Defying the Odds: How Revere Health Helped One Utah Woman Afford Live-Saving Cancer Treatment

Tori Ballard, a Revere Health Oncology patient, has been living with metastatic breast cancer for more than 20 years. Initially, her doctors told her she wouldn’t make it to age 50. She is now 55 and has continuously overcome long odds along her journey – with the help of Revere Health.

Ballard was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32, despite having no family history or risk factors for the disease. She underwent aggressive treatment, including multiple rounds of chemotherapy and a double mastectomy. Her doctors thought the cancer was gone, but 18 months later it came back and metastasized, impacting her liver, spine, ribs, and almost every other part of her body. Married at the time with two small children, she found the help and support she needed at Revere Health.

Dr. J. Cordell Bott, a former Revere Health physician who has since passed away, was not only Ballard’s doctor but also a “dear friend.” He got her on a new medication called Herceptin (trastuzumab), a targeted cancer drug used to treat certain breast and stomach cancers. Her cancer responded relatively well to Herceptin, but the powerful drug and ongoing chemotherapy took a toll on other parts of her body, leading to bone breaks, infections, and countless other complications. From 2003 to 2019, Ballard came to Revere Health Oncology every Monday for weekly chemo, shots, blood draws, etc.

“I practically lived at the cancer center,” she recalls. “I became very close with the staff. They have just been phenomenal in helping me.”

In 2006, Ballard went through a divorce that impacted her in myriad ways – from her finances to health insurance coverage.  She loved her career, but due to its high stress and fast pace she made the difficult decision to leave the workforce and go on permanent disability. This resulted in a substantial drop in income and left her with sub-optimal insurance coverage. She was faced with the difficult dilemma of providing for her children as a single mother while also affording the treatment she needed to keep the cancer at bay.

Amid this turmoil, she learned about the grant options available at Revere Health, which she describes as “life-changing.” With the help of the Oncology staff, she has been awarded numerous grants over the years, totaling in the tens of thousands of dollars. Revere Health staff helped walk her through the process and understand what she qualified for, which was a huge relief as she navigated her changing life circumstances.

There is no way I could have continued with chemo treatments if I had to pay for everything out of pocket. Revere Health put in so much work on my behalf and I’m so appreciative.

Revere Health uses an online platform called AssistPoint to help find and secure funds to help patients pay for infusible, injectable, and oral treatments administered in its Hematology-Oncology facilities.

In 2024, Revere Health collected a combined $2.2 million across all their Oncology sites (Provo, St. George, American Fork, Lehi, and Draper), which was their best year in terms of dollars collected. In 2022 and 2023, they collected just over $1.72 million and $1.67 million, respectively. And the money is truly making a difference for patients like Ballard.

Currently, Ballard’s health remains stable, but that could change at any time. She will likely need ongoing treatment for the rest of her life.

Despite these challenges, Ballard maintains a positive outlook on life and has used her experiences to help others who have been newly diagnosed with cancer. Her recent fiftieth birthday party was a big surprise, in more ways than one.

“At one point, I had an 11 percent chance of living five years or more,” she recalls. “I have been fortunate to have many more years. As my father used to say, ‘I’m still on the right side of the grass.’”