Breast cancer fair or not?
We have a breast cancer screening program for those uninsured….unfortunately we can screen them but cannot provide treatment for them. So we can tell you have breast cancer, but we have not treatment options for you…. fair or not? Thoughts!
Of course it is unfair, but it’s just one of oh so many illogical, inept, incompetent components making up the tangled ball of red tape that is the American health care system. Trying to understand it all would be like having a hundred miles of Christmas lights jumbled up, and needing to sort them all out and replace all the broken bulbs. I’m in a support group for teens with cancer and blood diseases, and it’s just a joke about how pathetic our system is. One of my favorite friends died in January, and I’m still close friends with her brother who told me about how she’d had a relapse while they were on a vacation at Lake Mead outside of Vegas. The family is from LA, and once she was stabilized they were wanting to transfer her to a hospital here. The problem was that the hospital in Vegas wouldn’t release her unless she was transported by ambulance to the hospital in LA, and their insurance company refused to cover the astronomical cost, or even pay a fraction of it. They only pay for ambulances in the case of emergencies, and considered that $20,000 trip to be optional, even though it was the only way she could be brought home, and of course, they don’t cover the hotel fees for her family to stay there to be with her.
It was a complete Catch-22, just as the one you’re mentioning, but they happen multiple times a day, every single day.
With breast cancer, at least most of the people who get it are adults over the age of 40 who are more likely to be able to fend for themselves, and as another person pointed out, early detection is key. There are plenty of other cancers and diseases that do not have any sort of coverage for early-detection and prevention. And there are more programs, I believe, set up for women with breast cancer than with many other illnesses. I know that when my art teacher got breast cancer but didn’t have any insurance, she was able to leapfrog over the process for getting onto this California-based Medicaid system (can’t remember the name), and all of her treatment was completely covered. Every last dime. She was even able to get an oncologist at Cedars Sinai in Beverly Hills who accepted medicaid.
So yeah, it’s unfair, but it’s not nearly as profanely unacceptable as some of the other problems within the health care system.
Doctor J ~ the problem with your argument is that when you’re sick, it’s hard to work at your full capabilities, which in turn makes it harder to pay for food, shelter and utilities. There are assistance programs in place to help people who need food, housing and other things, and it’s easier for those struggling with those issues to get back onto their feet and care for themselves if they are in good health.
Many people with health problems actually do have the desire to pay for their treatment themselves, but it’s almost impossible with the insanely overinflated cost of care in America. The friend I just mentioned above – the girl who died at 18 of AML – her parents are well-educated professionals with insurance, and yet they’re still on the brink of foreclosure because of her medical bills over a prolonged time period that came to an excess of a million dollars. Do you just have that kind of money nestling in your back pocket? The number one cause for bankruptcy in America is from medical expenses, and the vast majority of those declaring bankruptcy *did* have insurance at the time of the treatment.
Screening for Breast Cancer
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Genitourinary Trauma Diagnosis and Management in the Emergency Department/Breast Cancer Screening By Mammography Is It Effective in Women Under Age 50? (NCME Video 673) Program I (30 min.) — Genitourinary injury is often very subtle and sometimes not apparent until several hours after it occurs. This program reviews the diagnosis, evaluation, and management of both upper and lower genitourinary trauma in the acute care setting. Program II (12 min.) — The questions of which women to screen for breast cancer by mammography, at what age, and how often have genera… |
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Classic Cancer Films DVD: 1940s – 1960s Lung, Stomach, & Skin Cancer And Tumors Awareness & Prevention Films $12.99 Cancer awareness did not begin until the mid-20th century. This is a special compilation of cancer-related films from the 1940s, 50s & 60s. Skin cancer, stomach cancer, lung cancer and more is covered. This DVD has 6 great films and over 110 minutes of rare video about the history of cancer. Table Of Contents: (1) At the End of the Rainbow (1946) – This is a film about ultra-violet light and its h… |
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Cancer: Symptoms & Treatment History (1940s) [DVD] $9.99 Cancer is an interesting short film that explains the signs and symptoms of cancer and its treatment. It features Mr. Bert Marshall, an average man who was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Aside from illustrations of the human anatomy and how cancer cells develop, the film also shows the disease is not only a physical burden but also an emotional weight by showing Mr. Marshall getting depressed and … |
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American Cancer Society Film: Time is Life (1949) [DVD] $9.99 Time is Life highlights the importance of time in combating the second highest cause of death in the world, cancer. The film also underscores the efforts of the American Cancer Society towards the alleviation, if not elimination, of cancer in the American society. The film starts with Mary Bronson being stressed out with the possibility of having a cancer. Cancer is not given proper attention by t… |
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Genetic Cancer Scan Testing Kit. Identifies genetic variants linked to carcinomas as listed in key product features. Lab Fees Not Included. See Key Product Features. $12.99 This is an easy to use at home sample collection kit. You submit swabs of your inside cheeks to the Viaguard lab and receive a confidential report in 25 days. This test encourages understanding risk and empowering prevention via early detection. This test identifies genetic variants linked to the following carcinomas: Breast Cancer,Skin Cancer, Lung Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Bladder Cancer, Pr… |
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Overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health $12.45 From a nationally recognized expert, an exposé of the worst excesses of our zeal for medical testing After the criteria used to define osteoporosis were altered, seven million American women were turned into patientsâliterally overnight. The proliferation of fetal monitoring in the 1970s was associated with a 66 percent increase in the number of women told they needed emergency C-sectio… |
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Worried Sick: A Prescription for Health in an Overtreated America (H. Eugene and Lillian Youngs Lehman) $15.69 At a time when access to health care in the United States is being widely debated, Nortin Hadler argues that an even more important issue is being overlooked. Although necessary health care should be available to all who need it, he says, the current health-care debate assumes that everyone requires massive amounts of expensive care to stay healthy. Hadler urges that before we commit to paying for… |
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Lange Q&A: Mammography Examination, Second Edition (LANGE Q&A Allied Health) $47.00 Everything you need to ace the ARRT Mammography Exam in one complete study package! Two complete practice tests plus easy-to-read summaries of all the must-know concepts for the most thorough exam prep available anywhere! “Because this book is very up to date and covers a lot of material, it would be very useful for anyone preparing for the mammography board exam. 3 Stars.”–Doody’s Review Service… |
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KE Specialties Tampa Bay Buccaneers Breast Cancer Nail Polish $17.99 Support breast cancer awareness with this 2-piece NFL® nail polish set from KE Specialties. Each set contains one bottle of a team color and one bottle of pink. A Crucial Catch: Annual Screening Saves Lives The NFL® and KE Specialties are supporting the American Cancer Society in its efforts to create a world with less breast cancer and more birthdays…. |
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KE Specialties San Francisco 49ers Breast Cancer Nail Polish $17.99 Support breast cancer awareness with this 2-piece NFL® nail polish set from KE Specialties. Each set contains one bottle of a team color and one bottle of pink. A Crucial Catch: Annual Screening Saves Lives The NFL® and KE Specialties are supporting the American Cancer Society in its efforts to create a world with less breast cancer and more birthdays…. |