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MADISON — Money was always tight for Patricia Simpson and her husband, Wayne. Then she got breast cancer and things got much worse.

She, like many others in Rockingham County, found help from the Barry L. Joyce Local Cancer Support Fund, a group inspired by a man whose own cancer battle didn’t stop his generosity.

“Obviously, he was thinking about himself and how to find the best doctors, but at the same time, he was thinking about others who didn’t have those resources,” said Jennifer Joyce, Barry’s daughter.

Jennifer said many of the nearly 100 people her organization has helped are like Patricia and Wayne, folks brought to their knees by cancer.

Patricia’s cancer was discovered in February. Wayne had heart trouble, and while being treated, he and Patricia learned they qualified for free preventive health care services, including a mammogram for Patricia. At 47 , Patricia had never had a mammogram but knew she should.

After that first mammogram, she learned she had Stage 3 cancer.

“Terrified doesn’t really quite describe it,” she said.

Patricia worked odd jobs, and Wayne is an electrician. But soon after starting cancer treatment, Patricia got too sick to work and work dried up for Wayne.

She didn’t have insurance, and Patricia said they didn’t qualify for the level of help they needed through programs like Medicaid.

It wasn’t long before the couple couldn’t keep their heads above water. For Patricia, it got to be too much.

“If I didn’t have (the Joyce fund) aid, I wouldn’t have gotten the treatment I needed,” she said. “I would have just let it progress.”

The money Patricia and Wayne got helped pay for medicine and put gas in Wayne’s truck for work and doctor’s appointments.

Jennifer said the Simpsons are pretty typical of the clients the Joyce fund has helped since 2001. Most are at or below the poverty line before they learn they have cancer, and things only get worse after it’s discovered.

They are the kind of people Barry Joyce looked out for his whole life. The underdogs, the downtrodden, the little guy, he wanted to make sure they were looked after, his daughter said.

That often meant feeding them. Barry owned Fuzzy’s, a barbecue restaurant and institution in Rockingham County. Jennifer said when her dad got sick, he not only began researching his own care but started thinking of ways to help those less fortunate than him. An avid golfer, Barry quickly came up with an idea to host a golf tournament.

He died from an allergic reaction to a CAT scan dye in September 2001. Shortly after that, Jennifer, her mother, Diane , and brother, Brian, went to work setting up the foundation and arranging for a golf tournament fundraiser.

The group has since raised more than $300,000 and assisted about 100 people. Jennifer said so far this year, they’ve helped 15 people. She knows the increased interest is due in part to becoming an established resource for the community, but she also thinks the county’s high unemployment and low wages are factors.

“I don’t think people realize how much of a problem there is,” she said.

The group will host its annual golf tournament on Sept. 26. The tournament usually brings in over $40,000 for the charity, and Jennifer said there are still slots open. The cost is $400 per four-man team.

Jennifer will be the first to say that what they do is only a small help, the money they provide families is a drop in the bucket. That’s why the Joyce fund is teaming up with other area groups to provide a wider web of assistance.

As for Patricia, her doctors believe a mastectomy removed her cancer, but she worries. Money is still tight. She and Wayne place their bills in what they call a lottery pile.

“Because that’s pretty much what it’s going to take for us to pay it all off,” Patricia said.

But, she said, at least she’ll be here a little longer to share her life with Wayne.

Contact J. Brian Ewing at 627-4881, Ext. 120, or brian.ewing@news-record.com