There was a time not so long ago when Darla Hobson avoided healthcare. Now, she never misses an appointment thanks to the cancer team at Illini Community Hospital’s Casteel Center.

Through her late 50s, Darla never had a mammogram. With no health insurance, the Pike County, IL, resident didn’t feel she could afford it. Then one day Darla felt a lump in her right breast.

“I knew what it was but I had no insurance,” she said. “I was just hoping it would go away, but I knew it wouldn’t. It got worse.”

By the time Darla went to the doctor in March 2016, she had advanced breast cancer. Though aware she might have cancer, hearing the news was devastating.

“I think I was totally numb,” Darla said, recalling the day of her diagnosis. “I think one of the first questions to my oncologist was, ‘Am I going to die?’”

The response Darla received from her doctor: “No, you are not. He was right, thank God,” she said.

Darla survived with a mastectomy. Also removed were 15 lymph nodes - 13 of which were positive for cancer - meaning the cancer could have spread to other parts of her body. In response, Darla under 18 chemotherapy treatments. Six of those treatments were with one of the strongest chemotherapy drugs for breast cancer called Doxorubicin, also known as the Red Devil due to its potential strong side effects. She also received 33 radiation therapy treatments.

As much as the care itself, Darla gives credit to those who provided her post-surgery care, the staff of Illini Community Hospital’s Casteel Center cancer team. She calls her decision to get her chemotherapy at Illini one of the best decisions of her life.

“If it hadn’t been for them, I would not have done as well. They kept me going,” she said. “They wouldn’t let me doubt that I was going to make it. That had me believe that I was and I did.  I think that helps so much.”

Sweetening the care was the fact the team allowed Darla’s “chemo buddy” – her 10-year-old, protective grandson – to come to the hospital with her, and the Illini cancer team made her a cake on her birthday.

More than five years out from her devastating cancer diagnosis, Darla is thriving and continues to receive her care at Illini, including regularly scheduled scans, infusions and mammograms.

“I do that because of those girls,” Darla said. “Because it is such a family oriented place.”

Blessing Health provides care to every person in need, regardless of ability to pay. Anyone in the Tri-State region who needs healthcare and faces financial hardship should contact the Blessing Resource Center to learn what assistance may be available in their situation, no matter if they have health insurance or not. Call the Blessing Resource Center at 217-277-500, Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm.