Just got off a phone call with three of my extended family who live in Winnipeg and Toronto.
My mother-in-law (Winnepeg) is recovering cancer patient - Leukemia.
Today, we told her how long it took me to get help in the US Healthcare system: about 1 May 22 until first diagnosis of cancer in early November.
I think my first visits for consultations at Cleveland Clinic was Oct. 24 - that was MRI up there which is much better than Key West’s limited hospital.
Lot more meetings up there at CC.
My “now” for gettting treatment I needed was extended my months, folks. It’s not my doctor’s fault or the nurses faults: it’s the Administrator’s and Boards and corner offices in US Healthcare making my life hell.
Chemo officially started around 12 DEC 22 down at Genesis Oncological in Key West.
Port operation put in for the more intense magical chemo drugs on 21 DEC 22.
Started on at-home pallitive chemo administration with the harshest amounts of new wonder drugs mixed with stuff being used all over America for most cancer patients around 27 Dec 22.
It’s 16 JAN 23: I’ve had two of the at-home regimens which my high-tech mobile pump hanging around my neck attached to my port in my chest. I’ve documented on various posts the stuff which is all new to me: needles when I drink something cold, hot flashes/cold flashes (male menopause my wife is calling int), vertigo, dizzyness, join pain, nausea which comes on like a freight train, pain like Satan’s Army running through my lower intestines, chemo-anger, chemo-brain, ad infinitum.
Here’s how my mother-in-law was treated in the Bad Old Social Republic of Canada: diagnosed with Leukemia on a Friday, she started chemo on a Tuesday following. Went into remission. She’s back into chemo.
Okay, she doesn’t have pumps and was amazed I’m into all this new fangled tech down here in tiny Key West, but I corrected her that this is a chain of Oncological Clinics, Genesis, country-wide and growing.
She has no co-pays.
My co-pays for so called Medicare Advantage (what a racket!) are 10-20% for certain tests/procedure.
My mother-in-law has never heard the words “billable hours” muttered by disgusted healthcare workers under the the thumbs on administrators and boards all bent on profits.
Diagnosed on a Friday, four days later, she’s in chemo.
Compare that to my tale.
I’m shaking my head here.
Next time someone raves about America’s largest racket - healthcare - be sure to keep me in mind and my MIL’s report from that bad old Socialist Country which I want to move to, and probably will once I’m finally convinced I have kicked Cancer in the arse with the help of my Chemo Man Sos, the coolest Doctor I’ve ever known, other than Wexner and every single female doctor at Cleveland Clinic.
