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Ibrance and Letrozole: Newly Diagnosed Treatment
Breast Cancer | Last Active: Jan 22, 2023 | Replies (104)Comment receiving replies
Hi callalloo, TY so much for your help . I do already have that extra paid for insurance plan , because I had breast cancer 5 yrs ago , and was afraid of potential return and with huge expense. It is also with Kaiser , so the medicare people said I am " assigned to them " and the Kaiser people do not want to allow any outside 2nd opinion , without a fight . They are so horrible . Every day , another bad surprise happens with them . Today it was a new prescription just showed up , for B12 pill , which is listed as "need to fill " . NO ONE discussed this or told me ,so now I have to figure out which dr posted it , and did they even check for interactions or overdoses with the 2 chemo drugs/ etc ? The total LACK OF COMMUNICATION makes me crazy , since last week one told me to take 1000mg per day ( Huge error ) It's mcg , not mg ! Micrograms not milligrams . Last week , the head of oncology actually booked an appt for me, (Interstate) which overlapped a standing appt , across town at a 2nd hospital (Sunnyside) ! NOT HELPFUL. Then it falls to me to call and sit on hold 15-20 minutes to correct their mistake . GRRRRR. So much stress , not much help fighting this cancer . It means the world to me that good people like you are out there , actually helping me . Very best regards, PJ
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Hi PJ,
I saw that post about the 1000 mg of vitamin B12 and figured it was an error but you got it corrected before I could post ;-).
Kaiser Permanente was a kind of gold standard for a model for comprehensive care a long time ago. Sorry to hear that it's lost its luster and totally agree with you that health issues are already stressful enough. We should be able to count on the medical establishment making things as easy as possible. But I think that one possible contributing factor was lockdown. Every doctor I know is trying to take care of as many patients as possible because most people postponed any medical thing that wasn't an emergency during lockdown, when the last place people wanted to go to was medical facilities. So now there's the added burden of pent-up demand for medical services. Two years worth of tests and surgeries and such that couldn't get done easily during lockdown. And a lot of cancers that might have been caught earlier if routine annual physicals had occurred on time. And a rogue covid that is still on the move and usurping hospital beds.
Can you get an ombudsperson at Kaiser to help navigate the system? Hospitals have them but so do some non-hospital medical providers? Or a patient advocate from the oncology department? Even a friend to help you keep track of appointments and go to them with you when helpful can make a difference in getting the attention that you deserve. For what it's worth, I have a friend who twice appealed an insurer's rejection of coverage for an unusual surgery and won the second time.