In a nutshell, my scans schedule for tomorrow morning have been canceled. Got a call from the Oncologist's office and they've not received pre-certification from my insurance company. I tried to call the insurance to explain the situation -- i.e. A) we're talking about Cancer and B) I have three follow up appointments that are all tied to these scans tomorrow. Pretty much I got a response that sounded a LOT like "our policy is that our nurses have up to 15 days to approve procedures". And you should use a tone that reeks of "I don't care" when reading the response.
Butler changed Insurance Providers this year so this is new. Our previous Provider approved stuff like this near instantaneously. And from talking to the Doctor's office, it sounds like that's what they're used to.
Particularly annoying? These scans were scheduled on February 24th. 5+ weeks before the procedure. But the Doctor's office waited until late last week to request Pre-Certification. Since they usually get near immediate approval they wait until 3-4 days before a procedure. If they pre-certify "too early" then there's a risk the procedure will have to be changed or cancelled.
All in all, I'm fit to be tied. I've griped at the insurance company, I've griped at the Doctor's office and I've griped at Butler's H.R. Department. But the scans will now be delayed. Not sure about the impact on my other appointments. I guess we'll see about that when the dust settles on the insurance. I already have a call in to Dr. Tsue's office to see if they have a similar problem with pre-certification for my "surgery" next week, though that may need to be moved any way if he wants the scans before the surgery.
Not my most uplifting post, I must say. But have a nice day.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Appointments Coming Up
I saw my orthopedic surgeon who worked on my shoulder last year. He was pleased with my progress. We still have some work to do with getting strength back but it's progressing. I continue with Physical Therapy but we'll cut down to once-a-week and focus on strength, mostly stuff I can also do at home.
This Wednesday (Apr 1) I have my next round of scans. I arrive first thing in the morning, go to the lab for lab work then head up to radiology for a CT Scan and a PET Scan. It's not clear when I'll get the results of the scans. I have a few appointments over the next few weeks.
On Friday I have my regular follow-up appt with Dr. Wang, my Radiation Oncologist. I'm sure he'll have scan results available to him but I don't THINK that's part of his repertoire. We'll see.
The following Tuesday (Apr 7) is when I have my procedure with Dr. Tsue where he'll scrape out the dead bone in my jaw and do some investigative work in my throat while he has me there and asleep. I'm assuming we'll get some feedback from him on the scans and on what he did/didn't see in my throat.
Then on Tuesday, April 14th I have my follow-up appointment with Dr. Williamson, my Oncologist. I'll CERTAINLY get a full report from him that will include the scans, Dr. Tsue's findings, Biopsy Results if Dr. Tsue removes some tissue to check, etc. So by then I'll have a good, complete picture of where we're at with the whole Cancer thing.
So, I'll have a bit of an anxious next couple of weeks.
I had lunch with Jeff last week, my fellow patient who's found his cancer has spread to his lungs. He's doing great under the circumstances with a great attitude about the whole situation and a strong faith to help him through. He's on a medication now that's intended to slow or stop the growth of the cancer. He won't know until late May how effective it's been and if that will just be his ongoing treatment for the rest of his life of if they'll try something different. Please say a prayer for Jeff and his family.
Jeff helps me to keep my anxiety in perspective.
This Wednesday (Apr 1) I have my next round of scans. I arrive first thing in the morning, go to the lab for lab work then head up to radiology for a CT Scan and a PET Scan. It's not clear when I'll get the results of the scans. I have a few appointments over the next few weeks.
On Friday I have my regular follow-up appt with Dr. Wang, my Radiation Oncologist. I'm sure he'll have scan results available to him but I don't THINK that's part of his repertoire. We'll see.
The following Tuesday (Apr 7) is when I have my procedure with Dr. Tsue where he'll scrape out the dead bone in my jaw and do some investigative work in my throat while he has me there and asleep. I'm assuming we'll get some feedback from him on the scans and on what he did/didn't see in my throat.
Then on Tuesday, April 14th I have my follow-up appointment with Dr. Williamson, my Oncologist. I'll CERTAINLY get a full report from him that will include the scans, Dr. Tsue's findings, Biopsy Results if Dr. Tsue removes some tissue to check, etc. So by then I'll have a good, complete picture of where we're at with the whole Cancer thing.
