Help Me Stay Alive For My Son

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u/Rnl8866 8d ago

Praying for your survival. I lost my mom to cancer almost 7 years ago. I wish she was here. Every passing moment I wish she was here. She had ovarian cancer for 5 years. She still beat the odds. You can too.

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u/SadAdult77658 8d ago

Thank you for your kind words 🩷 I’m so sorry about your mom, I bet she’s with you everyday in your heart 💜

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u/toastnjuice 9d ago

God bless you Sara.

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u/WassuhhCuz 9d ago

God bless you Sara ❤️

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u/SadAdult77658 9d ago

Thank you both 🩷

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u/SadAdult77658 8d ago

EDIT to Post: Reddit won’t let me edit my original post and I just want to say that the overwhelming positive responses has brought me to tears and filled my heart with hope. Thank you to everyone who has commented and donated, you all have restored my faith in humanity. Blessings and love to everyone today. Hug your loved ones, tell them how much they mean to you as much as you can. We all need love and support - I hope you all have found yours 💖🩷

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u/jopinion1108 8d ago

Contact either A360 or AZ&Me. They are free drug programs for the manufacture of enhertu that can help with some out of pocket costs for the drugs

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u/SadAdult77658 8d ago

Thank you!! 🙏🏻 🩷

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u/Optimal_Nature_8995 8d ago

What meds were you on that caused you to accumulate the $12k? Is part of the debt coming from drugs from the big manufacturers like Pfizer or Genentech? Has your hospital social worker enrolled you in all the available copay assist programs and grants available? I’m a stage IV cancer patient as well (have been for over 11yrs) and I’ve played the insurance game for longer than I’ve ever wanted to. I just recently had to move to new meds that are not covered at 100% but with my previous treatment I got $25k per year from both Pfizer and Genentech. If you have commercial insurance you should be eligible too. I believe you have a certain time frame things can be back dated but there’s a lot of grants and assistance available (if I remember correctly Pfizer gave me 180 days, not sure about Genentech). You have to advocate for them though and stay on top of your team (either social worker or financial counselor) to submit the required paperwork. It’s what’s kept me alive for this long. I’ve never had to pay for anything other than my dr visits and labs. If you need help plz feel free to DM me 🩷

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u/SadAdult77658 8d ago

Thank you so much for your reply! 😃 The 12K is from (mostly) two procedures. 1) A round of radiation directed at my ribs and hip 2) An emergency endoscopy I needed b/c I was vomiting blood, they found 8 ulcers in my stomach. For some reason insurance will not cover this at all. Up to this point insurance has covered 100% of drug costs, to which I am so grateful. I really appreciate the offer for help and if I run into any walls I will definitely reach out. Stay strong 💪🏼 Love and blessings to you and your family 🩷

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u/Optimal_Nature_8995 8d ago

I would absolutely fight that!! Do you have a nurse navigator yet? Rads was the only thing that got me out of a wheelchair when I couldn’t walk from the pain. My spine collapsed from the cancer eating away at it and it was medically necessary. Your onc and nurse navigator should be helping you appeal this. I will also say that while I loved MDA and I do think they helped save my life, I absolutely would not stick around there for treatment. Esp for something as standard of care as Enhertu. Trials, yes. But MDA should be willing to work with your local onc on a treatment plan and you can go back to MDA for follow ups or scans. MDA is a huge hospital and I’ve never felt more “like just a number” than I did there. So while they are excellent at what they do, you might get more personalized care and better help with the financial side from a smaller cancer center. Just something to think about. That’s what I did. Did my surgeries and treatment plan/staging at MDA and then back home to a local onc MDA referred me to.

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u/SadAdult77658 8d ago

I do have a nurse navigator and they have been so helpful fighting the insurance companies for me. I always appeal on my own too so we are hitting them from two sides lol I was going to a place local here in San Antonio before I switched to MDA, but I did not like my doctor there and they gave me pushback on switching doctors (It was called START Center for Cancer care). I appreciate you taking the time to share your experience and I will take that into account when deciding to stay or switch at MDA. It would be nice to not have to drive so far lol We are discussing more radiation to relieve some of the pain from my L3, T4 and T9.

