Charities often have strict income limits regarding those who they will serve. Some of the charities your link mentions state they can only serve a limited numb

Charities often have strict income limits regarding those who they will serve. Some of the charities your link mentions state they can only serve a limited number of patients. Many of the programs are in a single county. You may end up having to call around to many programs to only find out you don't qualify for any of them. If you have insurance through your employer, it may have a huge deductible and even if it does cover a mammogram it may not cover treatment. These factors all discourage people from getting preventative medicine done. Bankruptcy should never be regarded as a valid solution for medical care costs. What if her state has rules that don't allow her to keep her car(or certain other items) when filing for bankruptcy? What if she had already filed for bankruptcy the year before?