Some Questions

vee345 · New User Joined: 04 Sep 2009 Posts: 9

Hi everyone. I was pointed in this direction by pbj11.

My friend was recently diagnosed with stage I breast cancer, and she’s undergoing a single mastectomy. She’s 26 and would like to have reconstruction done, but getting her insurance company to cover the complete cost is proving to be difficult. They should cover it, right? And if not, does anyone have any suggestions of other venues would could contact about this?

Also, she’s scheduled to have chemotherapy three times a week, every three weeks. Does this seem excessive? Originally her doctor scheduled her for once a week, every three weeks, but then he changed it to this. Is that a normal chemo regimen? The drug is called Cytoxan, I believe.

Thanks for reading. God bless everyone here.

parkermd · New User Joined: 01 Sep 2009 Posts: 5

A federal law, Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998, requires that insurance companies cover the cost of reconstructive surgery associated with mastectomy.

Here's the link to the US Department of Labor that can answer a lot of questions regarding mastectomy.
LINK DELETED PER FORUM POSTING POLICIES

And a link to the US Dept. of Health and Human Services that covers this topic.

LINK DELETED PER FORUM POSTING POLICIES.

As for the three times a week cytoxan, it is a normal regimen for breast cancer therapy. Your friend should ask the doctor why he opted for a more aggressive treatment regimen.

Good luck

pbj11 · Site Admin Joined: 12 May 2007 Posts: 2404

Although the prior poster didn't have enough significant posts, per forum policies, to have a link, the information was important, so I'm posting the two links.

Here's the link to the US Department of Labor that can answer a lot of questions regarding mastectomy.

http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/publications/whcra.html

And a link to the US Dept. of Health and Human Services that covers this topic.

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/healthinsreformforconsume/06_thewomen%27shealthandcancerrightsact.asp
_________________
Husband diagnosed with NSCLC Stage IV. (Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer) Fought & lived 2 1/2 years with multiple lines of treatment.

Post describing our battle: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=7026&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

vee345 · New User Joined: 04 Sep 2009 Posts: 9

Thank you so much for the information! It was really helpful! I talked with the insurance, and fortunately it looks like it will work out.

As for the regimen change, her doctor just said that it calls for more aggressive treatment than he thought, but he gave no other explanation. She's fairly overwhelmed at the moment so she's letting him leave it at that, I just wanted to check to see if that's more than what is usually necessary for stage I since we don't want her to feel worse than she has to. I guess three times a week is normal, then. I know each person is different, but if she has it three times a week, every three weeks, is it likely that she will be able to work on the weeks she has chemotherapy scheduled? Will she feel too bad or will it take up a lot of time on the days she will be receiving it? I know on the first day they told her to expect to be there for around six hours. Will the next time be shorter?

Sorry for all of the questions, we're just very concerned about what's going on. Thanks for reading and you all are in our prayers. Looking through the topics on this board and the answers I've gotten have helped so much.

parkermd · New User Joined: 01 Sep 2009 Posts: 5

In the beginning she won't feel much of the side effects of chemo. So she'll be able to work even on the weeks when she's getting the treatment (other than the times she'll be at the clinic to receive it). Unfortunately, the side effects slowly get worse and worse over time, depending on how many cycles of the chem she gets. Once she's done with the treatment, she should recover pretty quickly, especially if she's young.

Like you said, every person is different and will have a different experience with chemo. It's just as possible that she will be fine throughout the whole treatment, aside from some minor side effects.

I wish your friend good luck. It's a difficult time for her, but with friends and family who care for her, this too will pass. With stage I, she has a very good chance of being cured.

vee345 · New User Joined: 04 Sep 2009 Posts: 9

Thank you so much for all of your help, parkermd. We’re very glad that it was caught so early and that she’ll be okay once all of this is done, but we still want to make this time as easy as possible for her, and from what we’ve heard, this regimen can knock you down pretty quick. It’s a comfort to know that she should be able to recover fairly quickly once this is over, and that she’ll be able to work for some or most of the time. Thank you again. God bless.

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