So, I'll have a bit of an anxious next couple of weeks.
I had lunch with Jeff last week, my fellow patient who's found his cancer has spread to his lungs. He's doing great under the circumstances with a great attitude about the whole situation and a strong faith to help him through. He's on a medication now that's intended to slow or stop the growth of the cancer. He won't know until late May how effective it's been and if that will just be his ongoing treatment for the rest of his life of if they'll try something different. Please say a prayer for Jeff and his family.
Jeff helps me to keep my anxiety in perspective.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Fix-A-Jaw
Went to the Dentist a couple of weeks ago for my first post-treatment cleaning and check-up. Coincidentally I had started having some gum and tooth pain in and around the furthest back tooth on the lower left side.
Scott checked it out and said he suspected some of the bone in my jaw had died and was sluffing off through the gum, causing the sore that's there and the general pain in the area. He sent me down to my Oncologist/ENT at KU Med Center to get it checked out and I had that appointment on Thursday. Things have continued getting more and more sore over the last couple of weeks and, by the time I saw Dr. Tsue my tooth was very sore, the inner gum is very sore and the underneath side of my tongue back in that area is REALLY sore. It's made eating more of a challenge than it already was.
Dr. Tsue did his normal examination -- stick tubes down your throat through your nose, stick his hands half way to my stomach through my mouth and poke and prod on all the sore areas to see where it is and isn't sensitive. Not fun.
Afterward he suggested a quick surgical procedure. I get knocked out for the festivities, he scrapes the dead bone out and, while he's in there and I'm asleep, he'll do some thorough investigating in my throat, maybe even remove some tissue for testing, to make sure all is well and none of the Cancer has returned in that area. That little bit of fun is scheduled for April 7th and will come on the heels of my Pet Scan and CT Scan on April 1st. So, once we get through all that we'll have a real good picture of where we are with the whole cancer thing at this point in the process.
In the meantime I have some mouth rinse I get to use 4-times a day to keep the area with the open sore clean and free of infection.
Other than this exciting new development with my jaw bone everything else is just continuing on. I still fall asleep most evenings before anyone else and wake up before anyone else in the morning. I have started going to the gym and getting a little exercise. Mostly just walk on the treadmill and lift very light weights. Nothing above my head, though, because of my shoulder. I'm not really stretching the limits on the exercise, taking it slowly instead, but it feels good to get a little exercise and it gets my blood flowing.
Eating has been a bit of a struggle lately. Between dry mouth and my swallowing I've not made a ton of progress. Tastes seem to be improving a bit but swallowing and sensitivity to spice hasn't.
Dry mouth, in addition to contributing to my eating problems, has been a real pain all by itself. I wake up every morning with my tongue cemented to the top of my mouth and the sides of my throat stuck together. Interestingly, drinking water doesn't really help that much. I pretty much carry a water bottle around 24/7 to sip on, but some milk occassionally seems to help more than anything. That doesn't seem right but I'm not asking questions.
Fellow patient Jeff did, in fact, find out the nodules in his lungs were cancerous. He was given a few treatment options and opted for a daily chemo-pill treatment that doesn't carry as many side effects as some of the other options. He started those last week so throw some happy thoughts his direction these next few weeks. He and Rhonda need them.
So, that's the update for now. Between now and early April all I have is Physical Therapy for my shoulder -- which is improving in leaps and bounds -- and a follow up appointment with my Orthopedic Surgeon for my shoulder. So, there may not be tons of updates over the next few weeks unless something changes. But, who knows, maybe I'll get bored some morning when I wake up at 4:00 or 5:00 and I'll throw something out here.
Scott checked it out and said he suspected some of the bone in my jaw had died and was sluffing off through the gum, causing the sore that's there and the general pain in the area. He sent me down to my Oncologist/ENT at KU Med Center to get it checked out and I had that appointment on Thursday. Things have continued getting more and more sore over the last couple of weeks and, by the time I saw Dr. Tsue my tooth was very sore, the inner gum is very sore and the underneath side of my tongue back in that area is REALLY sore. It's made eating more of a challenge than it already was.
Dr. Tsue did his normal examination -- stick tubes down your throat through your nose, stick his hands half way to my stomach through my mouth and poke and prod on all the sore areas to see where it is and isn't sensitive. Not fun.
