Today Show- Financial Cost of Cancer & reaching out to people with cancer!

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/31185631#31183804

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/31185631#31132124

These is a great video (cut and paste) on what it means to live with a chronic long term rare cancer......

I have spent out of pocket $$$$ and I am in financial trouble....my "American dream" is long gone. And I came to this country with nothing in 1963 from Cuba, w.o Father and have been working since I was 16-- and did all the right things I thought--purchased car, paid for college, even paid for things such as braces, married young at 24 and a dad at 25, I thought I did all the right things (with some detours along the way, but with help of lord and a great company I worked for, made it in life).
Now I have decisions to make in life relative to my finances. And I have already gone the route of having to purchase my own chemo meds (cost me $12,000 over 6 months and lowered the dose to try to save $(RAD) )when I was prescribed Certican by the oncologist I was seeingin 2006 2007. I think that hurt me....in the end, I probably should not have been on this treatment. When I told one oncologist in Wisconsin I had taken certican on recommendation by oncologist, he rolled his eyes and said "what the hell were you doing taking that med"?
Life in hell at its best.........."trying to stay alive at advice of MD" I responded.....

This is from the video on Tuesday, there will be a segment every day this week on cancer on Today show. This particular segment really hits home with my recent trip to Germany, out of my own pocket, to receive treatment.

BTW, Humana Insurance, who has yet to rule on my request to be seen by a carincoid MD close by (in Columbus which is 2 hours away), wrote me and on the letter they write "my condition is not life threatening or serious" so therefor they will go through the appeal process (I had asked for a decision quickly)! It has been 8 weeks, I have been to Germany to receive the life saving treatment (sorry Humana, you are way off), and still to get AN ANSWER to my request to be seen by a MD that is driving distance that is an expert in my rare cancer!
So I can completely and 100% understand what they cover in the video.

America.......you think we need health care reform? I just pray it really works to control this aspect of the insurance treatment for others (it may be even you!), that will have to deal with this madness.

The second video on the post is also very compelling..."how to reach out to those in this side of the tracks". I wrote about this topic a while ago ("what do you say to someone with cancer") on a earlier posting. This captures what I tired to say in words very well....