Cancer Treatment

[LeftyMom]

62. It happens.

My dad is waiting on a liver transplant, which is the long-term treatment for his type of liver cancer. Radiation is used to keep the cancer small and contained to his liver while he bobs up to the top of the transplant wait list.

Talking about cost is a major part of the intake process. There's a series of slides about it in the canned introduction, and it's a big part of the interview with the transplant nurse.

Here's what your surgery costs. Who's your insurer? Ok. Here's what your ongoing drug regimen will cost. You'll need to take these every day for the rest of your life. Who's your insurer? Oooh. Can we get you to switch before your surgery? We've had good luck with this one. Technically they could reject you- preexisting conditions are still in effect for medicare supplements- but in our experience they generally won't. Let us know if they do, we'll try to con you on to a different one. What happens if you don't get a good drug plan? Well, nobody can afford the drugs you'll need to stay alive out of pocket, and we don't want to risk a transplantable organ. Yes, we'd deny you your transplant. Yes, you'd die.

And no, not a small town. Big city, major public hospital, regional transplant center. Not a long time ago. November.