What My Insurance Company Thinks of Me

I happened to call my health insurance company the other day. Right now I have COBRA coverage and I was checking about converting to a regular policy in June of this year.

After asking my questions and just before I was going to hang up, I asked the customer service rep to verify that the date my current insurance would end is June. Boy, was I surprised when she said, "Actually, your coverage has already been terminated".

Oh yeah folks, she said terminated and she said that it was right now. After a long, but at the same time instantaneous, inner dialogue that including a lot of shouting and cursing, I politely asked for an explanation.

And she, oh so politely, explained that my insurance company, had recently changed the way they received electronic transfers and many people had been "dropped" by accident. Odd, don't you think that I being someone who spends a lot on health care should be among the dropped ones? And then to just cancel me rather then try to notify me that they were not taking my money anymore. How efficient they are.

She was nice enough to say I would be reinstated without penalty once they got my money. But they would not accept it right away. No, I couldn't just use a credit card or do a new electronic transfer. I had to send it by ordinary mail. Which means it will take days. Weeks actually, before the 'system' will accept me once again into the fold.

Nice huh? I had to cancel the CAT scan planned for the next day on my lungs. No time to worry about cancer, got to work on this problem right now.

Rare Cancer Online support

The Rare Cancer online support site has been a real lifeline of help, friends, good advice and tips for surviving all the weirder forms of cancer.

Unfortunately, I just want to let people know that it is currently down. The owner plans to have it up after the New Year.

So don't click on that link till 2012.

Charity begins in Florida

This has been a difficult but rewarding year and it's time to think of the less fortunate.

Save the Chimps is a charity I support that helps Chimps who have been used and abused in medical experiments. It's based in Florida and tries to provide open land and healthy life styles to my fellow brothers and sisters apes.

I've Been Deported

On Wednesday I went to have my port removed. YEAH!!!

P.A. Thor is shown here, ripping it out of my chest. Actually he did a very neat job of it.

We chatted thru the whole procedure. I could feel what he was doing...it just didn't hurt at all.

I was fond of my port; it was so easy to get my blood drawn and have injections. But it was time for it to go.

PET SCAN Results

I went to see Dr. Illyass, my oncologist, on Monday to get the results of the Pet Scan. I wasn't nervous or worried. I figured the treatments had been successful.

Well, the good news is that the scan didn't show any activity, except left over burning in the areas where the cancer had been. HOORAY!!!!

Maybe not ALL good news. They do want to do a CAT scan of my lungs in 3 months.

It seems there were a few pesky nodules that they will have to check out and make sure they are nothing.

Otherwise: HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL.

PET SCAN, Part 2

Yesterday, I had my second PET scan. This is the one that will tell me if there is any cancer leftovers from the treatment.

First I was given some radioactive injections, the syringe sheathed in a protective metal sleeve. Then I drank some nasty 'berry' flavored liquid. I think that's the glucose that they monitor thru the scan. And lastly I got another weird injection that made me feel all hot.

After that I was scanned to bits.

Later, I got radioactive cramps and couldn't go to my dance class. BooHoo.

Awaiting the results next week. Stay tuned.

Poo-Tine

I just got back from a trip to Canada. I had to fine tune my diet carefully. It seems the Canadians put cheese on everything....even snails!

But I did find what should be the official food for Anal Cancer. What else but...POUTINE.

It's a mixture of french fries, brown gravy and, of course, cheese. They use Cheese curd. I'm not sure why except it's as tasty as cheese but doesn't glue the fries all together.

As for my diet while I was there, I got into the habit of eating prunes everyday. Plus my sister brought along an interesting product: chia seeds. The kind you put on the head of your chia pet. When soaked in water for about a minute they formed a mucilaginous blob. It didn't taste bad and it did the trick.

What trick is that you ask? Well, I'll leave it to your imagination.