Impact Report

Markita

Location: Maria Parham Hospital, Henderson, North Carolina, USA

Markita is a brave woman. She has a strong character that has seen her through some hard times.

Back in 1988 after Markita experienced strange symptoms, such as trouble breathing and pain in her lungs, she was diagnosed with the inflammatory disease Sarcoidosis. The disease attacked her lungs and lymph nodes, forming lumps that interfered with her lung function. The disease was manageable but she suffered from frequent flare-ups. It changed her life, with doctors, hospitals and testing becoming routine occurrences.

Always self-sufficient, she refused to let these circumstances curtail her independence. So in spite of the fact that she is close to her large family, she felt like she needed some space. In 2000 she moved to a nearby small town and took a job as manager of a local convenience store. She loved the job and her freedom. The insurance it provided was crucial in managing her chronic illness.

When in 2006 she began having familiar symptoms she immediately went in to be tested, assuming that she was experiencing a flare-up of the Sarcoidosis. She was totally unprepared for the news she received. This time it was not Sarcoidosis it was cancer – non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Strangely the symptoms of the two diseases were very similar, with the lymphoma also affecting her lungs and lymph nodes.

Markita took the news stoically. She refused to despair. She began chemotherapy and continued to work. But finally about a year later, because of “too much time in and out of the hospital”, her employer reluctantly laid her off. For a while she was able to keep her insurance but unfortunately this was short-lived.

Losing her job was almost worse to her than the cancer diagnosis. She confesses that the idea of becoming dependent “scared me”. “Most of my worries” she recounts, “have been about my income. I’ve always wanted to be on my own.” Now receiving unemployment and disability, she is barely making it. The manager of her apartment has become her close ally and works with her on her rent when her finances are depleted.

Fortunately for Markita she had been receiving her medical care from Maria Parham Hospital. They have found a way to treat both of her illnesses through their social services office. But the drive to the hospital for chemotherapy and frequent testing is a long, expensive 40 miles, each way. Markita, with her extremely limited budget, had to choose between buying groceries, paying bills or buying gas to drive to the hospital for her chemotherapy.

Hope, her social worker at Maria Parham, found the answer. The National Cancer Coalition’s program, NCC Provides, has recently included the hospital in it’s funding. This important program recognizes that many cancer patients are forced to discontinue their treatments due to lack of money to pay for smaller but essential items. The NCC Provides program supplies patients with gas money or cards, co-payments, prescriptions, lodging expenses, nutritional drinks, supplements and more.

This is exactly what Markita needed. A tremendous load was removed from her shoulders. The stress she felt from her inability to stretch her limited budget to include all her expenses was overwhelming. Now she feels like she can move ahead with her treatments and maintain her independence. She can concentrate on getting well.

NCC Provides - North Carolina