In this issue
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Vote now! VOICES photo and video contest

A celebration of survivorship and birthdays

Young Relayer helps raise more than $12,000 in honor of her brother

Local artist donates ArtPrize entry to American Cancer Society Hope Lodge

Common types of breast cancer

Notre Dame University researchers raise funds and awareness for ACS CAN

Linda Leibe: Health Care Reform is not an option
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Prostate Cancer Quiz

VOICES in the kitchen

Linda Leibe: Health Care Reform is not an option
Linda Leibe of Wixom, Michigan, is a 47-year-old divorced mother of two who was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer in 2004, and then again in 2006. As a commercial closing agent working in the mortgage field for three years, she did not realize the financial impact that cancer would have on her family.

Linda and her children were insured through her employer at the time of her diagnosis. She had to work through the entire cycle of treatment to maintain her insurance. A typical day began with chemotherapy in the morning, then work in the afternoon. When the national economic climate changed and the mortgage industry soured, she lost her job.

Her treatment cost $500 a month (which she was unable to pay without a job) and she was denied Social Security Disability Insurance in February. She currently receives unemployment benefits and free insurance through the Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program (BCCCP), which takes care of all her health needs.

Not only did Linda’s lack of insurance leave her vulnerable to medical debt, she also had to file bankruptcy because of her inability to pay the mounting day-to-day expense of food, shelter, and prescription costs.

“I need a job where the insurance is effective immediately, with no discrimination against pre-existing conditions,” Linda said. “Otherwise, I am at risk for losing my current insurance under BCCCP and having no insurance in the interim.”

Linda believes that if it was not for BCCCP coverage, her health and medical bills would continue to be a financial burden. She believes that health care reform is not an option. We need Action now, not later. To hear more stories like Linda’s, visit acscan.org/healthcare.