August Buddy Check

This month marks a milestone in Beverly Quimby's life: being told she is cancer free. It follows a year of uncertainly for the 72-year old who had found a lump in her breast.

Beverly Quimby of Old Forge says, "It was the size of a silver dollar then it started draining and bleeding and I had postponed it to that point because I didn't have insurance to cover it." But enough was enough. She went to Delta Medix--a breast cancer center in Scranton. Nurse practioner Sandy Jayne--here in silver-- gave a same day diagnosis through a series of tests.  Maryann Dougherty the office manager at Delta Medix says, "We will do a breast ultra sound and from there she will check everything with the radiologist and see if they have to take that next step and see the breast surgeon."

Which Beverly did. She states, "I knew I had to do it all alone."

She took a bus for visits to Delta and an oncologist. Her only child was in California, and medical bills were piling up. Her bright light came when she got financial help through the "Healthy Woman Program" which acts as a bridge to get money through the state's maternal and family services agency. Medicare had left her picking up 20 percent of the costs.

            Mary Pelka of the Maternal & Family Health Services says, "This does happen frequently for people who are old enough to be on Medicare but do not have the Part B insurance. They are eligible assuming their income meets income guidelines to come through the program."

And that was Beverly. Now--she sits back in her rocker having undergone a mastectomy and says the best medicine was taking each day as it came. And continuing to believe in that.