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A Cancer Survivor

Here’s a story that shows how our community helps people with cancer treatments, even when the victims have little or no insurance.

Dodie Baker, a 52-year-old stay-at-home mother of two from Rushville, discovered a lump in her breast last October. She feared the worst, although there was no history of breast cancer in her family. She had no insurance.

A friend referred her to Thompson Hospital where she received Mary Corwin’s name. Corwin, a registered nurse with the Yates County Public Health Department, is a case manager for the Cancer Services Partnership of Ontario, Seneca and Yates Counties. The organization provides breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screenings free of charge to men and women who meet program eligibility.

Corwin went to Dodie’s home and helped her with the paperwork for insurance. She made all of Dodie’s initial appointments, and encouraged her and the doctors to complete the diagnosis and subsequent treatment quickly. The day after Dodie’s screening at Family Planning Services in Penn Yan, she had a mammogram and sonogram at Soldiers and Sailors Hospital, followed by a biopsy a few days later at Geneva General.

It was cancer.

Mary Corwin set up an appointment with a surgeon to discuss Dodie’s options, and a mastectomy was performed at Clifton Springs on November 5. When the oncologist there did not accept Dodie’s insurance, Corwin was there for Dodie again. The Interlakes Oncologists at the Sands Cancer Center would accept her insurance, Corwin told her, and she set up an appointment for her right away. Dodie is now undergoing chemotherapy there. 

Corwin applied and received grant money, which paid for Dodie’s prosthesis, through the Komen Foundation to the S2AY Rural Health Network.

“It has been comforting to have people who understand the process guiding us, and to have this kind of support when we’re going through a difficult time,” Dodie says. “The services were provided in such a personal, caring manner. Mary takes the burden off our shoulders.”

She added: “Spread the awareness of the program to women before they have cancer. Make sure all the people who have been through the program talk it up.”

If you or a loved one feel a lump, or are a woman over 40 or a man over 50 with little or no health insurance, call the Cancer Services Partnership toll free at 866-422-CANCER (866-442-2262). They provide free breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screenings.

If you need help with breast cancer expenses or costs in Ontario, Seneca or Yates Counties, call 800-299-2995 or visit www.s2aynetwork.org for more information.

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