Round 5 out of 6 chemo treatments - still knocking me to the ground.

I traveled to Dallas again on Thursday for my next chemo treatment.  Dr S. gave me a check up before heading down for chemo.  He kept commenting on how well I'm handling the treatments and said I am doing better than he has expected.  So with a clear report, I went downstairs and spent the next five hours in the chemo room.  We were late leaving the clinic, so I'm sorry that we missed Tristan's T-ball game, but we made it to dinner with Brad, Andrea, her parents and the kids.  Although I didn't feel like eating much, it was nice getting to sit down with everyone and being able to relax some more.

All day the sugars were running high, but they never got over 400.  If they did I would have to call Dr. B. - but they only reached the high 300s before bed.  When I woke up this morning, they had dropped over 150 points, so I'm on my way back to normal now.

Today we woke up and headed back to the hospital for my consult with the plastic surgeon and my booster shot.  The plastic surgeon, Dr. A., will be the one to reconstruct my new boobs after Dr. L. chops them off.  For this visit he just went over the basics of the surgery and showed me the types of expanders and implants they use.  He couldn't give me specifics about the surgery until he consults with Dr. L. and finds out what she wants to do.  I see Dr. L. for a one-on-one consult on July 6th, so I'll hear her side of the surgery on that day.  Then about 2 weeks after my last chemo round, Dr. A. and Dr. L. with have a joint consult with me to discuss exact details of my surgery, such as setting a tentative date, discuss costs, hospitalization and recovery time and anything else I could be forgetting.  Right now they are aiming for the end of August or the beginning of September.  After my appointment I went by the chemo office to get my booster shot and then headed out for the day.  Of course I made a stop at the Russell Stovers outlet that just happen to be on the way home ;-)

When we finally made it home after getting through the crazy Dallas traffic, I was amazed to come into a clean house with fresh laundry, clean floors and counters, a whole case of water and a freshly made new bed with a clean being set.  I guess my family noticed how lumpy my 10 year old mattress had gotten!  lol  I'm so thankful to my mom, my sister, my aunt, and my cousin for surprising me today.  It feels goo to come home from a long chemo trip and just being able to crash.  Even this grumpy cat needs some R & R.

I have been given so many blessings!

I admit I don’t know squat about insurance deductibles, out-of-pockets costs or even co-insurance.  These terms are all Greek to me and I have no idea what kind of impact they have.  So after talking with a business lady at Texas Oncology, I decided to look at my plan again.  All my rates/amounts look normal, except that my out-of network deductible and out-of-network out-of-pocket limits have been met.  I called the insurance company to ask about this and what it means.  In short terms, since these limits have been met, the insurance company now pays at 100% of all of my out-of-network visits/procedures/appointments/etc.  So apparently, all the doctors I have been seeing in Dallas are all considered out of network – So any time I go see a doctor in Dallas in the future, the insurance covers it 100%!  I don’t have to pay a copay and any bill from the office is covered!  This is a huge weight being lifted off my shoulder and I think I almost cried when she told me that.

Of course that doesn’t erase any of the previous balances I racked up, nor does it include anything the insurance won’t cover, such as home medical equipment.  I still have close to a $15,000 office bill due with the doctors in Dallas that accumulated before I hit my out-of-pocket limit, so I will still need to keep paying them something since they’ll be setting me up on another payment plan L  I also have a $3,000 bill from the anesthesia department that was not covered during my port surgery.  Ugh  Also, I’ll need close to 6 weeks off of work for my upcoming mastectomy, so I need to be sure I will be able to cover my bills at home, as well as any medications they may send me home with.  So while I still have a long way to go and a lot of catching up to do, I still find this to be a minor win for me!

 

 

What a blessing from Love is Louder Than Cancer!

I was first told about the Love is Louder Than Cancer organization from a case manager at my hospital.  They provide help and assistance to cancer patient and survivors.  You can visit their website at http://www.loveislouderthancancer.org/ to see all the great things they do!

A few weeks ago I was the lucky recipient of something called a Wallet of Love from this great group!  The wallet is a real wallet and includes several gift cards to help assist with everyday expenses, such as groceries, gas and even drug store costs.  Inside is also a loving note from the foundation.

I feel so special receiving one of these awesome gifts!   Although it doesn't make a dent in my rising medical expenses, it's a breath of relief to help handle some of the other costs in life that are often forgotten about.  There is even an Olive Garden gift card included, so Jeremy and I won't forget to treat ourselves once in a while ;-)

A huge thank you to the Love is Louder Than Cancer Foundation and all of their donators!  They are a truly special group and have made so many people smile!

It has been a crazy and exhausting two days.

Yesterday was my fourth chemo round.  I have three weeks between chemo treatments, where I spend the first two weeks recovering and spend the last week feeling somewhat normal and getting my momentum back.  But this time, I don't feel like I got my third week back.  I feel like I wasn't even done with my second week when it was time for another round.  Like a punch in the stomach.

Thursday started off smooth enough.  I went to my appointment and saw Dr. S.  He is such a sweet old man, and kept telling me what a trooper I am and how well I'm tolerating the treatment, even if I am starting to feel sluggish and run down.  Before I left his office, I was stopped by the financial lady, who informed me that my bills have now accumulated to over $12,000.  Apparently, my insurance is not covering as much of the chemo and infusion treatments as we'd hoped, so the office wants to put me on some sort of payment plan, after they inspect my income and bank statements.  Ugh

I went down for chemo, which was delayed since it wasn't mixed or ready when I got there.  Mom and Jeremy were with me this time, so it went by pretty quickly and I didn't get too stressed out.  Five hours later, I was starving and needed something high in protein and low in carbs.  So we found an all you can eat BBQ place in McKinney and I went to town on their meats!  I had servings of brisket, sausage, chicken and ribs n topped it all off with some peach cobbler!  I left their totally full and somewhat bloated.  Whoot.  By the time I got back to my cousin's house, they had already gone to bed, so Jeremy and I came in, settled in, and actually went to bed kind of early.

The next day we went back to the hospital for my booster shot.  I think this is where the day started to go downhill.  I waited over an hour for one of the nurses to call me back - just for a shot.  Then my sugar began to rise, so I had to take extra insulin and snack on some jerky - even though I really wanted a doughnut.  Then, on the way out of the hospital, I got a call from Dr. L.'s office, who told me that their office also got in a new bill for my account.  She told me they had officially set up my payment plan (that was supposed to be done weeks ago), and my first $100 payment is due June 25th.  Then she informed me that since they have new charges on my account, that they would need to increase my monthly payment to $197 a month.  After I told her she was crazy to think I had that kind of money, and although she was nice about it, she pretty much blew it off.  So I have 5 doctor appointments coming up in 6 weeks, and now I have to come up with the $100 to send into her office.

To top off the already bad day, the interstate home was deadlocked.  After a few miles, and lots of bickering between Jeremy and I, we took a detour through some back-roads.  It took a little longer to get home, but at least the roads were clear and we got home.

I've spent the last two days laying on my couch, wanting to eat, but not wanting to feel sick; wanting to sleep but not tired enough for that.  I feel like I'll never get anything done.  Except worry - I get to worry abut money.  I could cancel appointments, but which ones?  I could change doctors/hospitals, but it my be too late.  I get to spend the whole day worrying how I'm going to afford being sick - how can I afford to continue to fight cancer?