My New Fight; Prostate Cancer

[Patrick]

The waiting is terrible. Sorry.

[sensei8]

Yes it is, Patrick. Yet I shudder to think just how long, or the very end, I would've had to endure had I not secured any medical insurance.

Quick update:

The Comprehensive Cancer Center was able to move my appointment to August 18, 2021 with a check-in time of 8:15am, and 9am to see my Oncologist. They'll continue to move me to an even sooner appointment should there be any more cancelations.

On another note:

I've not a Cardiologist appointment at Southwest Medical Associate for August3, 2021 at 2pm.

Only appointment that hasn't been secured as of yet is for my Dietician.

[sensei8]

UPDATE:

Appointment to my Oncologist has been moved up to August 10, 2021 at 9AM!!

Will see my new Cardiologist today, August 3, 2021 at 2PM.

Had my phone interview this morning with SSA for Disability due to my Cancer; will receive determination in and/or about 2 weeks.

Still trying to secure a Dietician.

[Patrick]

The sooner the better. Hope your appointment went well yesterday.

[sensei8]

My Health Insurance Broker gave me some very disheartening news this afternoon. The Act that provides me my health insurance is ending at the end of this month...August 2021.

This means the end of my cancer treatments with no substitute in sight to replace!! My treatments' future seems quite bleak.

For 6 to 8 weeks I fought, scratched, and clawed to find some great insurance; hope returned, to only have it dashed. No other notifications whatsoever.

Why approve me for medical insurance that started in July 2021 to only end it at the end of August 2021?!?

The blame is mine and mine alone for moving away from Houston. where I once had some darn good insurance that took care of my every cancer treatment needs.

I've no idea what I can do!!

[Patrick]

Hey Bob,

Try not to be so hard on yourself. There are numerous reasons for this sort of thing, and anything you did is at the bottom of that list.

Just going to throw some things out that may be annoying, but just to go through it...

- Medicare shouldn't be affected by a move. You may have mentioned this earlier in the thread, but is it a matter of certain expenses being left over?

- I'm guessing you have already been all the way through Nevada Health Link and have called and asked them for help.

- Have you tried the National Cancer Institute at 1-800-4-CANCER? They are supposed to have some ideas.

- Have you tried CancerCare at 1-800-813-HOPE? They provide free case management and could be useful by providing referrals to vetted local resources.

- What was the name of the act that is expiring? I did some Googling and couldn't track it down.

Keep on it.

[sensei8]

Hey Bob,

Try not to be so hard on yourself. There are numerous reasons for this sort of thing, and anything you did is at the bottom of that list.

Just going to throw some things out that may be annoying, but just to go through it...

- Medicare shouldn't be affected by a move. You may have mentioned this earlier in the thread, but is it a matter of certain expenses being left over?

- I'm guessing you have already been all the way through Nevada Health Link and have called and asked them for help.

- Have you tried the National Cancer Institute at 1-800-4-CANCER? They are supposed to have some ideas.

- Have you tried CancerCare at 1-800-813-HOPE? They provide free case management and could be useful by providing referrals to vetted local resources.

- What was the name of the act that is expiring? I did some Googling and couldn't track it down.

Keep on it.

WOW!! I greatly appreciate your help in this very frustrating roller coaster ride; thank you, Patrick!!

As far as the Medicare, each and every time I've applied for Medicare I've been ceremoniously denied due to the fact that my income surpasses their income limitations/allowances and I'm not of the age of 65 years old.

Yes, I've been in constant contact with the Nevada Health Link during all of its ups and downs. NHP, Nevada Health Plan is where I was referred to at the onslaught of this all for medical insurance. Whereas, once through that starting block, you're referred to a Medical Insurance Broker in order to secure/obtain medical insurance.

I've contacted both the National Cancer Institute as well as the CancerCare a dozen of times for many other of my concerns including medical insurance. Both agencies have been stellar in their assistance; invaluable to my fight against cancer across the board.

The America Cares Act, as told to me by my Medical Insurance Broker, and that to his understanding, the Tax Credit, and not the ACT itself, was the threatening concern because it was subjecting to end at the end of August 2021. Without the Tax Credit, my monthly payment would be $850.

Come to find out, after having a sit down in-depth conversation with both my Medical Insurance Broker and his boss, who owns the insurance agency, and after spending some time on the phone with the NHP...our Medical Insurance was APPROVED and made ACTIVE...and my wife's on it now too!! So, the medical insurance roller coaster train is now back in its station, and things are far more stable than before. My Broker misread, therefore misinterpreting what he was reading, thus his boss fixed the misunderstanding. The Tax Credit is NOT being ended at all, and it's good until the end of this year, and it might become permanent...to my understanding from what his boss and HPN laid out before us.

So, fingers crossed... NO MORE HICCUPS with my Medical Insurance.

[sensei8]

UPDATE:

Visited with my Oncologist, Dr. Oscar Goodman MD, on August 10, 2021; all went swimmingly.

He's still waiting to receive from the LBJ Hospital in Houston, TX my COMPLETE medical records. What he's received is a summary report in order to treat. That's a little crazy and confusing and strange that he wants the complete medical records, but can treat me with summary records. Soon as I receive them, I'll forward them to Dr. Goodman. One might think that a doctor could get complete records at the snap of ones fingers. Perhaps the HIPPA has a lot to do with that.

He asked me a ton of questions about a wide plethora of subjects in order to get a far better grasp on my history, including this past year of treatments in Houston.

