WICHITA, Kansas, March 13, 2008 -- Last week we explained where the money spent on the Early Detection Works Program comes from. Now, we bring you one woman’s story that explains why that money is so important.

Theresa Wilson didn’t have health insurance when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32.

"It's infiltrative carcinoma stage three," said Wilson. "All I know is it's in the ducts."

The mother of three researched the pathology report she received and found grade three is a fast growing tumor. She calmly scheduled a mastectomy.

"There's no need to panic," Wilson said. "With today’s technology you can get it taken care of as long as you catch it early and that's what I did."

With a mastectomy scheduled next week and chemo to follow, even uninsured Theresa never hesitated to call her doctor and says other women shouldn’t either.

"You go through the local health department and they do screening and will pay for the mammogram and biopsy," Wilson explained. "Then if you do end up with it, there is a medical card through the State of Kansas especially for that."

As she prepares the paperwork for surgery and makes arrangements for an out-of-sate friend to help with her kids during recovery, Theresa embraces a new role: breast cancer survivor.

"I'm a fighter and I will not let it beat me."

Stay with KSN as we follow Theresa’s recovery process.