Re: Kilikini Needs Our Help

In article <e6ucpm$t4e$2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
tert in seattle <tert@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

damsel.in.dis.dress@xxxxxxxxx writes:
I just got off the phone with Christy. She was in tears. This is why.

She has a large, painful lump in her breast. Actually, two of them.
And swollen, painful lymph nodes in her armpit. Her doctor has told
her that she has advanced breast cancer. She was scheduled for a
pre-op tomorrow and a lumpectomy (which I'm appalled by - this should
be a radical double mastectomy, IMHO) next Monday.

She called today to see if she should come to the clinic fasting for
blood tests or anything. Turns out, she has to give them $6,000 *up
front* for the pre-op (and they cut that in half for her because she
has NO money), and another $14,000 *up front* for the surgery itself.
No one had told her any of this!

So the surgery is off, and the cancer continues to grow and spread.

Has she had a CT of chest abdomen & pelvis to rule out metastatic
disease?

If she's got it in lymph nodes on both sides it's more likely than not
she's got more disease elsewhere.

In which case they wouldn't be doing surgery, they'd be doing chemo
and probably radiation to palliate.

So far this story doesn't add up but I don't have all the details so
I'll wait before saying more.

The NCI treats people for free on clinical trials. She'll have to
travel to and stay in Bethesda, MD though. Here's a link to Stage IV
breast cancer trials.


http://www.cancer.gov/search/ResultsClinicalTrials.aspx?protocolsearchid=
2400267

That's the best thing I've seen yet. :-)
IME experimental/research treatments are having better outcomes than
current "traditional" treatments.

Sometimes having no resources can be an advantage.

And several of us have already offered to help spring for a plane ticket!
--
Peace!
Om

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch"
-- Jack Nicholson
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Kilikini Needs Our Help
    ... painful lump in her breast. ... painful lymph nodes in her armpit. ... So the surgery is off, and the cancer continues to grow and spread. ... I am absolutely NOT an expert on funding medical care, ...
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  • Re: Kilikini Needs Our Help
    ... painful lump in her breast. ... painful lymph nodes in her armpit. ... So the surgery is off, and the cancer continues to grow and spread. ...
    (rec.food.cooking)
  • Re: Kilikini Needs Our Help
    ... painful lump in her breast. ... painful lymph nodes in her armpit. ... has NO money), and another $14,000 *up front* for the surgery itself. ... So the surgery is off, and the cancer continues to grow and spread. ...
    (rec.food.cooking)
  • Re: Kilikini Needs Our Help
    ... painful lump in her breast. ... painful lymph nodes in her armpit. ... has NO money), and another $14,000 *up front* for the surgery itself. ... So the surgery is off, and the cancer continues to grow and spread. ...
    (rec.food.cooking)
  • Re: Kilikini Needs Our Help
    ... painful lump in her breast. ... painful lymph nodes in her armpit. ... So the surgery is off, and the cancer continues to grow and spread. ... Presently the League has over 1,700 active patients and since its foundation, in June 1975, the League has provided top quality medical services to more than 50,000 low-income and uninsured Florida residents from 50 countries. ...
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