Petey,
Hey, please don't give up on getting treatment. I was a Stage 4 and also had no health insurance at time of diagnosis. I had no problems getting to a great head/neck surgeon and he arranged the radiation therapy and chemo. The radiation therapy center had programs to apply for that paid for the cost of treatment and the hospital social worker helped us with programs that paid hospital bills and helped us apply for MediCaid spend-down. After accumulating so many dollars in medical bills (a ratio of our income, I believe) in a 3-month period, then our state MediCaid spend-down program kicked in. The rest we pay out in monthly payments (very reasonable). We may pay on this for the rest of our lives, but that's OK -I have a life and am doing great. From Stage 4 to a full and happy life with no limitations. My kids are now almost 22, l8 and 15 and I look forward to the empty nest years and then grandchildren. Sure the treatment was rough but I got through it. Keep on trying please - forget the phone calls - get in a Doctor's office and let them get the ball rolling-there are programs for the uninsured. Not one doctor or hospital I saw ever even asked us for money up front - radiation center even offered us assistance for gas to get to treatments, we live an hour from there - but we declined that offer - we could handle that! We weren't destitute - just self-employed. We had just started a new small business and thought we could get by without the expense of health insurance for a little while.
All that just to say please don't ever give up-that's not fair to your wife, children and all of us fighting this disease. My doctor has since told me that after my first visit to him, he gave me a less than 10% of surviving and I have had a complete response to treatment and cancer-free for 3 years now. He does not skimp on follow-up care - I see him every 3 months and have had CT scans (which his office discounts heavily) - I get a discount on my office visit if I pay in full at time of visit. I feel assured that if I have a recurrance - there will be no problem getting treated. Please keep trying -
Pam
