When 38-year old wife and mother Staci Owens, of Florissant, Missouri, was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2015 she realized that financial difficulties were likely to present themselves. Living in a "two-income household" and working as a nurse, Owens' employment was an important factor to the family's financial stability.  

"I had only been at the job as a nurse for six months, so had not accumulated FMLA; I had very little accumulated time off; I had no job protection" Owens lamented. With a summer schedule full of cancer treatment, tight funds added additional stress.

The Insurance Premium Program, a program recently launched by St. Louis-based breast cancer support organization Gateway to Hope, provided Owens and her family the support she needed while she underwent surgery and chemotherapy.

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