Cancer Care

Cancer survivors know all too well how important a screening is.

Caroline Love met a woman who conquered breast cancer, but her screening for the disease almost didn’t happen.

For Ellyn Reid, it wasn’t a convenient time for cancer.

In 2006, she had just been through a divorce and was raising two children.

Reid was in school, trying to pass nuclear physics and she didn’t have health insurance.

“It’s really hard to think sometime I really was sick, I really had breast cancer,” Reid said.

The memory of that diagnosis is strong at Tuesday’s announcement for the expansion of breast and cervical cancer screenings.

A similar program helped Reid.

During her treatment, Reid opted for a mastectomy.

“That was not difficult for me at all that process but chemo on the other hand I really did not want to have chemo,” Reid said. “You know it was tough there were days that I didn’t feel good.”

Reid says cancer was the last thing she thought she could handle and says a higher power got her through it, “My faith is very strong and I remember sitting in that same waiting room and complete peace came over me.”

Today, Reid works as a patient coordinator at the Palmetto Health Baptist Breast Center. Her sense of humor is helping others through the same tough times she survived.

Through the Best Chance Network, low-income and uninsured women can receive breast and cervical cancer screenings.

You are eligible for the program if you are at or below 200 percent of the poverty level. You also need to be between ages 40 and 64 and be uninsured.

Source : www.wach.com