**** Cancer

Craig_ said:
I'm sorry about all of that, but try to make a plan if you can. 2 months can be make a big difference in terms of treatment.

I'm also financially well screwed as my wife lost her job last year and we've been circling the drain ever since, I've also had to pay quite a lot so far to the point where I'm more stressed about moola than the problem, but you only have one body, please take care of yourself. Talk to your wife and see if you can make a plan.
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Took your advice and made a plan, swinging past the GP tomorrow and they said they will be booking me in for in-house hospital stay so I can have my tests done.

I’m starting to get worse, meds ain’t doing Jack ****.

Wish me luck.
 
DarkStarMonday said:
Took your advice and made a plan, swinging past the GP tomorrow and they said they will be booking me in for in-house hospital stay so I can have my tests done.

I’m starting to get worse, meds ain’t doing Jack ****.

Wish me luck.
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I hope they get you sorted asap. I am sorry you are not doing well. I suppose the stress of the diagnosis has effects too. I hope they are able to work their magic and get you on the road to recovery.
 
DarkStarMonday said:
Took your advice and made a plan, swinging past the GP tomorrow and they said they will be booking me in for in-house hospital stay so I can have my tests done.

I’m starting to get worse, meds ain’t doing Jack ****.

Wish me luck.
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Good luck, if something is wrong it's better to know as early as you can.

I've finally gotten my hospital authorization. Now to just get through the next week.
 
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My co-payment for next week's operation. Fml. If this thing isn't going to kill me the doctors bills are surely trying to get me to keel over. I don't have these kind of funds lying around.
 
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Craig_ said:
View attachment 1856802

My co-payment for next week's operation. Fml. If this thing isn't going to kill me the doctors bills are surely trying to get me to keel over. I don't have these kind of funds lying around.
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Some people I know who are going through cancer treatment have started Go Fund Mes. Perhaps you need to think along those lines. It sucks to have to ask people you know for money, but it is better than not being able to afford the treatment.
 
TribbleZA said:
Some people I know who are going through cancer treatment have started Go Fund Mes. Perhaps you need to think along those lines. It sucks to have to ask people you know for money, but it is better than not being able to afford the treatment.
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My wife had an R11k co-payment for a recent operation which should hopefully be covered by gap cover. The doctor that performed the operation helps patients that need similar surgeries but can't afford it or have no medical aid setup Go Funds me. He also, at best asks assisting doctors to reduce their fee's and at worst craps on them when they clearly over charge.

Also, cancer sucks, my dad is busy undergoing treatment, all the best to anyone and everyone affected.
 
TribbleZA said:
Some people I know who are going through cancer treatment have started Go Fund Mes. Perhaps you need to think along those lines. It sucks to have to ask people you know for money, but it is better than not being able to afford the treatment.
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Yeah, no idea how how I'm going to do this yet. Will have to pull some rabbit from a hat this week.
 
Neuk_ said:
My wife had an R11k co-payment for a recent operation which should hopefully be covered by gap cover. The doctor that performed the operation helps patients that need similar surgeries but can't afford it or have no medical aid setup Go Funds me. He also, at best asks assisting doctors to reduce their fee's and at worst craps on them when they clearly over charge.

Also, cancer sucks, my dad is busy undergoing treatment, all the best to anyone and everyone affected.
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So sorry about your dad. All the best to him too - and your family.

Good to hear that some doctors care a lot.
 
Neuk_ said:
My wife had an R11k co-payment for a recent operation which should hopefully be covered by gap cover. The doctor that performed the operation helps patients that need similar surgeries but can't afford it or have no medical aid setup Go Funds me. He also, at best asks assisting doctors to reduce their fee's and at worst craps on them when they clearly over charge.

Also, cancer sucks, my dad is busy undergoing treatment, all the best to anyone and everyone affected.
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After reading your post I thought about gap cover, I filled out a form for gap cover over 10 years ago at work, sent it in and then never followed up. That policy is apparently still active, just waiting on confirmation. I might pm you in the next few days to ask about how it works since I've never used it before.
 
Craig_ said:
After reading your post I thought about gap cover, I filled out a form for gap cover over 10 years ago at work, sent it in and then never followed up. That policy is apparently still active, just waiting on confirmation. I might pm you in the next few days to ask about how it works since I've never used it before.
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I am on a hospital plan with gap cover. As long as the insurer pays Rx on the invoiced amount, then the rest can be covered by gap cover. Usually this is for in hospital stays, surgeons etc.
Also check for "benefits" e.g my gap cover paid out for a first time cancer diagnosis.
 
Craig_ said:
After reading your post I thought about gap cover, I filled out a form for gap cover over 10 years ago at work, sent it in and then never followed up. That policy is apparently still active, just waiting on confirmation. I might pm you in the next few days to ask about how it works since I've never used it before.
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Check your life policies too. Some of them cover cancer. I have some things on my RAs for dreaded diseases.
 
