Devasted! :( Wife's fibroid tumor tested positive for cancer.

One more round of chemo

This Friday, then they test her to see if the cancer is in remission. Thank God for health insurance!

 

Thank God, or whomever, for good health insurance. My chemo pills* cost $1,000 each. Nine per month. My wonderful Humana insurance pays half. Whoopee.
___
*Thalidomide, of all things. I had to
promise I wouldn't get pregnant

 

Damn, that's a lot of money. We have Kaiser and we hardly haven't had to pay for much so far. We got billed $11k for a hospital stay, and they only charged us $50.00 The meds are a $5.00 copay. Kaiser is good. I get full insurance benefits for Kim and I at zero cost. It was part of my retirement package.

 

Best wishes

 

Thanks! We are hoping for the best and that the cancer goes in to remission.

 

You should switch to Kaiser. Great service.

 

It's a nice sentiment but people can not typically just switch to whatever insurance company they would like.

 

I am lucky. I get full medical and dental for my wife and I at zero cost!

 

I pay over $900 per month for dental, medical, and vision for a family of 5. But it's good insurance, for the most part.


Hope your wife is doing well and on the path to a full recovery.

 

That's not bad at all for a family of five. I have always had good insurance at a low cost. I retired early (relatively young, I started very young) from State government, and I get lifetime primo medical, dental, and vision at zero cost to me as part of my retirement. You can't beat working for the government nowadays. You might make less than private industry, but in the long run you get a pension and other perks like I did. I get my pension through calpers. We get COLAS every year as well to keep up with inflation.

We pay very little for my Kim's cancer meds. She got seven shots that she has to administer herself, all for a whooping $24.00 copay for seven doses). Normal single dose scripts are a $5.00 co pay. Kaiser has been a God send for us. Cancer meds are VERY expensive, and I can't imagine how much we would have to pay for those shots/meds without good insurance.

This is Kim's last round of chemo (no co pay), then after that she gets scanned. We are praying that it goes in to remission. She is a tough cookie, and has never complained once about getting chemo. Without good medical insurance, people can be ruined, like having to pay $1,000.00 for chemo pills, like Dr. Bear, for example!

On another subject, I tell young people they should really consider a career in public service. They will have a pension (which are have pretty much vanished), and they will have good job security and can join the union if they wish. They have protections that don't exist in private industries.

I know work with dogs, and I am very happy. No more suits and shaving every day. I hate shaving so much, that I am considering electroylsis of my facial hair for permanenet removal. I would love to never have to shave again!

But I digress. I went off on a tangent. God bless America!

Take it easy, Abner

 

I think a real question here is: When it was Thalidomide, it was real cheap. Now the same stuff is known as "Megabuckinab" or some such - and it costs $1,000 a pill! WHY?

Oh yeah - I smell a Martin Shkreli award here - BIG TIME! Somebody should be in jail!

J.

 

Why? Did you say why?

Here is the Celgene side of the story: http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(11)62971-6/fulltext

 

The sad thing is we could probably get the equivalant from Europe, Canada or Mexico for a fraction of the price. Big Pharma sucks!

Gramms left on purpose.

 

chemo done!

Kim has completed all her chemo sessions. She now has a telephone appt. with her doctor at 10:30am to determine what the next steps are. Wish her luck! :smile:

 

Luck!

Probably just to schedule a checkup. The telephone call is for an additional fee.

 

Long explanation. I read ALL of it. An eight-word extract pretty well sums it up, to me:

"Celgene has a corporate responsibility to our shareholders..."

Yep. Martin Shkreli time again...

J.

 

Bad news

Kim completed all her rounds of chemo, but the cancer is still growing. More chemo I guess. Also, the doc wants to try a new experimental drug.

 

Sorry that didn't do the trick. There seems to be a number of new cancer treatments so your options should still be open.

 

Thanks decimon, let's hope so.