I remember how terrifying it was to hear the diagnosis of breast cancer. At the age of 35, I had to face a potentially life-threatening diagnosis, major surgery and chemotherapy after that.
If that wasn’t enough, what if I had woken up after my mastectomy only to discover that I had a bill for thousands of dollars that my insurance wouldn’t cover and I couldn’t pay?
Many women today are facing that very situation. Continue reading
Timely access to treatment is critical for individuals dealing with any number of medical conditions. Metastatic breast cancer is no exception.
The Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act would waive the lengthy waiting periods that currently prevent individuals with advanced breast cancer from receiving timely access to care. Continue reading
I’m delighted to participate in the 2019 Summer Blogging Challenge offered by my friend and fellow blogger, Nancy, at Nancy’s Point.
The challenge involves answering a series of random questions about ourselves and blogging. Continue reading
A recent article in the New York Times reported on the stories of a number of individuals struggling to cope with drug prices for essential medications that are far beyond what they can afford.
Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal, in her book “An American Sickness” gives us some perspective on how we got to where we are today with healthcare costs in this country and what we can do about it. Continue reading
One of the things I enjoy about the holiday season is that it usually includes some down time to reflect a bit on the past year and opportunities the new year brings.
As we start this new year, I’m looking forward to (hopefully) a wonderful year ahead, but it’s hard not to also recognize that there are many uncertainties at play in the larger world today.
I’ve been thinking lately about some of the lessons I’ve learned going through difficult times in the past. One of those lessons was recognizing that even when our world seems to be veering off course, there are things we can control. And those are the small and large (mostly small) choices we make and actions we take every day that add up to the kind of year we have and the life we live.
The last month has been full of discussion about where we’re headed as a country following the November 2016 election.
Health care policy is a big part of that discussion. There’s been much opining on what the leadership in Congress will likely be seeking to do. Right now, we are mostly faced with a huge amount of uncertainty.
Discussions of health care issues are often presented in ideological terms. But here’s the thing about cancer: once you’ve had to deal with it, you’re perspective changes. Whether you identify with Republicans, Democrats–or neither–you realize that many of the things that matter most are the same for everyone.
