Your gift to the Bon Secours St. Francis Foundation was the blessing on the other side of Jackie Gibbs’ frightening diagnosis. Even though she lacks insurance, her breast cancer was discovered and treated at the Pearlie Harris Center for Breast Health because of donors like you.

Jackie works full-time, but she lost insurance coverage when her husband Dean retired. She chooses to pay out of pocket for health care and has qualified for free mammograms the past two years. The latter discovered her breast cancer.

“That diagnosis is horrible,” says Jackie. “But money is always the concern when you don’t have insurance.”

Even as Jackie’s oncology navigator and care team were discussing her treatment plan, her mind was on her finances She actually didn’t know if she could afford to get well. She shared her concern with her navigator.

“When Dean and I went in there, my navigator said ‘This is not what we’re worrying about. We want to get you healed. I don’t want you to worry about finances. We’re going to take care of you.’”

“From that moment, I didn’t worry,” Jackie says. “It was like somebody saying, ‘You’re family now.’”

Fortunately, Jackie’s cancer hadn’t spread. She opted for a total bilateral mastectomy to reduce the likelihood of recurrence. Thanks to excellent follow-up care from Dean and daughters Tara and Holly, Jackie was soon back at work.

“St. Francis is a ministry to me, not a hospital,” she says. “Every single person there ministered to me and my husband. They never looked at me differently because I couldn’t pay. It wasn’t just one person that was loving, it was everyone.”