Craig_ said:
After reading your post I thought about gap cover, I filled out a form for gap cover over 10 years ago at work, sent it in and then never followed up. That policy is apparently still active, just waiting on confirmation. I might pm you in the next few days to ask about how it works since I've never used it before.
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I'll have to ask my wife how the gap cover works, I am the sucker that has been subsidizing everyone else for years as I hardly ever claim. I don't think it is difficult to claim though if you have all the documentation...
 
my father had cancer.

turns out there was a misdiagnosis - he was initially diagnosed to have either a peptic or duodenal ulcer (i dont remember which).
then 2 yrs later my folks are in holiday in monaco - father collapses in the street and taken off to hospital.
following day in hospital, doc tells my parents to return home immediately - in the interim he will send a referral to my father's doctor.
folks return home, father goes to gp.
gp refers to an oncologist. oncologists does a whole lot of scans and tests.
oncologist looks at results and tells my father she recommends exploratory surgery before embarking on any course of treatment.
2 days later father is in surgery (should take an hour or so).
within 20 minutes, surgeon abandons surgery.
surgeon tells me had he attempted to go any further, he probably will have killed my father on the table.
cancer was inoperable and extensive - any form of treatment would be futile, the only form of intervention at that point would be pain management.
i ask the surgeon how long does my father have to live - he tells me "it's impossible to predict, but in his experience, about 6 weeks".
6 weeks later (give a day or two), my father closed his eyes on the world.

moral of the story here is diagnosis & 2nd opinion - even 3rd if doubts remain.
then commencement of treatment asap
 
Grant said:
my father had cancer.

turns out there was a misdiagnosis - he was initially diagnosed to have either a peptic or duodenal ulcer (i dont remember which).
then 2 yrs later my folks are in holiday in monaco - father collapses in the street and taken off to hospital.
following day in hospital, doc tells my parents to return home immediately - in the interim he will send a referral to my father's doctor.
folks return home, father goes to gp.
gp refers to an oncologist. oncologists does a whole lot of scans and tests.
oncologist looks at results and tells my father she recommends exploratory surgery before embarking on any course of treatment.
2 days later father is in surgery (should take an hour or so).
within 20 minutes, surgeon abandons surgery.
surgeon tells me had he attempted to go any further, he probably will have killed my father on the table.
cancer was inoperable and extensive - any form of treatment would be futile, the only form of intervention at that point would be pain management.
i ask the surgeon how long does my father have to live - he tells me "it's impossible to predict, but in his experience, about 6 weeks".
6 weeks later (give a day or two), my father closed his eyes on the world.

moral of the story here is diagnosis & 2nd opinion - even 3rd if doubts remain.
then commencement of treatment asap
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I'm sorry for your loss, thank you for sharing that story.
May he rest in peace.
 
Craig_ said:
View attachment 1856802

My co-payment for next week's operation. Fml. If this thing isn't going to kill me the doctors bills are surely trying to get me to keel over. I don't have these kind of funds lying around.
Click to expand...


a bit of advice - and dont shy away.
my mother's medical history is well documented - in granular detail on this forum.

tldr version:
between end 2016 and death end of 2019:
multiple surgical procedures, multiple stays in icu.
admission to ct mediclinic, vincent pallotti & chris barnard hospitals.
about 17 medical specialists between the 3 hospitals.
total cost to medical scheme = R5.4m

when it all began i was given 2 pieces of advice, one from a doctor friend and the other from an auditor.

doctor:
negotiate with all doctors and service providers (pathology, radiology etc) & hospitals to be charged at medical aid rates.
in the overwhelming instances i found doctors, service providers & all 3 hospitals to be willing to accomodate the request.
the big thing here is to arrange upfront - not try arrange after the service has been provided - must be done upfront.

auditor:
your medical aid provider will have various teams who handle claims / approvals etc.
find out which case manager at your medical aid company will be overseeing your treatment.
befriend them one way or another - and then work with them exclusively.

so in my case, virtually all billing was within medical aid tariffs - very very few co-payments were required.
then the case manager at medical aid - turns out she was jhb based.
during conversations i got to learn she came down to ct for meetings etc quite frequently.
i also got to learn she had never been up table mountain, nor the aquarium etc.
on her visits i arranged to meet her at her hotel, and take her up the mountain, go to the aquarium, sunset lunch and drinks in camps bay etc etc. during this time she also visited my mother in hospital as a friend - not medical aid representative.
and with that, i had someone in management at the medical aid company working closely with me, getting various approvals fast tracked and using various loop-holes whenever and wherever needed to get things done or approved which normally would not have happened.

fine tune your charms & graces, then put them to work - its really not a difficult task once you set your mind to it.
 
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