Cost

USA – We could talk for hours – days, really – about medical care across the world. Debate it, hash it out, maybe even come to an agreement. What most people fail to realize is that the cost of "health care" that receives the most focus is the immediate need. For cancer patients, that involves things like chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery, etc.

There’s an interesting turn of phrase that was being discussed in my cancer center last week and I’d like to share it with you. The official term is "continuing care." The ladies in the chairs across from me called it "life." :) They didn’t have any handy-dandy charts or graphs, but they had bank statements and knowledge. They all had great insurance (thank heavens!) so what they were discussing were the little bills (their words, not mine) that drained their accounts. It’s the ongoing, everyday costs of cancer that people neither know about nor discuss openly. We just joke about it in the waiting room then clam up when the nurses walk in.

… Cancer types with longer survival, such as female breast, have a higher percentage of expenditures for patients in the continuing phase of care. So what that means is, in reality, very good. You get to live longer than other cancer patients. The bad news is that you’d better be hoping for a money tree in the backyard. Ha! Government studies have revealed that it costs 3.2% MORE to live after you have had cancer than when you actually go through treatment.

This isn’t a complaint, please know. I love my doctor and I’ve been blessed with great insurance at my job. I only wrote this for the ladies at the cancer center this week. They said "Why doesn’t someone write about this, tell people, just for informational purposes?" So I’m writing it, girls. I don’t have any solutions in mind, but I want you to know that I’m trying. Stay well, my sassy cancer center friends. xoxo

Editor's Note:
Look what just came through to my Inbox "GiveForward Helps You Crowd-Fund Medical Expenses"!

Time

USA – One frequently cited reason that women don’t get mammograms? They are too busy. There are, of course, other reasons (pain, fear, lack of insurance) but time was a recurrent theme in a recent Journal of Women’s Health article.

It can be scary. It can be costly. It can be painful, all of those things are true. But typically, they don’t take any longer than the average lunch hour. Some women find that the task is far easier if they make a lunch date with friends and go as a group – the support is a great trend and encourages others to try the same idea.

We find ourselves so willing to take a few extra minutes to run and grab that cup of coffee in the morning, or go squeeze in time for reality TV at night. Why not do something that could be a lifesaver for you or your friend?

Missouri!

MISSOURI HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES – “No time limit shall be imposed on an individual for the receipt of a prosthetic or reconstructive surgery and it provides that if an individual changes his or her insurance, then coverage for such procedures must transfer to the new policy.”

The above is an excerpt from the SCS/SB Act from the great state of Missouri. While this may not seem like a big deal to anyone who hasn’t had to consider such a thing, to those of us currently in treatment for this very disease – it’s a whopper. The decision is huge for a patient, whether to reconstruct for appearance, self esteem or simply balance (literally!) or to postpone to see if a second diagnosis might be forthcoming.

Many women (and men) vacillate about this surgery, and in some places it could mean the difference between insurance covering that procedure or not. Research your policy very carefully so that you are aware of your potential time frame. (Here are some tips.) If you have an HR department that is compassionate about these topics, visit them to get their advice. They work with insurance companies frequently, so they might have more insight.

In the end, however, I salute Missouri. You have given the world Mark Twain and now this super-fantastic bill. Thanks!