How Am I Going to Pay for Cancer Treatment?

I have lung cancer. The thoracic surgeon called today and he says it is Small Cell lung cancer. Leave it to me to get the type that only a small percent of people get and the kind that is more aggressive and rapidly growing than Non Small Cell cancer.

The good news is that the cancer seems to be localized to the thoracic area. He has referred me to an oncologist and wants me to begin chemotherapy and radiation as early this week.

My thoughts immediately jump to.. how am I going to pay for this treatment? I don't have insurance. I've applied for Medicaid and I should qualify but how long will it take them to make up their minds if I am eligible? My thoracic guy gave me the distinct impression that my best chance is with swift treament.

Will the oncologist just go ahead with treatment before I know if I'll have Medicaid? Somehow I doubt it. My hospital has a payment plan but you only get 2 years to pay. Yeah, right. I can come up with large enough payments to get the entire bill paid off in 2 years on our fixed income of Social Security. (Yes, that was sarcasm.)

Apparently, the hospital has some type of Financial Assistance program but one needs to be first turned down by Medicaid to even be considered.

Image Credit: Serge Melki

So, yeah. I don't have enough to worry about. I get to make myself sicker wondering if I will find a way to pay or if I will have to give up before I've even begun. I hope I'm just having a panic attack but bad luck has dogged me my entire life so it's hard to be optimistic.

Lung Cancer Diagnosis - Now What?

Tuesday was officially C Day. After a bronchoscopy and biopsy, it was clear that lung cancer was no longer just a suspicion but is now an official diagnosis. So where do we go from here?

Image Credit: Patrick J. Lynch, medical illustrator; C. Carl Jaffe, MD, cardiologist

At the moment, I am waiting for the biopsy results and word on just which type of lung cancer I have. I had a PET scan Saturday. I guess the results of that will tell me if the cancer has spread, where, and how much.

I kept telling myself I would feel a bit less anxious once I had a firm answer as to whether it is or isn't lung cancer. But the waiting game, which causes the anxiety, continues.

I still need answers: what type of lung cancer is it? Has it metastasized? Is treatment of any kind an option?

I don't know where this blog will go. I would like to think there might eventually be something here that could help someone else. I know best practices for SEO (search engine optimazation) to assure that Journaling Cancer can be found in a web search. But I think I will just take my chances on getting found by someone who might need answers I've already found without worry about proper SEO. I don't have it in me right now.

I have discovered one small advantage, for me, in getting a cancer diagnosis. I don't much give a damn what other people think any more so I am not afraid to say what I think.

I'm an Etsy Vintage seller. I sometimes participate on their discussion forums. A couple of times, I've had my patties slapped, so to speak, for breaking a forum rule. Etsy doesn't like anyone to mention the resellers there. They prefer to pretend that everything on the site is legimately Handmade or Vintage rather than cheap crap bought for resale.

Since my 2 forum warnings, I have been very careful what I say in Discussions. Too many warnings and one can be permanently bounced from the forums.

But now, what have I got to lose? I'm disgusted with these sellers who start threads similar to "Rah! Rah! Look at me! I made $10,000!" I think they should add "neener, neener, neener!" because that's how it comes across to me. So I wasn't outright rude but I did make it plain that threads like that, as well as threads decrying so-called negativity, completely turn me off.

Don't tell me I'm a whiner if I think you brag too damned much about how well you are doing. I'm sure I'm not the only seller who finds your constant bragging depressing.

And don't tell me to make lemonade when life throws me lemons. Lemonade is not a cure for cancer.

 Image courtesy of André Karwath aka Aka