There were poor people in the chemo room I was in. But those people were getting treated partly as charity cases, I have no doubt. A nurse practitioner I saw there (at my MO's office) told me once how lucky I was that my insurance covered the Jevity I was using to tube feed myself. She said she had another pateint on Medicaid and food stamps. The medicaid refused to cover the prescription tube food because they said they didn't cover food. But the food stamps office wouldn't cover it because it was medical supplies.

This was someone without an extra penny to her name and fortunately radiation medicine at the hospital gave her stuff they had got like boost and ensure to hand out to patients and that's the only way she got through.

I wasn't treated at a CCC, which may also be the difference in whether you "see poor people in the chemo room". I have to say my impression of the very very good hospital I have gone to in Boston for help with esophageal strictures is you see a lot more middle class and wealthy patients there. Not all by any means but, especially the ones that come from some distance, like me, are certainly not among the poor.

This is really a good discussion Tom and I agree with the others that just your ability to make us think and respond to these issues speaks to how valuable you are in this world!

Nelie