It’s that unforgettable visit to the doctor’s office.
“You have cancer.”
For so many, the next concern becomes the cost of treatment.
Partners for Breast Cancer Care tells FOX 4 that the average round of chemotherapy can cost around $9,500 per treatment.
That’s why the organization steps up and steps in to help provide care.
“My world stopped for a moment, and my daughter came to my mind.”
Marlena Cormier is a client of the organization. She remembers the day her doctor diagnosed with her breast cancer.
“In my brain…this could never happen to me. I was invincible.”
She recently started her fight with the disease after being diagnosed in May of this year.
Cormier says it wasn’t just her health that had her worried - it was the cost.
“I had no medical insurance.”
That’s where Partners for Breast Cancer Cancer stepped in to help.
FOX 4 sat down with representatives of the organization.
Executive Director Janet Darnell, Board Member Lynn Smith and Marlena gathered within the organization’s headquarters to share their experiences. All of the women have been breast cancer patients at one point in time.
The organization works with over 100 providers throughout Southwest Florida, who then provide lowered rates for services.
Darnell says the reduced rate averages around $200 per patient. That’s significant considering the astronomical cost of treatment.
Funding for the breast health care through the organization comes through grants and donations.
“We’re the only organization that provides breast health care at no costs,” Darnell says.
She says they’ve used upwards of $2.5 million dollars to serve more than 10,000 patients in the last 12 years.
Board member Lynn Smith says the organization is expanding to serve Charlotte, Collier, Glades and Hendry County because it knows there are more women that need help.
“They’re sometimes embarrassed to ask for the help because they just feel less then,”
Smith tells FOX 4.
For Marlena, reaching out made her entire diagnosis slightly easier to maneuver.
“I’d be battling the devil if it weren’t for these women.”
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