She fought cancer, then insurance: Now she works at assisting others in dealing with system.

Jeanne E. Helton, a 49-year-old Jacksonville attorney, said in some ways she felt fortunate.

"Overall, I was very blessed," said Helton, a health care attorney with Smith Hulsey & Busey. "My firm was very supportive. I had a great insurance program ... And I knew the appeals process. I was lucky."

Helton was first diagnosed during a routine examination two weeks before her 39th birthday. Following a lumpectomy on her left breast and 10 weeks of radiation, doctors told her they could find no evidence of cancer.

But 2 1/2 years later, Helton was diagnosed with a recurrence.

That's when knowing the system was particularly important, said Helton, now a member of the American Bar Association's Breast Cancer Task Force.

Her doctors recommended a mastectomy. But first they wanted to do a PET scan, a form of nuclear imaging designed to determine how much the cancer had spread.

The insurance company wanted to wait. But when dealing with breast cancer, moving quickly can be crucial. Helton and her physicians didn't want to wait.

Because of her experience as a health care attorney, Helton was able to quickly cut through the red tape and get the PET scan approved, a task someone else might have found overwhelming, she said.

She underwent the surgery about 7 1/2 years ago and no evidence of cancer has been found since, she said.

In part because of that experience, Helton was appointed in February 2008 to the bar task force, a 40-member panel that has been studying the legal issues involved in breast cancer.

Those issues include dealing with insurance companies.

Getting authorization to participate in clinical trials or to get genetic testing, or to undergo advanced imaging such as the PET scan she underwent, can all be problematic, Helton said. Women can even run into opposition to paying for reconstructive surgery, although federal law mandates insurance must cover the cost if a breast is removed as the result of cancer, she said.

That's why the task force has established a legal advocacy training program for lawyers.

"Lawyers who want to help have to have that training," she said. "You don't have time for them to research the issues." Three Jacksonville attorneys including Helton have received the training.

There are other areas besides insurance where a lawyer may be needed, Helton said.

Some women encounter discrimination, sometimes quite subtle, in the workplace when they are diagnosed, Helton said.

"The last thing that people need to be worried about is 'will I lose my job and my insurance,'" she said.

Helton has counseled one woman who was active in civic and business groups before being diagnosed. Once she began undergoing chemotherapy and lost her hair, she was asked by her firm not to appear in public.

"I think that's hideous," said Helton, who added that people being treated for cancer may be protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Helton, a Jacksonville native, is active in both First Baptist Church and Fort Caroline Baptist Church, as well as with the Christian Legal Society, which works with the Life Builders Program at the City Rescue Mission.

She's also a guardian advocate for a 38-year-old woman with profound developmental disabilities. Helton helps make decisions on behalf of the woman, whose parents are both deceased.

"Breast cancer makes you more aware of the need to do good work, work that you hope makes a difference in lives," said Helton, who said her faith played an important role in helping her deal with her disease.

"Getting the diagnosis was devastating," she said. "But in some ways, it was a great thing. It gives you steadfast confidence in your faith. It's like jumping out of a plane and confirming that you have a parachute that works. With breast cancer, you've got to be fearless."