"I was probably the most conservative person there," she continues. "The people putting this on are much more liberal than I am. I'm a Republican from Utah County who is quote-unquote for smaller government. But I don't know, maybe it is time for the federal government to come in and make some regulations and say what the rules are going to be when it comes to health insurance. Something definitely has to be done."

Diane says she isn't in favor of socialized medicine in America, and she's not sure if President Obama's plan to allow government-backed insurance as an option for private citizens qualifies as socialized medicine.

"I'm going to have to think about that," she says.

What she is sure of is that current conditions restrict a person's freedom to work where they want to — and that's not right.

"We need to take health insurance away from the workplace," she says. "We need to have change so everyone has reasonable access to reasonable health care at a reasonable price.

"We went through heck and back," she says, reflecting on the battle she and her husband had with cancer nine years ago. "But ironically — and I know this sounds weird — the fear of health insurance is even more distressing on a daily basis than the fear of cancer. That nightmare ends, one way or the other. This nightmare never ends."

Lee Benson's column runs Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Please send e-mail to benson@desnews.com.