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My laparscopy is scheduled. They wanted to do it really soon, but b/c I have no $$ right now I have to wait. I am having it done 08.31.09. Keep your fingers crossed that it is just endo and not OVCA.
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Finally
- By benjen879
- Posted June 9, 2009 at 4:30 pm · 13 replies
- In What, me worry?
- Shared with the public
Explore topics in this discussion:
Cancer Childbirth Surgery Pregnancy Ectopic pregnancy Breast cancer Ovarian cancer Pain Endometriosis
13 replies
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- Newest first
- By dollycat6
- Posted June 9, 2009 at 8:26 pm
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Will keep you in my prayers..hang in there!
dollycat6
- By benjen879
- Posted June 10, 2009 at 7:53 am
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Thank you for your well wishes!! Take care.
- By bevl
- Posted June 10, 2009 at 4:33 pm
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Please please please find a way to have your laparoscopy as soon as possible instead of waiting till August. If it is cancer, that time can make a really big difference. I had to wait over a month before I had my laparoscopy and by the time I had it, a tumor had grown outside my abdominal cavity, which I could feel under my skin. I think during that extra month I went from stage 3c to 4. It's really really important to catch ovarian cancer as early as you possibly can. That's the main thing that determines the likelihood of success vs recurrence.
Please give this a lot of thought and try to find a way to finance the surgery.
Bev
- By plk
- Posted June 12, 2009 at 12:12 am
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I have to agree with bevl, please find a way to have it now. Can you possibly have it at a city/county hospital? Ask your Dr. and the hospitals who can help you now. I live each day fighting stage 4, chemo every week and at the infusion center five days a week. I'm not complaining, just hope that you won't be in my situation. God Bless you and I will pray for you.
- By benjen879
- Posted June 12, 2009 at 7:50 am
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Thanks so much for your concern. The past couple of days (oddly enough) have been awful. I am getting scared now. If this keeps up I am going to try and find a way of getting it done sooner. Thank you again!!
- By momanderson920
- Posted June 12, 2009 at 11:17 am
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benjen879, don't let this frighten you as it may not be ovarian cancer, but better to be safe than sorry. As for the money thing, my aunt who is a single 53 year old and doesn't make much money was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was able to have her surgery within 2 weeks by going on Medicaid and they took her in right away. She had her mammogram before she was on the Medicaid by going to a clinic and this was all in Georgia...Savannah area. I think if you make some calls, you can get this done sooner without money up front. Have you had an ultrasound and CA125 indicating cancer? Or a CT scan? Usually they can tell something from that as to whether it is cancer or not. True, they don't know for sure until they go in but those tests are pretty good in most cases. How long do you have to wait for the surgery? And they are right, county and certain other hospitals will take you without money up front. A real good public facility in Georgia is Emory near Atlanta...one of best in the country. That is where my aunt had her reconstructive surgery and didn't pay a dime since she is on Medicaid (or its equivalent there) now.
- By benjen879
- Posted June 12, 2009 at 12:42 pm
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Well fortunately or "un" depending on how you look at it, I have insurance. They require me to have $500 up front. Then my short term disibility at work only pays me at 60% the time I am out. We have 2 kids and are barely making it now, so I have to wait until the end of August. Last year I had a CA-125 done and it was normal. I have cyst on both ovaries the left looks "simple" and the right one looks "complex" and has ruptured several times. My symptoms started about 1.5 years ago and have just gotten worse. I can't get sick w/out it turning into penumonia and get so tired during the day even though I just have an office job. I have alot of pain mainly. So maybe it's just endo? I have had dysplasia before but they removed the abnormal tissue. Not that it has anything to do with this. Thank you for your concern, but I am stuck between a rock and a hard place since I do not qualify for Gov't assistance.
