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I’ve been battling cancer last 2 years, but now only have a few days left

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Re: I’ve been battling cancer last 2 years, but now only have a few days left

#261

Post by dahfizz »

justinclift wrote: post #254
jacurtis wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll share another story as an example. Late last year I started having trouble swallowing. It started as a discomfort, and eventually turned into trouble breathing and inability to eat solids. I went from perfectly healthy (literally ran a triathalon two months before this, and a marathon a few months before that) to unable to eat solids and bedridden within ~3 weeks. I visited the ER a total of 5 times during those…

Out of curiosity, have you spoken with that idiot primary care physician since, to let them know how you were cured? ... and to do the whole "fucking told you so!" thing? :)

This is always my first thought when I hear these horror stories. Doctors need the feedback on when they were wrong, but it seems like they never get it.

Re: I’ve been battling cancer last 2 years, but now only have a few days left

#262

Post by boppo1 »

comfypotato wrote: post #203
david-gpu wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My father was a doctor. You are correct: as patients they get preferential treatment. As often do their immediate family members. It's something I'm ashamed about when I look back at my own childhood.

I grew up with a good friend with a surgeon for a father, and my friend is finishing his surgery residency now. I watched (with some envy, really) as my friend was able to navigate the process of becoming a doctor with ease. He was no smarter than any other hard-working student, but he had the system working for him to point him in the right direction at every step of the process. (How to allocate his time studying,…

Which foreign language?

Re: I’ve been battling cancer last 2 years, but now only have a few days left

#263

Post by decafninja »

mythhouse wrote: post #195
jacquesm wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So many stories like yours. They are one of the reasons living in the United States never appealed to me. With Christmas coming up this must be a very hard time for you, hang in there.

I've lived in India, UK and USA for atleast 5 years in each. I would take USA in a heartbeat if I can have good insurance You are getting cutting edge care in USA. For example, My father has prostate cancer and latest NCNN guidelines recommend 'triplet therapy' [1] at diagnosis and is the standard in USA. But in UK they you only get chemo and ADT via NHS. They also have major delays (years) in getting latest medical…

It’s not just cost though.

Thanks to my employer, my wife and I have amazing insurance in the US that covers a ton. However even so, she chooses to fly back to Korea for healthcare. I didn’t understand it at first, but then I witnessed the Korean healthcare system in action and I’m an convert now.

Here in the US, you get sent to many different places for every procedure ranging from the initial doctor consult to getting blood drawn to getting an X-ray etc.ep etc., all punctuated by waiting.

In Korea, she went to one doctor and everything was handled on the same day in by the same doctor, or at least within the same building. A process that would take weeks or even months in the American system might take a few days or a week or two in Korea.

Re: I’ve been battling cancer last 2 years, but now only have a few days left

#264

Post by 737min »

enraged_camel wrote: post #133
CalChris wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I won't agree about the American medical system but I'd say that our hospice system is pretty much Soylent Green .

The American medical system is an absolute travesty. To be fair to you though, this only really becomes obvious when one experiences functioning medical systems in other countries.

Try the Chinese Communist healthcare system instead of the American healthcare system, and you will likely chande your views.

Re: I’ve been battling cancer last 2 years, but now only have a few days left

#265

Post by n8henrie »

jacurtis wrote: post #218
burritas wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd rather not go into personal detail but I share a similar experience. The thing that really drove it home for me was when I got back home and was telling my own doctor about my experience dealing with family in the medical system and she said I was mistaken or there was a misunderstanding because that kind of thing doesn't happen. I asked why she was siding with a doctor she'd never met before instead of listening…

I'll share another story as an example. Late last year I started having trouble swallowing. It started as a discomfort, and eventually turned into trouble breathing and inability to eat solids. I went from perfectly healthy (literally ran a triathalon two months before this, and a marathon a few months before that) to unable to eat solids and bedridden within ~3 weeks. I visited the ER a total of 5 times during those…

If you're comfortable sharing, do you have some kind of severe dietary restriction? Do you spend a relatively normal (at least for HN) amount of time outdoors? This sounds like a very unusual story, I would be concerned about some other underlying pathology. I'm glad you're doing better!

