friends medical problem

[easyrider]

My wife wanted me to ask tuggers about her friend Jody. Jody is 50 and has had Hodgkin's 3 times. Her husband left her 8 years ago and she has not had any problems until now. She doesn't have any medical insurance since her separation. They are not divorced.

With no insurance, Jody stopped seeing the doctor. The procedures included a catheter to administer chemo that hasn't been removed or checked for the last 8 years. Jody is now in a lot of pain.

The doctor who did the procedure is semi-retired and the cancer care center is saying they wont see her for various reasons, the biggest reason being is that she hasnt been in for 8 years. The family doctor she paid cash to see cant remove the catheter as its a specialty procedure.

Should she go to the emergency room at the hospital or insist that the cancer care see her. Any ideas are appreciated.

Thanks
Bill

 

[Kay H]

If it has been in place for 8 yrs with no checkups, I wouldn't trust an ER doctor to remove it. It may be a complicated process due to the length of time it has been in place. She's probably lucky it hasn't gotten infected.

I wish her the best of luck with having the device removed and with her illness.

 

[Hophop4]

I would think if she is having problems with the catheter it is infected. I had one put in in July and I was told if it is not being used it MUST be flushed once a month or you will have problems. ....and she has had this in for 8 years. Being without insurance is no fun. I had to pay all my medical for first 18 months before getting on Medicare. If she goes to emergency, they can check it for infection and refer her to a doctor that can remove it or insist that the cancer center sees her.

Not sure what she means by specialty procedure. A family physician is probably not a surgeon. She will need a surgeon to remove it. I'm sure any General Surgeon can do it and can be done as a day surgery unless there is complications.

 

[itchyfeet]

Is she employed? What state does she live in? My son was out of work because he was ill and had no insurance; he was covered through the county & state for the care he needed. It was a ton of paperwork and much time in the waiting room, but minimal health care was finally approved. If she does have some income, perhaps she could still qualify, paying on a sliding scale. It is so sad to hear stories like this. I hope the future holds some relief for the uninsured.

 

[3kids4me]

If it's an infected port-a-cath, then it's not the oncologist that needs to see her, it's the surgeon. However, if it is indeed infected, she will likely not only have to have it removed, but have IV antibiotics. Port-a-caths are implanted just below the skin, but they have a long catheter attached that runs through a vein and ends very close to the heart. An infection can kill you.

She needs to see a doctor right away...any doctor that will see her. No responsible doctor is going to let her leave his office with an infected port-a-cath without immediately getting her the proper medical care.

 

[Hophop4]

If it's an infected port-a-cath, then it's not the oncologist that needs to see her, it's the surgeon. However, if it is indeed infected, she will likely not only have to have it removed, but have IV antibiotics. Port-a-caths are implanted just below the skin, but they have a long catheter attached that runs through a vein and ends very close to the heart. An infection can kill you.

She needs to see a doctor right away...any doctor that will see her. No responsible doctor is going to let her leave his office with an infected port-a-cath without immediately getting her the proper medical care.

I agree with you, she needs to see a Surgeon ASAP. She can make arrangements with the medical facility to make payments. When I was in the hospital they didn't throw me out because I didn't have insurance. I was there for 4 weeks.

 

[easyrider]

Yes, its a port a cath that extends from her arm to her heart. She has been to a family practioner who hasnt really done much. I told my wife that Jody should just go to the ER at the hospital as its been almost 3 weeks since she has been feeling sick.

 

[easyrider]

Three weeks + a few days ago, Jody paid cash to see a family practitioner who took x-rays and did blood work. This doctor hadn't looked at the results of these tests because they were misplaced. This was a waste of time.

This morning my wife took Jody to the ER at the hospital and she was found to have a pancoast tumor above her left lung that is causing the pain. They are planning the next steps for treatment.

The tumor was noticed on the x-ray but an mri clearly showed it. The family doctor really droped the ball on this and the ER doctor called him to let him know.

 

[cindi]

If she is not divorced, wouldn't she still qualify under her husbands insurance? If he has any, that is.

 

[DeniseM]

If she is not divorced, wouldn't she still qualify under her husbands insurance? If he has any, that is.

He has probably dropped her coverage.

 

[Jestjoan]

HTH

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