SEVEN recurrences over four years? Oh my, that's way more experience than anyone should have. I applaud you for your positive attitude, and pray it rubs off on me.

Yes, I am definitely confused about what may or may not be a CCC, or CC. I think of those as the special clinics advertised on TV, but it looks like that's not accurate. I can certainly see why the confusion exists.

I'm glad to hear Rush is among the top cancer hospitals in the country. We were SO impressed with everything there. From the state of the art equipment to the unbelievably attentive staffing, everything was amazing. We thought our local hospitals were great, but we didn't have anything to compare them to. Even though every appointment at Rush is a day-consuming drive for us, we know we're getting the best of care. We go back tomorrow, and the news is predicting riots because of the release of a police shooting video - so we certainly hope we're in a safe area. We're country folk and are easily overwhelmed by big city stuff.

As for Medicare - we do still have the original. We always knew we would want the freedom to choose our doctors, so we never changed. Plus, our back-up coverage is good, once the annual out-of-pocket is done.