- By momanderson920
- Posted June 12, 2009 at 1:03 pm
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First, I have never been to a hospital that required an upfront fee. Perhaps you should see if your doctor could perform the surgery at a different hospital...it sounds like it is this particular hospital. I have had surgery and childbirth in several hospitals and never had an upfront fee from the doctors or the hospitals. Second, a laprascopy can be done with a very short, if any, hospital stay. My sister had an emergency laprascopy to have a fallopian tube removed due to an ectopic pregnancy that burst and she was discharged that day and was up and vacuuming in 24 hours which I would not recommend but the point is, it is not like major surgery at all. If it is more than endometriosis or an ovarian cyst, you are going to have to get off work anyway since it will turn into a major surgery while you are on the operating table and if caught early, this cancer is curable. Stage I and II are considered in most cases curable, however III and IV are not. And trust me, you don't not want incurable ovarian cancer. It may not be ovarian cancer, but it is wise not to take the chance. When you use a term like complex, that is something you want to get checked out sooner rather than later. My sister is in a very similar situation as yours as she has Stage 3 lymphoma and is a single mom and disability only pays 60%. I know that is very tough when you have little ones to feed. I am not trying to be difficult, but am just concerned for you since this is not a cancer you want to mess around with. If you had the lap on a Friday, you would have the whole weekend to recover and may not miss much work. If it were to be a major surgery, time off work would be inevitable anyway. Hope I am not being to tough on you....I am just concerned. I hate this cancer and don't want anymore sisters harmed by it.
- By momanderson920
- Posted June 12, 2009 at 1:07 pm
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One more suggestion, many hospitals will work with you on your balance. I have had to work arrangements out with my hospital for CT scans and my original cancer surgery. I was billed after the tests and surgery and called the billing office, explained my situation and they were very accomodating in splitting payments up into a plan I could afford on a monthly basis. I am just trying to think of a way you could overcome these difficult hurdles. If you have sick days or vacation, you could have the lap on Friday and not miss any, unless it turns into a major surgery. If that happens, the usual stay is 5-7 days. Mine was 6 days and that was because of a postop infection...it probably would have been 5. Just some ideas.
- By benjen879
- Posted June 12, 2009 at 2:02 pm
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No, it is that I have a $500 deductible that must be met in order for the insurance to pay anything towards it. The doctors and hospitals will not fool with it, if they know your insurance has this criteria. We went through this to get tubes in my little girls ears. To top it all off, they only do surgeries on Mondays and Tuesdays, in case you end up needing something later in the week they will be in office. That just sounds like to me that they don't want to be bothered on weekends. A couple of people mentioned going to a Gyn/Oncologist, but I don't know how to go about it. I have a vacation day the week of my surgery preplanned, so that I can get a full day of wages. I don't know how people make it anymore with the price of health insurance and cost of living!! Thanks again for all your ideas!
- By benjen879
- Posted June 12, 2009 at 2:34 pm
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BTW, does this sound like ovca? I was so stupid in the beginning. When this first all started I was very depressed (needed to keep my very new job) and shrugged off my first doctors advice of surgery about 1.5 years ago. They even sent me a certified letter explaining that I need surgery. I could kick myself for that, since it has gotten so much worse. I get up about 5 times a night to use the bathroom, and during the day about 2x a hour. Would do you think?? I am worried and confused, what should I do? I just filed bankruptcy b/c of money problems soI can not even go get a loan for the surgery costs.
- By momanderson920
- Posted June 12, 2009 at 2:38 pm
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benjen879, if you let them know your situation they may be willing to put you on a payment plan. And quite honestly if there is suspicion of cancer, you should have a gyn/oncologist onboard anyway. I have been in your shoes, putting off medical things because I could not afford the copays, etc. but since this cancer I will never put off anything again even if I have to beg the doctor or find another to let me pay on time. If there is any suspicion of cancer, don't wait. Are you near a teaching hospital? They are often much more flexible with the money issues since they are often public hospitals and have oncologists on staff. It might be worth traveling a distance to go to one. I do understand the money situation but don't let one doctor or hospital prevent you from looking out for your health. When you used that term complex that sounds alittle too suspicious. I will keep you in prayer that everything works out. I know it is tough.
- By eamom
- Posted June 12, 2009 at 2:42 pm
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I understand the health insurance issues, but I agree that this is too important to postpone. I was staged at 1c, and my gyn/onc said it would have been in stage 3 within 3 months.
My insurance is worse than yours, and I'm still finding out about extra fees I had no idea about. With cancer, I've had to get the various surgeries and tests done, whether I have the deductible or not. My deductible (for our family of 4) is $2400. They don't ask for it as soon as you walk in the hospital-even though my bill for the first surgery was over $9000. They did tell me for my port surgery that I had a $30 copay and that I hadn't paid the $250 copay for the second surgery. I had no idea there is a $250 copay (outrageous) for each inpatient procedure-and I had 2 inpatient surgeries, so $500. I wouldn't pay that $250 that day and they did the surgery regardless. They will just bill you later, and I've always heard as long as you pay a little bit of a medical bill every month it won't hurt your credit score.
I hope that you don't have cancer, and that you can get the procedure done more quickly.
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