LiveSTRONG Day 2006

Today is LIVESTRONG day. A day to raise awareness about the health policy issues facing cancer survivors. Today I'm wearing yellow to show my support.

Check it out:

Lance Armstrong Foundation

www.livestrong.org

I am a soldier in the fight

In March, 2000, I got my start in a non-profit program called The Breast Cancer Treatment Fund. It was a program to pay for treatment for underserved people in California. Targeted for people diagnosed with breast cancer (women and men) who did not have insurance and did not qualify for public assistance (Medi-Cal) , BCTF helped thousands of Californians during its run. My function here was two-fold: I was the database specialist. I kept the database functioning for the Patient Care Coordinators who worked with the patients directly. It's what I went to college for, and what I thought I wanted to do with my life. I was also the benefit specialist. I dealt with the bills that came in and worked with a third party administrator to get those bills paid. There I learned the cost of breast cancer treatment. It was definitely an eye-opening experience.

These individuals were lucky that an organization like us existed to help them, and we were lucky to make contact with health care providers that would accept our reduced fee payments. Our grant was limited, so we could not afford to make payment at their full retail value. Even though I did not work directly with the patients, I also experienced the gamut of emotions that came with cancer: Joy, when patients were doing well and responding positively to treatment. Gratitude, the hundreds of thank you notes that would pour in on a regular basis. Sadness, when a patient passed away. Anger and frustration, dealing with the billing and arguing with providers over payments. I did my best to act on behalf of the patients when billing issues came up, and they came up a lot. It's bad enough to have breast cancer, and now you're being sent to collections over a $3000 bill that wasn't yours in the first place? It's too much to ask of anyone! But like I said, I did my best to clear up miscommunications, explain why repayment was so low, and look for checks that were missing in the mail.

In November 2001, cancer decided work wasn't enough and paid me a visit outside of the office.

One evening in 2000, my mom slipped and fell. The next few days her side was sore and she became concerned that she might have broken some ribs. Trying to be a good daughter and do the right thing, I took my mom to the ER for some x-rays. Well, she didn't break any ribs, but there was a strange "cloud" inside her right lung. Over the next year, my mom would go in for x-rays to watch the behavior of the "cloud". Over time mom's doctor could observe that the "cloud" was changing shape, but would neither grow or shrink. Eventually the doctor got tired of watching. An FNA (needle biopsy) was performed on the "cloud" in July, results came up negative. I breathed a sigh of relief, mom's doctor did not. Lucky for us, the doctor was like a dog with a bone, she was not willing to let it go.

On November 7, 2001 my mother was scheduled for surgery. The doctor was going in there to see what was going on. She removed my mom's right lower lobe and a rib. The pathology came back, adenocarcinoma. My mom had cancer.

I couldn't believe my mom had cancer. I was so scared. In all my work, it hadn't prepared me for the news of cancer in my immediate family. It had never felt more real. The doctor said they got it all, but I insisted that my mom get a referral to an oncologist. I wasn't going to make the same mistake again and assume everything was going to be okay. If the oncologist said it was all good, then I would breath another sigh of relief. We were lucky, very lucky. The cancer was localized and my mom wouldn't need any additional treatment, just follow-up visits with the oncologist to watch for recurrence. So far it's been four and a half years of good news.

In July, 2002 California took over BCTF with a new program called the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Program. This gave me the opportunity to continue the fight against cancer by joining the Cancer Registry of Central California (CRCC). The CRCC is a regional office of the California Cancer Registry- California’s statewide population-based cancer surveillance system. This organization consists of epidemiologists, cancer researchers, and data collectors (me). I’m on the front lines in this war, working closely with hospitals, cancer centers, and physicans, collecting detailed information about cancers diagnosed in California. The intellegence I gather “furthers our understanding of cancer and is used to develop strategies and policies for its prevention, treatment, and control” (from the CCR website). I am passionate about this work I do, because it’s personal.

In addition to my mom, many other family members have been diagnosed with cancer- lung cancer, breast cancer, stomach cancer, throat cancer. I’ve lost one uncle to throat cancer, last month lost a family friend to colon cancer, and another friend’s father was diagnosed with lung cancer. Cancer affects us ALL. It is too much, it has got to stop.

I’m doing what I can, and some days it doesn’t feel like it’s enough. In addition to my work, I donate to the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the American Cancer Society, and I plan to participate in future LIVESTRONG Challenges.

We will find a cure for cancer, and we will find a way to prevent it altogether. Until then, I’ll keep fighting.

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