Then...the fun...Prostate examination. Before he started the exam, I turned around and asked him his first name, which I already knew, and then I told him my first name...after all...if you're going to go where you're going to go for that exam, we need to be on first name basis...at least...all went well and is ok with that area.

I did find out from Dr. Goodman that the summary records show that my Cancer is not just in my L4, but it's also in my T11; small microdot in those locations. Strange is that the T11 isn't right next to my L4; it's 6 vertebrae apart. Stranger than that, to me, is that I was either never told about my T11 or I was told but somehow forgot about it, which isn't me to forget something that important.

Dr. Goodman also informed me that I am at High Risk of dying from my Prostate Cancer because of my young age. I said..."Huh? Young age?!?!" Yes, High Risk because men who are diagnosed with Prostate Cancer are the age of 68, and not at 62 years of age. That doesn't sit well with me at all. My wife broke down a little because her dad passed away 2 years ago and doesn't want to bury me yet.

Dr. Goodman has ordered the following:

1) Leuprolide shot on August 16, 2021

2) CT Scan (Schedule pending; waiting for insurance approval)

3) Nuclear Bone Scan (Schedule pending; waiting for insurance approval)

4) Follow-up with Dr. Goodman on August 20, 2021

Dr. Goodman wants all of these to be completed before my follow-up on August 20, 2021. Knowing insurance, telling drag their feet; I'll be pleasantly surprised if all of the referrals occur before next Friday.

In addition, Dr. Goodman is setting up Financial Assistance and a Nutritionist ASAP.

Depending on the results of my Blood Work, which I also had done right after my visit with Dr. Goodman, as well as my other tests, Dr. Goodman will more than likely order Radiation Therapy.

That's all for this update; the fight continues!!

[sensei8]

Update:

1) Had my Leuprolide shot today (August 19, 2021)

2) CT Scan Scheduled for Sunday August 22, 2021 at 2:40PM

3) Nuclear Bone Scan Scheduled for Wednesday August 18, 2021 at 9AM

Interesting note on my shot. I was given Eligard (Leuprolide Acetate) with either 7.5mg or 30mg...the box reads 30mg but the order says 7.5mg (I'll check with my Oncologist Friday. This was due to that I missed my May 28, 2021 shot. This Shot was every 3 months, now it's every 4 months. This shot had to be given to the backside of my left arm instead of the right shoulder...shoulder is muscle, whereas the back of my arm is tissue. It's a thick shot they inject it quite slow...and man oh man...the back of my left arm was on FIRE for about 15 seconds...thankfully the fire was put out after those 15 seconds.

Nothing unusual about my upcoming Nuclear Bone Scan; I've had it twice already, and there's no different prep required. The same injection and the same 3-4 hours to complete.

Now the CT Scan prep is a different thing. I've had CT Scans before with no prep whatsoever. However, the prep now seems...abnormal...

1) Nothing to eat 4 hours prior to exam time

2) Nothing to drink 2 hours prior to exam time

3) Take ALL medications as prescribed

4) Drink 1 15oz bottle of Oral Prep 3 hours prior to exam time

5) Drink 1 15oz bottle of Oral Prep 1 hours prior to exam time

On the bottles, which I've in the frig fright now, the label reads...

Creamy Vanilla Smoothie Readi-Cat 2

(Barium Sulfate) Oral Suspension 450ml

Did a tad of research to see what I was getting myself in, and what I can tell is that the taste might be chalky yet not to bad at all...YEAH...SURE. This stuff, like in any other stuff, reacts differently from patient to patient. Leaves a metal taste, and can do one of the two or both side effects...

*Constipation

*Diarrhea

Neither will be fun because either I'll be in pain from stomach pains or I'll poo all over myself every 5 minutes for a bit. Sure, the counter agents to get this out of my body is A LOT OF WATER!! Had this scheduled for this Thursday at 10PM, and yes, 10PM, the office is open 24 hours a day, and what was bad about this is that I've 2 back to back doctor appointments, PCP at 9AM, then my Oncologist, who's 30 minutes away, at 10AM. I don't think I'd be in any shape to be no further than a few feet from the bathroom to drive anywhere or wait in some doctors waiting lobby; not the very next morning!!

I'll talk to my Oncologist to see if I can do a CT Scan that doesn't involves this type of prep; didn't do this type of prep in Houston, TX. All I had to do in Houston, TX was go to the Radiology Department, lay on a table for 15 minutes, that's it. Oh yeah, on top of the bottles, I'll get an iodine IV...fun!!

Edited December 9, 2021 by sensei8

[sensei8]

Just received from my insurance company that my Oncologists referral for Genetic Tests was denied due to be unproven and not medical necessary. Just love it when entities go against a doctors recommendation(s).

Purpose of the Genetic Test was due to the fact that I'm the only one on both sides of the family to be diagnosed with cancer, and that I was diagnosed when I was 62 years old, and not at 68 years of age.

Found out that the shot of Leuprolid dose was 7.5mg, which is still an elevated dose than normal.

Had my Bone Scan today. It was the same 2 hour wait before the actual scan, but the scan was only 30 minutes, less than the 1 hour scan. Also, today they gave me the injection but instead of leaving the staged IV in my shoulder, they just put a band-aid on, and sent me onto the waiting area.

Quite sure that I'll have a deferring conversation with my Oncologist this Friday morning over this CT Scan and all because I DO NOT want to drink that Prep Drink AT ALL!! There has to be other options!!

They seem to do many things different in Las Vegas than Houston.