She was already battling cancer. Then she had to fight the bill collectors

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/07/09/ [login to see] /cost-cancer-treatment-medical-debt
Jeni Rae Peters would make promises to herself as she lay awake nights after being diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago.

"My kids had lost so much," said Peters, a single mom and mental health counselor. She had just adopted two girls and was fostering four other children. "I swore I wouldn't force them to have yet another parent."

Multiple surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapy controlled the cancer. But, despite having insurance, Peters was left with more than $30,000 of debt, threats from bill collectors, and more anxious nights thinking of her kids.

"Do I pull them out of day care? Do I stop their schooling and tutoring? Do I not help them with college?" Peters asked herself. "My doctor saved my life, but my medical bills are stealing from my children's lives."

Cancer kills about 600,000 people in the U.S. every year, making it a leading cause of death. Many more survive it, because of breakthroughs in medicines and therapies.