Finding a cure now...so our daughters won't have to.

Posts Tagged ‘doctor’

Shopping Resources for Breast Cancer Patients

Posted By on January 4th, 2011 at 9:02 am | 6 comments.

One of the most commonly-requested items here at the PA Breast Cancer Coalition is a list of shops and boutiques across the state that sell wigs, prostheses, and other breast cancer-related items.   For many women who have been newly-diagnosed, this is one of their first questions.

We currently have a list of about 20 boutiques, shops, salons and websites that sell various products geared toward cancer survivors.  They are located from Allison Park to Abington, from Latrobe to Lancaster, and beyond!

If you know of a boutique or shop in PA (or a website with an online store) that sells mastectomy products and/or wigs, please comment below with the name of the company or its website and we’ll investigate it.   If it meets our criteria, it’ll be added to our resource list.

The more we have on our list, the better the chances that one of these shops will be within driving distance of each woman who needs to purchase something!  Thanks for sharing your finds with the 103,000 women in Pennsylvania battling breast cancer!

Insurance Guidebook Saved Breast Cancer Patient $10,000

Posted By on December 17th, 2010 at 10:10 am | 2 comments.

When a newly-diagnosed women or a friend orders one of our FREE Friends Like Me care packages, he or she may request a phone call from our Patient Advocate (that’d be me). We have often thought that the contents of the package may answer many of her questions, so we allow some time for her to receive and review it before I call. This week we learned just how true that is.

I called a woman in Wayne County who received her package after Thanksgiving. She is quite an advocate in her own path to treatment and recovery. She has been researching prescription assistance programs and other community resources. When we were just about to end our conversation, she mentioned that part of her education was to read our insurance guidebook Breast Cancer: Covered or Not?, which was included in her Friends Like Me care package.

Of particular interest to her was the information on pages 102 and 103 about checking for hospital billing mistakes. So she took out her stack of mounting medical bills and sure enough…there was a double billing mistake to the tune of $10,000!

Her hospital acknowledges the mistake and is working to correct it. When she said “Your organization has already saved me $10,000,” it really made our day.

If you or someone you know can use advice in relation to breast cancer treatment and insurance, order your FREE copy of Breast Cancer: Covered or Not? today!  You can also request a Friends Like Me care package be sent to a recently diagnosed woman in Pennsylvania!

We Love Thank You Notes!

Posted By on November 17th, 2010 at 8:48 am | 0 comments.

The 2010 PBCC Annual Conference is history!  But thank you notes and emails are still coming into the PBCC office.   Many of these are from women and men all across the state who were given financial assistance to attend the conference in Harrisburg on October 13th.   The PBCC offers various levels of grants and scholarships to applicants who otherwise would not be able to attend this inspirational and educational event.
This year, through the generosity of donors to the Cary Massa Memorial Scholarship Fund, the PBCC was able to provide assistance to 35 women and men all across the state and beyond – a record number!

One scholarship recipient wrote:

To all who donate to the Cary Massa Memorial Scholarship Fund,
The very thought of cancer leaves one in a state of fear. You get so lost in deep concerns and issues faster than you can take a breath to consume the news. You begin to lay your options out to try to cope. People like yourself come into your life. Caring, unknown strangers opening their hearts and offering the help we so desperately need…knowledge, hope, facts, and most of all choices. Thanks to you, I will have this helpful information offered to me. I am extremely grateful for that. Without your help I would not have been able to attend.

Patty
Erie, PA

Another said:

Please extend my sincere thank you to the friends and family of Cary for the gift. The scholarship represents a very fitting way to honor a dear friend and volunteer to the PBCC. What a lovely way for Cary to be a woman who continues to help other women breast cancer patients/survivors.

Cora Lee
State College, PA

And a nursing professor at Towson University, 9 of whose students received scholarships, wrote:

Please accept my heartfelt thanks for providing scholarships for my Towson University nursing students. They were totally impressed with the event, collegiality, networking and opportunities to learn more about breast cancer. It was indeed a class act of a professional conference, as I also gained much needed valuable information and knowledge as an educator.

Janet
Hagerstown, MD

Please consider contributing to the scholarship fund to help women and men attend future PBCC conferences.  We cannot do this work without your support.  The PBCC and all the recipients thank you!