Where to start? Cancer, Medical advice? Financial devastation..

[ladybug5]

My very good friend is struggling with the above challenges...
He is low income, a musician and is being given the run around with the county getting financial assistance.
In addition to the chemo treatments, and upcoming surgery he is racking up bills that he wont be able to pay.
He has too much integrity and pride to consider bankruptcy.
I have found the Ceres Project to provide nutritious food...but other than that.....??
If you have experience getting through the system especially finding affordable medical help please let me know.


Jody

[Barry]

Please reply publicly as I'm sure this information will be helpful to a many people.

[neil]

Hi Ladybug5,

Sounds like your friend needs medical insurance to cover the costly care. Did he apply for MediCal or County Medical Service Provider (CMSP) insurance? I found that the people at Sonoma County Human Services Dept. are helpful--they seem to want to help people get the help they need--but those applying must meet certain income and property requirements. An application can be rejected due to too much income, too much money in bank accounts and/or too much value of other things that one has. He can reapply the next month and try again, but I recommend that first he study the requirements in order to meet them. Hopefully, he has the energy to do this.

The bottom line for getting MediCal or CMSP insurance is not that you really need it, but that you can show you meet their requirements for getting it. That is how they determine "need," and that is what he should concentrate on, in my opinion. It can be difficult, especially if one is already stressed out or sick. But, in my experience, that is how you get this kind of help. Of course, you must complete a big stack of forms with questions only bureaucrats could think up. It's yucky, yes, and it may be even harder if he is self-employed. But they do approve insurance for those who meet the requirements. The insurance, once you have it, can be a lifesaver--literally. It is worth the trouble of trying again and jumping through their hoops, to get it.

Here is a link to eligibility guidelines for CMSP:

https://www.cmspcounties.org/eligibility/faq.html

Another thing he might try is the Southwest Community Health Center. They help with medical care for people without much money. It's not like having insurance that pays, but your friend may find some help there. It seems to be a lower hurdle at SCHC. But if he can get MediCal or CMSP, that is probably better because he'll have more options for care.

Good luck to your friend, and thank-you for helping him.

Neil

[Sabrina]

Where to start...drop the pride and stay with the heart....I have not dealt with cancer...but I do know when it comes to the humbling of true struggle you must stay with your heart and speak from that place always. When you feel the pride...let it quiet, please, don't forget to breath slowly and deeply in this moment and visualize inward to yourself, and go to the heart space and feel what you really feel and need and share that with those you love and you know love you. Feel it. Know it. That is where to begin. Then Listen listen with your heart...it is the voice of spirit and truth. Bless and love....

[Orm Embar]

The most important step would be to start asking questions, as you have kindly done. I would be very clear with my doctors, saying that I can not afford the bills I am receiving, and ask for resources and assistance. Having a friend or family member attend doctor appointments and appointments with county health financial services can be very helpful. Often it is hard to remember everything one wishes to discuss. Having a friend there with notes of questions and concerns can help insure everything is addressed. Sometimes one has to be very persistent, asking the same question many times, in order to get clear answers. If the person you are speaking with does not have an answer for you, ask them who would have the information and how you can contact them.

Many pharmaceutical companies have free or reduced fee options for medications. Check out some resources here: https://cancer.about.com/od/treatmen...s/a/rxhelp.htm

We are quite lucky to live in the Bay Area, where there are many options, including teaching hospitals where there are low cost services.

I would call the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic and ask if they have ideas or options. They provide services for women, but I am sure they know of many resources that everyone can access.
https://www.charlottemaxwell.org/

Contact UCSF Cancer Resource Center
https://cancer.ucsf.edu/crc/

I would also call California Pacific Medical Center
https://www.cpmc.org/services/cancer...t/default.html

More locally, I would contact the Jewish Community Free Clinic.
https://www.jewishfreeclinic.org/index.html

All of the places are well-networked and should be able to point you toward information that you need.