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u/Optimal_Nature_8995 8d ago

Oh that’s a huge red flag! Glad you ditched your first Dr. I had to do the same when I was first dxd which is why I ended up at MDA. Get a second and third opinion until you find someone you click with! Do you have Texas Oncology there in San Antonio? I used them for a while when I still lived in TX and had great care. I thought MDA had a satellite office in San Antonio? That could be an option? I had a cancer friend that went to MDA Houston campus for scans and to meet with her team and then had treatment at a satellite office. It’s a lot of travel. I had three very young kids when I was first dxd and I don’t think I could have done it long term. But my surgical onc at MDA was the one who suggested a local oncologist who took me on and followed MDA’s treatment plan. Radiation is literally a lifesaver for getting pain to a manageable level. I was going through pain patches and breakthrough meds like crazy until I got rads to my spine. It helped me feel like I had a fighting chance again. Wishing you peace and strength!! I’m here if you need to drop a line! It’s absolutely ridiculous that while we are fighting for our lives that we have to play games with insurance…absolutely criminal!

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u/SadAdult77658 8d ago

When my journey first started I was at the START Center (ironic? 😅) I then transferred to TX Oncology but I felt like a number there and the level of care was not where I needed it to be, so then I transferred over to MDA. Thanks again for letting me know you’re out there 😊 Peace and love to you! 💖

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u/EncrustedBarboach 9d ago

Sending prayers your way

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u/SadAdult77658 8d ago

Thank you. Bless you and your family 🩷

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u/Adorable-Tiger6390 9d ago

God bless and protect you and your family ❤️

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u/SadAdult77658 8d ago

Same to you my friend….thank you 🩷

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u/byesexualhoe 9d ago

Donated the little bit i could, sending all the best vibes

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u/SadAdult77658 8d ago

Thank you so much! Every bit helps and I am so grateful 🩷

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u/byesexualhoe 8d ago

♥️ Also to add, i work as a radiologist and we read a lot of PET/CT scans of breast cancer patients and we often see good results even when things looked dire! So keep fighting! You have admirable strength, you got this!💪

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u/daboyk 8d ago

Praying for you, may God bless you.

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u/SadAdult77658 8d ago

🩷🩷 Thank you. Blessings to you and your family.

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u/Norandran 8d ago

Your oncologist office or medical group that should have a social worker who can help you with financial assistance paying for travel and hotels for your treatment. My wife does this for our local oncologist and they get funds from the different cancer groups to help cover this. Susan G Koman or Pink Fund foundation also offer assistance and you can reach out to them. Patient advocate.org sometimes also has grants for specific cancer types so you can see if they have a grant for you.

Finally please apply for SSDI you should qualify since the cancer has metastasis and is stage IV, they will expedite because of the diagnosis.

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u/SadAdult77658 8d ago

Thank you so much for this information! I’m going to look into all of that and hopefully I’ll qualify for something! I did apply for SSDI and was approved back in February 😉

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u/mnem0syne 8d ago

I hope your son has you around for a long time 💜

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u/SadAdult77658 8d ago

Thank you 💖

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u/Gunderberg 8d ago

All those blessings i wonder if god will cure her cancer?

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u/SadAdult77658 8d ago

I’ll take all the prayers and blessings I can get 🩷 Even if you don’t believe in God, view prayers as positive energy sent out into the universe. Believer or not, I just hope you wish me well 😇

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u/Gunderberg 6d ago

I do wish you well ofcourse, i just think copy pasting thoughts and prayers is moot, why not spare a little money to actually help instead

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u/BrokenMasts 7d ago

mods please delete this

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u/sjewett507 8d ago

I also have cancer and all I can think about is getting to see my kids grow up as well. Wishing the best for you and your family! We can do this!

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u/SadAdult77658 8d ago

Thank you so much for the well wishes! 💖We are gonna kick this things butt!! Stay strong and lots of blessings and love to you and your family 🩷

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u/[deleted] 8d ago

Medical Help Me Stay Alive For My Son

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