Afterward he suggested a quick surgical procedure. I get knocked out for the festivities, he scrapes the dead bone out and, while he's in there and I'm asleep, he'll do some thorough investigating in my throat, maybe even remove some tissue for testing, to make sure all is well and none of the Cancer has returned in that area. That little bit of fun is scheduled for April 7th and will come on the heels of my Pet Scan and CT Scan on April 1st. So, once we get through all that we'll have a real good picture of where we are with the whole cancer thing at this point in the process.
In the meantime I have some mouth rinse I get to use 4-times a day to keep the area with the open sore clean and free of infection.
Other than this exciting new development with my jaw bone everything else is just continuing on. I still fall asleep most evenings before anyone else and wake up before anyone else in the morning. I have started going to the gym and getting a little exercise. Mostly just walk on the treadmill and lift very light weights. Nothing above my head, though, because of my shoulder. I'm not really stretching the limits on the exercise, taking it slowly instead, but it feels good to get a little exercise and it gets my blood flowing.
Eating has been a bit of a struggle lately. Between dry mouth and my swallowing I've not made a ton of progress. Tastes seem to be improving a bit but swallowing and sensitivity to spice hasn't.
Dry mouth, in addition to contributing to my eating problems, has been a real pain all by itself. I wake up every morning with my tongue cemented to the top of my mouth and the sides of my throat stuck together. Interestingly, drinking water doesn't really help that much. I pretty much carry a water bottle around 24/7 to sip on, but some milk occassionally seems to help more than anything. That doesn't seem right but I'm not asking questions.
Fellow patient Jeff did, in fact, find out the nodules in his lungs were cancerous. He was given a few treatment options and opted for a daily chemo-pill treatment that doesn't carry as many side effects as some of the other options. He started those last week so throw some happy thoughts his direction these next few weeks. He and Rhonda need them.
So, that's the update for now. Between now and early April all I have is Physical Therapy for my shoulder -- which is improving in leaps and bounds -- and a follow up appointment with my Orthopedic Surgeon for my shoulder. So, there may not be tons of updates over the next few weeks unless something changes. But, who knows, maybe I'll get bored some morning when I wake up at 4:00 or 5:00 and I'll throw something out here.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
SLC and Home
Well, made it to Salt Lake City yesterday and back home today. Yesterday was my biggest worry. I got way tired as the day went on but made it through all the mandatory meetings and site visits. My travel partner, Rich, was very accommodating on dinner. We made a quick visit to Arby's -- Tim would be jealous -- so I could get back to the Hotel and go to bed. Yes, I went to bed at 7:00. I then woke up at 4:00 but felt pretty good at that point. Read for a while then got going for the day.
Since we got finished up yesterday, today was just a matter of going to the airport and flying home. Made it home about 4:45 but I think my family has been kind enough to share their Flu with me. I went to bed right when I got home and slept until about 10:30 tonight. Not feeling very well now and will be going back to bed shortly, but thought a quick update might be in order.
I had my swallow study on Monday and that went well. Still things to work on but she said to just keep eating and swallowing and things should continue to improve for several months. Unfortunately she also said that improvement will continue but will probably NOT return to pre-treatment "normal".
Other than that, not much to report. Obviously fatigue is still a problem. Taste and spices are still problems when eating. And dry mouth continues causing it's own set of problems with no miracle cures discovered to date.
That's all to throw out there for now. Time to go back to bed.
Since we got finished up yesterday, today was just a matter of going to the airport and flying home. Made it home about 4:45 but I think my family has been kind enough to share their Flu with me. I went to bed right when I got home and slept until about 10:30 tonight. Not feeling very well now and will be going back to bed shortly, but thought a quick update might be in order.
I had my swallow study on Monday and that went well. Still things to work on but she said to just keep eating and swallowing and things should continue to improve for several months. Unfortunately she also said that improvement will continue but will probably NOT return to pre-treatment "normal".
Other than that, not much to report. Obviously fatigue is still a problem. Taste and spices are still problems when eating. And dry mouth continues causing it's own set of problems with no miracle cures discovered to date.
That's all to throw out there for now. Time to go back to bed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)