need to help pay for her father’s funeral. At the CoxHealth Breast Care Clinic she was offered an application for the Breast Care Fund at the CoxHealth Foundation. She filled it out and learned in a few days that she had been approved for a $1,500 grant.
Bambi says, “I sat down and cried more the day I got the grant then when they told me it was benign. Things kept coming at me and coming at me and I just couldn’t take much more. I can’t express how much the grant meant to me and there are real people out there that care.”
Bambi is doing well and is an advocate for all women- She says, “Get your mammogram, they do save lives.”
Kelly Smith
Kelly has a lot on her plate. Her kidney disease has progressed and she’s scheduled for a transplant. Due to other health issues, she had to have a hysterectomy. If that wasn’t enough, she found a lump in her breast.
Concerned, Kelly acted fast and went to the CoxHealth Breast Care Clinic for an ultrasound and a mammogram. The news wasn’t good right off the bat. The next step was a biopsy to determine if what doctors were seeing was cancer. When the news came back, she was overwhelmed. “It was just a huge relief, it wasn’t cancer,” says Kelly, “but now I had to figure out how to pay for all the tests.”
Due to Kelly’s kidney disease she had trouble getting insurance. The provider she has requires a very high deductible and an equally high premium payment. That meant thousands and thousands of dollars that Kelly would have to pay. “I was offered an application from the Breast Care Fund and they gave me a grant. I was just so grateful because I know I have alot more expenses coming with my kidney transplant.” A helping hand at a time when Kelly needed it most, the Breast Care Fund relieved one of the many burdens she faces. “It is just wonderful to have help and it took some of the fear away from all the other things still ahead.”
Tina Pierson
Thank you for making a difference in Tina Piersons’ life. Your generosity enabled her to receive important diagnostic tests through The Women’s Center Breast Care Fund.
“Had it not been for this fund. I would have had to put [my testing] off…The peace of mind it gave me was worth everything.”
Barbara Simmons
In 2007 Barbara Simmons felt a lump in her breast. Her mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000. She knew she had to have it check out, but Barbara had no insurance. Her husband works on a farm and his employer doesn’t provide coverage. This meant if the lump did turn out to be something serious, the expense would fall on her and her husband to pay out of their own pockets. Barbara says, “Not having money to cover medical bills is often overwhelming. I knew I had to get the lump checked so I called the Breast Care Clinic at Cox to find out what it was going to cost. My mom had actually heard of the Breast Care Fund and told me to ask.”
Barbara asked and received an answer. Yes, we can help. The Breast Care Fund paid for her diagnostics and biopsy. The lump she felt turned out not to be serious. Barbara says, “I was so grateful it was not serious and equally grateful that I didn’t have a huge bill that would have hurt my ability to take care of my family. You can’t imagine the stress this took off me to be healthy and still be financially stable.”
Virginia Williams
Thank you for making a difference in Virginia Williams’ life. Your generosity enabled her to receive important diagnostic tests through The Women’s Center Breast Care Fund.
With continued annual mammograms, regular breast self-exams and clinical breast exams. Virginia can enjoy her life and know she’s doing everything she can to protect her health.
Alice Bass
Alice Bass decided to go back to school to receive her Associates Degree. One day she began to feel very ill. A fellow student who knew about symptoms she’d been having, went to his car and brought back his father’s blood glucose meter. Alice’s sugar level tested 485. Completely shocked, Alice sought immediate assistance.
At a free clinic in Springfield Alice had a test called an A1C. This tests blood sugar. A patient should have a number 6, but Alice’s blood read 10.8. She was told she had diabetes. Scared and confused, but also determined to learn everything she could about this disease, Alice was referred to the Diabetes Center at CoxHealth. Within days, Alice was signed up to attend a two-day education class and received a blood sugar monitor. The class and the monitor were paid by the Diabetes Education Fund at CoxHealth.
“This class saved my life,” Alice says. “If the fund wasn’t there to pay for my class and my monitor, I could not have received the life saving information that I did. I felt so relieved when I was there. I learned so much in those few days. To have a nurse, a counselor and a dietician sit down with me and guide me through every last detail—it saved my life.”
Anne Barstead
Thank you for making a difference in Anne’s life. Your generosity enabled her to receive important diagnostic tests through The Women’s Center Breast Care Fund.
“I’ve got two kids. I’ve got friends and I’ve got a God to serve. And because I got help paying for the testing I needed, praise God. I’m here.”
