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Friday,  February 14 , 2025
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Photo of Marissa Harshman

Stories by Marissa Harshman

Columbian Health Reporter

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Without affordable insurance, patient costs could skyrocket

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October 8, 2017, 5:50am Breast Cancer

Cancer patients faced nearly $4 billion in out-of-pocket costs for their treatment in 2014. And those are people with insurance. Read story

Imaging manager Julie Bogh, left, Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center president Bryce Helgerson, breast surgeon Dr. Cory Donovan and breast cancer survivor Liz Stanley on a tour of the center.

Legacy Salmon Creek center will bring breast cancer care closer

Imaging manager Julie Bogh, left, Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center president Bryce Helgerson, breast surgeon Dr. Cory Donovan and breast cancer survivor Liz Stanley on a tour of the center.

October 8, 2017, 5:50am Breast Cancer

Twice a week for four months, Liz Stanley commuted from her Washougal home to Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center in Gresham, Ore. for chemotherapy. Read story

Joleen Skarberg, right, in purple, and her daughter Megan Skarberg, to left, run in the 2014 Girlfriends Run for a Cure half marathon.

Vancouver woman’s diagnosis led to Girlfriends Run for a Cure

Joleen Skarberg, right, in purple, and her daughter Megan Skarberg, to left, run in the 2014 Girlfriends Run for a Cure half marathon.

October 8, 2017, 5:50am Breast Cancer

Joleen Skarberg insists she is just one of thousands of local women who have been diagnosed with the most common cancer among women. Read story

Julie Burrell of Bloodworks Northwest, left, chats with Vancouver resident Darcy Urdesich as she donates blood in October at the Vancouver Donor Center.

Blood donations pour in

Julie Burrell of Bloodworks Northwest, left, chats with Vancouver resident Darcy Urdesich as she donates blood in October at the Vancouver Donor Center.

October 7, 2017, 6:05am Clark County Health

Darcy Urdesich felt helpless after a massacre in her hometown left 58 people dead and more than 500 people injured. Read story

A man and child walk down street strewn with debris and downed power lines in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017.

Hurricane Maria devastation affects Clark County hospital

A man and child walk down street strewn with debris and downed power lines in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017.

October 6, 2017, 5:51pm Clark County Health

The devastation Hurricane Maria inflicted on Puerto Rico late last month sent ripples that have reached a Clark County hospital. Read story

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy technician Hannah Young of Carson demonstrates the use of the oxygen chamber at In Light Hyperbarics in Vancouver. Young said she tries to use the therapy a few times a week when she has a break between appointments.

Vancouver’s In Light Hyperbarics moves to accommodate growth, community

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy technician Hannah Young of Carson demonstrates the use of the oxygen chamber at In Light Hyperbarics in Vancouver. Young said she tries to use the therapy a few times a week when she has a break between appointments.

October 2, 2017, 6:30am Clark County Health

After decades of chronic migraines with little relief from conventional medicine and natural remedies, Edna Ness finally found a solution: oxygen. More specifically, breathing pressurized oxygen in a tubelike chamber. Read story

Zoe Davisson, 18, snuggles with her daughter, 7-week-old Rae Davisson, during a visit Thursday to H.B. Fuller Park in Vancouver. Davisson enrolled in the county’s Nurse-Family Partnership program while pregnant. PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center is working with the county to help sustain and expand the program for young, first-time moms.

Nurse-Family Partnership program supports first-time mothers

Zoe Davisson, 18, snuggles with her daughter, 7-week-old Rae Davisson, during a visit Thursday to H.B. Fuller Park in Vancouver. Davisson enrolled in the county’s Nurse-Family Partnership program while pregnant. PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center is working with the county to help sustain and expand the program for young, first-time moms.

September 30, 2017, 6:04am Clark County Health

When Zoe Davisson learned she was pregnant, she knew she would need help. Read story

Salmonella detected in Pride & Joy raw milk

September 28, 2017, 1:54pm Clark County Health

The Washington State Department of Agriculture is warning people not to drink a brand of organic raw milk sold at four Clark County stores after tests detected salmonella. Read story

Teri Giangreco of Vancouver was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in January and is still undergoing treatment. Giangreco didn’t know the warning signs of ovarian cancer until after her diagnosis, so she’s teamed up with Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center and the Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Oregon and Southwest Washington to spread the word about signs and symptoms.

Vancouver woman diagnosed with ovarian cancer wants others to know signs

Teri Giangreco of Vancouver was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in January and is still undergoing treatment. Giangreco didn’t know the warning signs of ovarian cancer until after her diagnosis, so she’s teamed up with Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center and the Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Oregon and Southwest Washington to spread the word about signs and symptoms.

September 25, 2017, 6:30am Clark County Health

Teri Giangreco didn’t know the signs of ovarian cancer until she was sitting in her new gynecologic oncologist’s office discussing her stage 3 ovarian cancer diagnosis. Read story

Popular Cascade Park Safeway employee Wayne Hudson has benefitted from a GoFundMe drive since he recently fell ill from an infection.

Crowdfunding raises $12,000 to help Vancouver Safeway worker

Popular Cascade Park Safeway employee Wayne Hudson has benefitted from a GoFundMe drive since he recently fell ill from an infection.

September 21, 2017, 5:44pm Clark County Health

After working more than a decade as a grocery bagger at Safeway, Wayne Hudson had become a staple at the Cascade Park store. Because he was not known to miss work, customers grew concerned when weeks had gone by without seeing his smiling face. Read story