She has Stage 4 breast cancer, which has been controlled/in remission since getting a new drug in 2010. She has a very positive outlook on life, is active in horse rescue, and is studying for her associate's degree in political science. She got news today that her new insurance company, to which she was changed arbitrarily and without warning, is refusing to pay for half her treatments. Although her husband works, Karen cannot pay for the other half of the treatment, meaning that she will die if the drug is withheld. She has petitioned her old insurance company to regain her coverage and has filed a complaint with her current insurance for failing to continue treatment and for failure to provide one critical care doctor on their coverage. She has got a couple of lawyers involved on the state and federal level and her state representative is also involved (he met her last year when she spoke on service dogs and anti-dog legislation) AND she is bringing appeals papers to her doctor tomorrow, but I know she will benefit from positive energy as well. Thanks for any support yo may offer.
My thought are with her and hope that things improve for her very soon Having lost people I love to this Illness I can understand what her friends and family are going through I will also ask that members here do not turn this into a political or religiouse debate if you do I will deleat such posts
Thanks, De Orc! I'm still waiting to hear back from Karen. Yesterday was a long day for her, between the doctor and school. She is such an example to us all--so vibrant and positive and forward-looking--it is hard to believe we could lose her to rigid short-sightedness.
My thoughts are with your friend Karen. Sounds to me like she has the right attitude and plenty of "fight" in her. That can really mean a lot.
Just an update: Karen was able, through the collective efforts of all of the people above, to get the medicine she needed. However, she's still in need of prayers. She had another doctor's appointment this morning, during which they found a mass in her remaining breast. We all know that "Stage 4" means "beyond a cure" but we're hoping that this mass is a benign one. Sometimes it seems the hits never stop coming. Karen, being the woman that she is, shrugged her shoulders when she told us and said, "it is what it is; it will be what it will be. Now join my fight or get out of the way. The train doors are open."
HM, I just ran across this post or otherwise I would have posted sooner. Your friend sounds like a wonderful human being and quite the fighter with an attitude to match. I will certainly pray for her.