Then there is the National Cancer Institute. Here is the page to start researching financial assistance:
https://cissecure.nci.nih.gov/factsh...Search8_3.aspx
https://cissecure.nci.nih.gov/factsh...Search8_3.aspx

Does anyone know if the Cancer Resource Libraries in Petaluma or Santa Rosa are still open? I cannot find any current information for them.

The SongBird Cooperative in Cotati has some great resources too, most of them sliding scale.
https://songbirdcenter.org/

Best Wishes!

[CSummer]

I have watched the video "Run from the Cure," the documentary about Rick Simpson and what he discovered with "hemp oil." I've also heard about the healing properties of cannabis from other sources. Google search: [ cancer cannabis cure ] for other articles and info. "Run from the Cure" can still be watched online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjhT9282-Tw (This is part 1 of 7 parts; you might also find the whole 58 minute video. I know at least one local person who has it on DVD.)

If I were in your friend's situation, I would seriously consider visiting some local marijuana dispensaries and ask if they can provide hash oil, which I believe is essentially the same as what Simpson calls "hemp oil." (Perhaps someone on Wacco knows the answer to this?) If they do provide it, then I would get a medical marijuana card and purchase some of the oil. Rick Simpson has provided instructions for making your own and recommendations on how to use it, both in the video and some articles, which I will attach to this.

If the cancer was a kind that has a high rate of successful cure through medical procedures, then I would consider trying it. If not, I most likely would not. I would seek support from friends in tuning in to and following my intuitive sense of what to do. I also would not believe any negative prognosis that a medical professional - or anyone else - gave me.

I would spend time visualizing the outcome I want, especially how I want to feel, seeking to hold a sense of gratitude for that outcome being realized. I also believe having the support of others in being fully present with myself, finding and following my inner guidance, could be of tremendous value. I have heard that some people who get cancer eventually see it as a precious gift because of the growth and learning that comes from confronting it - and I believe from resolving any emotional issues it brings to the surface. I am available to offer that support, if needed, knowing that I would seek it if faced with a life-threatening illness.

Please join me in sending positive thoughts, feelings and energy to this and all our fellow humans who are facing such intense challenges.

C Summer

My very good friend is struggling with the above challenges...
He is low income, a musician and is being given the run around with the county getting financial assistance.
In addition to the chemo treatments, and upcoming surgery he is racking up bills that he wont be able to pay.
He has too much integrity and pride to consider bankruptcy.
I have found the Ceres Project to provide nutritious food...but other than that.....??
If you have experience getting through the system especially finding affordable medical help please let me know.


Jody

[davidwhite]

I am recovering from 6 weeks of radiation and chemo (two types) for Squamous cell Head and Neck Carcinoma, which I received in September and October. I will continue to recover from the treatment for at least a year.

Were it not for the help I received from Southwest Family Medical Clinic (recently renamed Vista Family Health Clinic and moved to Round Barn Circle off Fountaingrove; 303-3600) and several of the young Drs. finishing out their residencies there, a retired Head and Neck Dr. who volunteers at Vista and the good Drs. and Staff at Redwood Oncology, not to mention my very skilled and hardworking Head and Neck Surgeon Dr Mark Homicz; I would have panicked and done something drastic many months ago.

I was sure I would not qualify for financial assistance for medical care and I surely did. The County didn't like how much I was costing them, so they insisted I apply for Medi-Cal and one requirement was I apply for SSI (which I qualified for and also receiving).

I would not wish my treatment on anyone, it has been horrid and painful. Despite the treatment, I may not know for sure that I am Cancer-Free for 5 years. This treatment is full of uncertainty.... As it turns out, probably not as painful as the Cancer had it progressed; Sigmund Freud suffered from this Cancer and with the help of his Physician committed suicide because the pain was too much for him.

As demented as that bit of trivia may be, It is my studied opinion you do not want to die from whatever Cancer you have unless you have exhausted all other possibilities. Jump through whatever hoops the County wants you to jump through, sell off assets, make yourself look poorer than you are (to be absolutely fair, I didn't need to make an effort here). Get the help you need. the alternatives are horrific and guaranteed to be painful and fatal.

Don't screw around, get the process moving right away.