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Moss has now been cancer free almost 5 years. She recommends The Mammogram Program to other women because she wants them to know there is help available to pay for the screening.
Women Together, which is Saturday, Feb. 4, at The Foundation at Isothermal Community College, serves as a fundraiser for The Mammogram Program. The program pays for mammograms for uninsured women ages 45 and younger. The program is funded by Rutherford Hospital Foundation; Women Together is the largest fundraiser for the program. The Foundation’s goal is to provide screenings for 188 women.
Moss has her annual screenings paid for through the program.
“I probably wouldn’t be getting my mammograms if it wasn’t for this program,” she said. “There’s no way I could do it without it.” Moss is a breast cancer survivor. She received the news just after Christmas in 2006. At the time, she had insurance through her husband’s employer. After the company he worked for was sold to another industry, she learned she’d no longer have coverage.
“I had to pay $900 a month for COBRA to be able to have my treatments paid,” she said.
She had four treatments every three weeks. Her co-workers at Fatz in Forest City helped her financially, she said, taking up donations for her that she used to purchase a wig.
She hopes to be able to be insured again, but most insurances are very costly until she has been cancer free for five years.
“This is an awesome program,” she said of the Mammogram Program. “It’s been a very organized process and everyone has been so polite – they make you feel really comfortable.”
Moss learned about the program through Rutherford Regional’s Cancer Resource Center. She now refers other who’ve faced a cancer diagnosis to the center.
“I want people to know there are programs available and to take advantage of them,” she said.
“Each year we try to offer an event that appeals to area women,” said Jill Miracle, executive director of Rutherford Hospital Foundation. “Our theme has been ‘Living, Loving and Laughing.’ This year, we are fortunate to have Christian comedienne Chonda Pierce as our guest entertainer. We have been thrilled with the response.”
Also included in this year’s event is The Button Chair, an interactive educational breast cancer exhibit provided by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation. The event also features a luncheon with cheesecake buffet by Cheesecake Bliss, however, the lunch is sold out.
“Proceeds from the luncheon and the show will be used for mammograms. We are grateful to our sponsors for their support,” Miracle said.
Tickets for Pierce’s performance, which cost $27, may be purchased by calling the box office at Isothermal at 828-286-9990. Group pricing is available.
Article and photo furnished by: Allison Flynn, Marketing Assistant Rutherford Regional Health System
