Joyce Carley-Skidd: From Cancer-Patient to DCF Volunteer

After living in Canada’s coldest region, surgical nurse Joyce Carley-Skidd was only too happy to emigrate to California’s Central Valley in 1986, and to the Coachella Valley six years later. She and her then-husband, a college business instructor, had indulged their wanderlust; they had lived in Papua New Guinea, Australia, and the frigid Yukon Territory.
But after 20 years of enjoying the desert, Joyce was diagnosed with breast cancer and her sunny world crashed. She had surgery and chemotherapy in 2006 and again for a recurrence in 2008. Thanks to a social worker at Eisenhower Medical Center, she heard about Desert Cancer Foundation and applied for assistance after her second diagnosis.
The assistance from the foundation, Joyce says, “basically saved my life and allowed me to have the treatment I needed without having to pile up all my [insurance] co-pays on credit cards.” Joyce, in turn, gave back by becoming one of Desert Cancer Foundation’s most dedicated volunteers, putting her medical expertise to work coding and preparing patients’ bills for payment.
She credits volunteering for helping her fight off “chemo brain,” a mental cloudiness that can be a side effect of chemotherapy. “Having to get up, put on my clothes and come in to work forced me to put my energy into something besides thinking about myself,” Joyce says. “Having a place to go and concentrating on learning how to process the bills really made a big difference. ”
Joyce retired from nursing in the mid-1990s and expanded her volunteering to include the Riverside County Mental Health Board, an advisory body to the county’s Department of Mental Health, and the local boards of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and Desert Star, a proposed affordable- housing community for people with mental health challenges.
The Canadian native has no plans to leave the Coachella Valley—“I love the blue sky and the sunshine,” she says. And luckily for the foundation, she intends to keep volunteering. “I enjoy it so much. It’s a wonderful feeling to be able to help others as I was helped.”
 

A True Success Story

Krystyna Rejniak is now cancer-free. She thanks her doctors and Desert Cancer Foundation.
Imagine being alone with uterine cancer and having no health insurance.
Krystyna’s diagnosis came through a routine check-up and she was scared. The doctor said, “Don’t worry. We will find you something. We will try Desert Cancer Foundation.”
The 59-year old thought the approval process for help and treatment would take months.
“But DCF approved me quickly,” she says. “And my surgery was done quickly with no complications. I didn’t need chemotherapy or radiation treatment.”
She was lucky because the cancer was in an early stage.
“I’m now cancer free," Krystyna says. “I’m cured because of my wonderful doctors and the compassionate people at DCF. They know that time is very important for cancer patients.”
About uterine cancer: There is no commonly recommended screening test for uterine (endometrial) cancer. Women of any age who experience abnormal bleeding should see a doctor immediately.

For more information: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/uterinecancer.html.
 

Paying for Insurance Sometimes is Best Decision

Otilio Lozano is courageously fighting Hodgkins’ lymphoma, with DCF’s support.
Only 32, he was diagnosed in late 2006. He used to move thousands of pounds of food each day as a truck driver for Sysco. Chemotherapy weakened him. He lost his job, and went on Social Security disability. With a family to support, he couldn’t afford health insurance.
He found Desert Cancer Foundation. It paid for his health insurance premiums until he qualified for Medicare. This ensured his treatments continued. So he would have a fighting chance.
Now Otilio, who lives in Bermuda Dunes, Calif., can’t wait to get back to work.
“Once I get better—because I am going to get better—I am going to open my own business and pay Desert Cancer Foundation back two-fold,” he said.
About Hodgkin's lymphoma: a cancer of lymph tissue in the lymph nodes, spleen, liver, bone marrow and other places. The first sign is an enlarged lymph node. It is most common among people aged 15 to 35 and 50 to 70. For more information: http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org.

Helping through Insurance Premiums

Sometimes DCF pays insurance premiums, co-pays and deductibles for a client.
Many more individuals are facing the plight of being “underinsured.” Many people who have insurance through employers have seen a decline in health benefits.
Frequently patients in active cancer treatment lose their jobs. Treatment often makes it impossible to work full-time. That’s what happened to Otilio Lozano (above). Many oncology treatments are very expensive. Co-pays for insured patients may cost thousands of dollars.
DCF believes there are strong benefits to assisting insured clients. They are:
➢ Continuity of insurance coverage. Someone with cancer who has let coverage lapse may not be able to obtain health insurance again. Even after treatment has ended.
➢ Availability of services. There are more options for an insured patient. Some oncology providers and specialists do not accept uninsured clients, so the all treatments/services may not be readily available or nearby.
➢ Cost. The cost for assisting an insured client is usually significantly less that the costs of funding the same treatment for an uninsured client. The ability to leverage donated dollars means that DCF can help more residents in need.
“Customizing the benefits to the client’s situation ensures the best for both the client and the Foundation,” said Executive Director Peggy Bilous.