Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Shelton resident Karen Hilburn's nonprofit fund has helped more than 600 Mason County women who are uninsured or underinsured pay for the diagnosis and treatment of breast, cervical, ovarian, uterine and endometrial cancers and the Gardasil vaccine to prevent the HPV virus.
During a physical exam in 2003, Shelton resident Karen Hilburn was diagnosed with breast cancer.
"I was in shock in that I had no symptoms, nothing," she recalled in an interview with the Journal.
The small tumor was removed, and Hilburn underwent six weeks of radiation. "It's still so amazing to me that if you find out early enough, it's very preventable," she said.
Hilburn had medical insurance and didn't have to stay overnight at a hospital. But she was struck by the thought of women who couldn't handle the financial impact of such treatment. "It was catastropic, the kind of cost," she said...
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