Free hospitals, et al

[Guest guest]

Any hospital who received Hill-Burton funds for construction must give free care

to anyone who cannot afford to pay for services. For a list of hospitals

affiliated with Hill-Burton, call 800-638-0742.

You can also go to www.hrsa.gov/hillburton/hillburtonfacilities.com

Veterans can look into getting care from VA and see if you are covered, by

calling their Veterans Affaairs office - 877-222-VETS or go online at www.va.gov

Medical assistance programs vary from state to state or even a county. You

qualify if you meet their standards of income and assets. They may even provide

transportation to your doctor, as with Council on Aging. Ask to speak to the

financial counselor or social worker at your local hospital to see if you

qualify for any programs.

If you need money for your medical needs, you can get supplementary finances

through your insurance company via a viatical settlement which gives you advance

cash from your life insurance policy.

You may also qualify for a Reverse Mortgage which you can get from your home.

The federal government buys your home and allows you to live in it as long as

you keep it up and pay the taxes. I had neighbors who did that and when they

passed away, their children bought the house back from the government, but their

parents had use of the money from the equity in the home. Use a search engine

to find Reverse Mortgages and usually the first one on top is the one who pays

the most. The government will come and appraise your house and give you about

75% of what it would be worth if you sold it; however, you would have to move

out of the house if you sold it and pay the government back the interest. If

you live in it, you would never have to worry about being evicted. You must be

62 to qualify and you can opt to receive a lump sum or monthly installments.

Amgen Oncology, Abraxis Oncology and Partnership for Prescription Assistance

provide cancer medications to patients who are without drug coverage and/or meet

certain guidelines.

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What is your new normal?

During and after treatment, we may find ourselves asking what our new normal is.

Treatments and side effects may be debilitating and life changing. Even if you

feel well, you may not be able to resume your regular activities, and that

includes working outside the home. You may find your expections will have to

change and you will have to make adjustments for the changes. Everything

changes - most of all, our bodies, our daily routine, our diets, less

opportunities to work, drained finances and a brand new support system. Your

friends may desert you or find excuses not to visit because you are not able to

do the things you once did together.

Enter support groups. They understand and they share their own experiences with

you, including how they got through all of the above. When we are new to this,

we are happy to have someone reach out and when we see a newcomer, we reach out

to them and then we come full circle - what goes around, comes around. I think

the first thing I looked for was someone I could relate to and it was difficult

to find someone with CML. I found one on the internet and we found we went to

the same oncologist and agreed to meet there every week. She soon left and went

for a BMT and died soon after she was infused with her donor transplant. That

was the first encounter I had with someone dying with CML and it took a really

long time to get over it. I have no one to quote, these are my own thoughts as

I reflect on my journey that began 14 years ago.

In my own words,

Lottie Duthu