More than 210,000 American women will receive a cancer diagnosis this year, and one-in-eight women will face a breast cancer diagnosis in their lifetime.

The emotional and physical trauma of a cancer diagnosis is staggering to the both the cancer patient and her family. It is perhaps especially difficult for single mothers, who number more than 10 million in the United States. While about 65% of Americans report living paycheck-to-paycheck, single mothers and their families have disproportionately high, and rising, poverty rates. In 2006, more than 37% of women-headed families were poor, up from 34% in 2000.

We all know how quickly medical bills can add up. More than half of bankruptcies filed every year in the United States are directly related to medical expenses. Most of those bankruptcies are filed by people with health insurance.