Re: I’ve been battling cancer last 2 years, but now only have a few days left

#266

Post by subharmonicon »

jacquesm wrote: post #121
subharmonicon wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me 47 to 52 has been like a steep drop as well. I have neither been great or awful in taking care of myself, but it has clearly added up. Now facing open-heart surgery with all its risks and complications sometime soon. I knew that was always a possibility due to a congenital heart defect but five years ago it seemed unlikely and suddenly in the last 18 months it became a clear eventuality. Trying to reframe that…

Wow, here's to hoping that that surgery works out and that there are no complications. Makes my stuff look like a mere nuisance. Best of luck there!

Thanks!

Re: I’ve been battling cancer last 2 years, but now only have a few days left

#267

Post by 737min »

nick__m wrote: post #15

My wife has one metastasis on her spine , it was detected 33 day ago, I fear that moment where she will be suffering enough that she will qualify for medically assisted death. According to the paper accompanying her incredibly expensive drugs (5700$/month) she has between twelve and eighty-eight months left ... I hope that she will cost money to my insurance for a long time! According to her oncologist we cannot know…

Sorry tongear, that’s terrible

Re: I’ve been battling cancer last 2 years, but now only have a few days left

#268

Post by bane »

greedo wrote: post #257
bane wrote: post #104

Almost exactly 18 months ago, my then 87 year old father, after feeling unwell and having some fluid problems with his lungs was diagnosed with stage-4 lung cancer. He turned down treatment and died at home a couple days before Christmas last year. I've come away from the experience very unhappy with the medical system. There's a long list, things that in any other industry would be prosecuted. The medical and hospic…

Sorry for your loss. I too lost my dad to lung cancer three years ago. He died right after Thanksgiving at 87 also. My stepdad died in December, so the holidays kind of suck for me. Hope you find peace.

Thanks, I appreciate it. The holidays kind of suck at the moment.

Re: I’ve been battling cancer last 2 years, but now only have a few days left

#269

Post by bane »

decafninja wrote: post #263
mythhouse wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've lived in India, UK and USA for atleast 5 years in each. I would take USA in a heartbeat if I can have good insurance You are getting cutting edge care in USA. For example, My father has prostate cancer and latest NCNN guidelines recommend 'triplet therapy' [1] at diagnosis and is the standard in USA. But in UK they you only get chemo and ADT via NHS. They also have major delays (years) in getting latest medical…

It’s not just cost though. Thanks to my employer, my wife and I have amazing insurance in the US that covers a ton. However even so, she chooses to fly back to Korea for healthcare. I didn’t understand it at first, but then I witnessed the Korean healthcare system in action and I’m an convert now. Here in the US, you get sent to many different places for every procedure ranging from the initial doctor consult to gett…

My wife is Korean as well and every time something medical comes up we immediately start considering it as an option. I've also personally been through the system once and found it really great.

It's not for everybody though, it can be a bit impersonal somewhat due to its hyper-efficiencies, but for me I found that just fine.

Re: I’ve been battling cancer last 2 years, but now only have a few days left

#270

Post by 082349872349872 »

cj wrote: post #196
rightbyte wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Let’s tax the hell out of processed foods so they become at least on par with the price of healthy food. Isn't processed food already more expensive than "healthy"? E.g. precut fries vs potatoes. Etc. What is cheaper to buy processed?

Honestly you may be right. But walking into a typical US grocery store feels like a place where cheap, quick, processed foods are the focus with healthy food being secondary (perhaps because they’re optimizing their store layouts in response to consumer demand for sh*t food). Rarely is healthy food promoted on isle endcaps. I do 100% of my day to day shopping at a (very expensive) health food store for this sole reas…

IIUC aisle endcap contents are determined by vendors, not the typical store; it's "pay to position".
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