CANCER: Financial Nightmare - Through a Magnifying Glass.....
Monday, May 20th, was a harrowing day! Some of the most difficult things to deal with when having cancer or any life-threatening disease is the cost.....and how am I going to be able to afford this! If you receive medications, treatments, hospital stays, doctor visits, tests upon tests....and so on....they expect to be paid. And that often comes with...especially medications...you pay when you pick it up at the pharmacy OR you don't get it. It is part of your life-saving protocol; however, they can't factor pity or sympathy into the mix when the Pharmacist and Techs are merely representing corporate regulations.
On Mondays, I have my radiation and then I meet with the Radiation Oncologist and her team for a consultation. Yesterday was scheduled at my normal 1:45 pm time. Early Monday morning I received a call from the Alabama RX which is upstairs in the Bruno Cancer Center. I talked about them in my last blog post. I figured that it was their reminder call that I was to meet with the Pharmacist after I was finished with my radiation treatment and consult; therefore, I didn't call them back.
Friday I received a letter from the St. Vincent's Home Equipment. It was about my oxygen. Because May was a "big number" birthday for me....turning 65 years young, my insurance also changed. I have had Blue Cross Blue Shield Silver for years and loved it! I can't praise it enough. Well, turning 65 I had a choice of two different plans with Blue Cross. I chose the one I did because it would cover prescriptions....and the other one was very expensive and didn't cover medications. I knew that I would be starting the chemo pill soon and I needed my medication covered. Ok....I backtracked to explain somewhat why Monday was a "harrowing" day. So, I read the letter, but didn't understand completely what was going on; therefore, I decided to go to their building at St. Vincent's after leaving the Pharmacy consult.
Well, next....I receive a bill in the mail from my new insurance telling me that I owe $55 for a CT Scan reading. Everyday before I am given a radiation treatment, I am given a CT Scan. It is to assure the technicians that I am properly aligned. Everyday's scan is compared to the first scan they took prior to radiation treatments beginning. With my new Blue Cross insurance, they have informed me that this will no longer be covered. We are on day 20 in May and my insurance changed on day 1 of May. Now, they are back billing me for every scan reading - 5 days a week - from May 1st through May 24th...which is to be my last radiation day. I am going to talk to the Radiation billing office; however, I don't know what they can do. Their billings have already been submitted to the insurance for payment.
To compound my financial woes, I receive another call from the Alabama RX. This time I feel compelled to answer as it must be more than a reminder of my consult. Well, I was right! The young lady on the phone, Brandy, was giving me a courtesy call. Brandy told me that she did not want me to come in and be shocked about what my co-pay was going to be for the "generic" Capecitabine of the chemo pill Xeloda that I am going to be taking for 6 to 8 months will cost. I was immediately shocked at this call. I was told when I took out this new policy that I would have minimum co-pays. Well, I was misinformed. Brandy went on to tell me that I would owe...out of pocket...$360 every three weeks for a two week supply. I will take it two weeks, will be off a week....and so on during the course of these oral chemo treatments. I seriously almost started crying.
My Radiation Oncologist and Radiation Techs said that I could actually have extreme burn AFTER my treatments are over. Dr. Salter instructed me to come in to the clinic if it was too severe. Fatigue usually goes away gradually after treatment has ended, but some people continue to feel tired for several weeks or months after radiation therapy. I have done quite well with fatigue compared to the fatigue I experienced with chemo. Skin problems are of course common with external radiation therapy because the radiation travels through the skin to reach the area being targeted for treatment. The last couple of weeks, the burn has started to build-up and I have a few places that are more deeply burned, painful, and irritated.
Reality set-in this week regarding the financial side of being sick. The bills have been piling up, but this week was extremely difficult and a bit over-whelming. I believe it was satan attacking me head-on. Not only is illness, disease, and death because of him....but he can also throw some extra burdens on top of you. I'm sure he would love to see me become so worried and stressed that I take my eyes off of Jesus. Well, that is NOT going to happen! But, having said that....I have now personally realized the actuality of some of the experiences I have heard over the years. Do you eat or get medicine? Do you pay your utilities or have a test ran? It is tough!
You never know exactly where you are in your journey. That is where faith comes in and how it plays such an important part of one's journey....not only with cancer, but in all aspects of life. When a person is told No Evidence of Disease....that only means that IF there is residual cancer, it is less than 1 Centimeter. It must be at least 1 Centimeter for a PET Scan to pick it up.
We are not promised a pain-free life; however, we are promised that His "power is made perfect in weakness" (1 Corinthians 12:9) and that "He who began a good work in me will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6) And, what is this good work? To be "conformed to the image of His Son." (Romans 8:29) Christ displayed the grace of God through suffering. (Hebrews 2:9-10) Through suffering I can know Christ better and become more like Him. (Philippians 3:10)
I am sharing this side of my journey because I am being real, authentic, and transparent. I am offering the opportunity to hold a magnifying glass up to my journey with cancer so that you can see what a war really looks like....every aspect of it. None of it is pretty and all of it is difficult. God has blessed me so well in my journey and He continues to walk before me, by me, and behind me. He knows the beginning and the end. I know that I not only have my family and all of you walking with me, but my Father, His Son, and His Most Holy Spirit are right here....every step. I continue praying, I continue believing and I know that EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE JUST FINE!
Thank you all for your continued prayers, messages, calls, cards, gift cards, and financial support to help with my medical expenses.
Please continue to pray for my complete earthly healing and for my precious family who is walking this journey right by my side and who is being so strong and encouraging for me. My medical bills are currently around $300,000.00 and that does not include my radiation treatments, the upcoming oral chemo pills that I will be on for 6 months or the hormone suppression pill that I will be on for 10 years to life. My insurance covers 80%, but I am quickly finding out that my new insurance...as of May 1st...has some very high co-pays. Every scan, every test is $350....considered a co-pay...above what the insurance pays....these out-of-pocket costs were also applicable with the insurance I had prior to May 1st. Please pray for me and that I will be able to receive some type of financial assistance. Please pray for all cancer patients who are not only having to fight a war for their life, but are also dealing with the high cost of being sick.
Love y'all!
If you would like to make a "love offering," all
assistance is appreciated.
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