Uninsured cancer victims fare worse

A recent study concluded by the American Cancer Society has found that uninsured cancer patients are nearly twice as likely to die within 5 years of diagnosis than their insured counterparts.DUH!
I lost my Mother to cancer and fortunately,she had excellent health care coverage through her employer as well as Aflac and thus was able to take advantage of the very best cancer specialists and treatments.Had she had any other kind of cancer she might still be here,but hers was rare and almost always fatal.
A doctor involved in the study stated that "our refusal to face this issue condemns thousands of people to die from cancer each year".A big part of the problem is that by the time uninsured people are sick enough to qualify for some type of assistance,their cancer is too far gone to treat effectively.Another factor is that those with no coverage or inadequate coverage will skip out on recommended screening exams such as mammograms,prostate exams,etc that catch cancer early because they simply cannot afford it.By the time they are so sick they seek medical attnention,again,it has progressed too far to treat.
It chills me to the bone because while my family has coverage,we have an extremely high deductible and limited coverage for diagnostics(I think we get ONE series of bloodwork annually and even then it isn't approved the first time)Ovarian cancer runs in my family but it is very hard to detect until it is in advanced stages.The only way to catch it early is through an ultrasound,which is slightly less than my deductible but more than we can cough up.So I have to be extra alert for any signs that something isn't right but what about the women who don't know they are at risk?What about the 20,000 uninsured cancer patients who will not make it simply because they cannot afford diagnostics and/or treatments???