Medical bills can be vague and very frustrating. I feel your pain and hope everything calms down soon.

Oh Lisa--I am so sorry to hear you have "the miseries"! Venting brings more relief than aspirin, so vent on. I'm glad I am no longer part of the medical picture--it's all about the almighty dollar, not the patient anymore. And having to cope by your onesies doesn't lessen the situation! But you are a WOMAN!!! You will be OK. Feel better soon. Alberta

I've got a 7 or 10 day supply of penicillin VK here I could mail you. Had it filled in sept but didnt need it, so its fresh.

In the 4 or 5 years I've worked in oncology, I've never heard of a path review done in a case like yours. New baseline followup scans, yes, but you probably were due for those anyway. Personally I'd contest it as unnecessary and let them eat the cost.

Why are you still on Arimedex? They usually stop that at 7 years,don't they, if you've had a recurrence?

Hire someone to do the drive.

Yeah, I keep on having scans, but this re-doing of the pathology and histology of the original slides and blocks after this long burns my socks. I'm due for the next PET/CT series in Jan. I have PETs once a year and the bone/CTs twice a year. Mamms once a year.

I will be on Arimedex probably for the rest of my life. Tamoxifen they will take you off after 5 or 7 years, but so far I haven't heard of anyone being taken off Arimedex. It may partially be because my recurrence was progesterone positive, which is why I had all my reproductive organs removed...what a way to lose weight. They usually don't prescribe Arimedex unless you have had a recurrence since it is more expensive, but they have been seeing better results with Arimedex anyway, so more people may be put on it.

I sure as heck hopes the insurance takes the Hospital to issue. I'm not sure I have the strength anymore to do that kind of fighting. Lord knows I did enough of that when I had the initial diagnosis.

Lisa - I usually forget about this 'dark side' of the forum but clicked over here this morning and read your post. You've sure had more than your share, girl. I hope you feel better soon but in the meantime - and I'm not kidding - make yourself a big pot of chicken soup. It sounds silly but there's some enzyme in the stuff that really helps fight off the 'miseries.'. -
Marci

Lisa... thats really rough. A big warm hug coming your way from me. Yeah, like Alberta said, being a Woman makes it that much more easier to just get on when it feels like Life is walking all over you with spiked army boots on.

That blows, Lisa. Medical system indeed. I've been fortunate to not need it much, but it seems when it works poorest is when someone really needs it. People really need to know how to be their own advocates these days.

Well, last night I spiked a fever and woke up drenched in sweat...the sore throat is better, not perfect, but better. I know this is strep. I think I just caught it early and those stupid quick strep tests didn't show up anything because it was early. Now I have to figure out if I am going to risk going back to the walk in clinic, or just wait it out, eat more chicken soup (Marci, that's just about what I've been living on, that plus ice cream and lots of other liquids, cranberry juice and such) and pop even more vitamin C. I have been intermitantly gargling with hydrogen peroxide (more effective in this use than in watering your orchids to my mind, but it does make one resemble a rabid dog with all the foaming at the mouth), maybe I'll step that up a notch. Meanwhile, the driveway needs shoveling and I'm not going to do it. I think the "Christmas Present" in the big box with "Craftsman" on it in the garage which has a blanket over it and to which I have been instructed not to look (how's that for run-on sentences?) is a sno-blower. AH, my ever romantic husband. When he gets home from CA I'm going to hold his toes over it. lol.

sending positive thoughts your way. the professional responsible for requesting the review should have contacted you as the patient and responsible party for permission. unless you signed one of those blanket permissions that most docs push in front of a person along with 19 others.

go straight to the best chinese restaurant and order 1 qt of wanton soup, drink all the broth. take laura up on the pen-v-k 7 days min for strep throat. good luck

wait a min! i wanted to say wonton soup but now in reflection wanton soup will definitely do the trick if you can find it. the DH will help. ;)

Sending you hugs!! Get better soon!
-Mimi

Hugs from Canada. And, I'll keep my fingers crossed that it doesn't snow again until after your DH is home.

He's home....fortunately, a guy with a bobcat came along and offered to do the drive for $20. Best $20 I ever spent....We've got more snow, but of course it is the dry, light fluffy stuff! I'm getting better, but man, I could have spent the last week more profitably I can assure you!

Thanks for all the good words folks, I'm still trying to figure out how to deal with the histology/pathology issue....

Glad you are better , take it easy, don't need a relapse .
About being s----d by the medical people , good at it arn't they .
My husband had a run of problems last year and the first part of this year . Duplicate tests , Tests at St. Johns in town , Then sent him to specialists in Springfield , would St. Johns there take the results from St. Johns here, No way . Then pass you from one specialist to another . Uggh! Run you to death trying to get you well. G

Lisa - I hope you're feeling better by now! (I remember you from the "New England" forum, too:-)
My suggestion is *hot* and sour soup ( have someone nice get you a pint at a Chinese restaurant )
or garlic soup -
Best if you make this and stand over the pot while it cooks.
6 or more cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
Saute in a couple of TBSp of olive oil til golden. (inhale the steam here into your sinuses.)
Add a quart of canned tomatoes (all the better if you can get some home made.) Add can of chicken broth if you wish, too.
To really guild the lily (garlic is a lily family member) you can cut crusty bread up into large croutons, and saute with the garlic. Take it out before adding tomatoes, set aside then garnish the top of the finished soup. Salt and black pepper to taste :-)

Best wishes and good Luck! from Western Masachusetts
Maryanne

I'm part of that medical community- yes it is an absolute nightmare. First, you need to find out what test they ordered. My best friend had this about 4 years ago- it's called a Her2, which may not have been run on your tissues and is helpful with getting the right treatment. I'm sure they have developed other tests, but I'm thinking this is the one they ran. Her insurance did pay for it. (It did cost about $2000) If, however, they are running the same tests as originally run, I'd go for their throats. So my thoughts are to start talking with your doctor, the pathology department, etc. and get some more facts. And also your insurance company. The pathology department may have sent you the bill, and you may have to then submit it to your insurance company. So don't give up yet- and don't pay it til you get more info. Joann

Her-2 neu is a pretty standard test anymore, although they don't always test for it. I guess there are other indices that suggest whether or not it will be a useful value to have.

At any rate, whether Lisa was Her-2 positive or not, at this point, is irrelevant.

I have a recipe for mashed potatoes that you put a ton of fresh garlic in and then bake. Yummy comfort food but DH might not want to get too close for a day or two. Hey,that's a great way to run him out of the house, right into the drive with a shovel.

Yep. And I've had that, I'm negative. That was after round 2, as that's when they first developed the test/treatment for general consumption, about 7/1/2 years ago. Before that, it was by lottery. Trust me, when you've had stage 4 cancer, they do whatever they can to try to figure out what they can throw at you.

Well- this is the last attempt I make here at trying to be helpful. Irrelevant? Thanks. Joann

No Joann, don't worry. Your thought was a good one. In one way I'm grateful I wasn't Her2Neu postive as the outlook for those who do have that gene problem isn't good, but on the other hand, I remember that when I found out I wasn't, I was a little bummed as I wanted all the drugs I could get to fight it. Wierd.

I'm just thinking that the Ohio State University medical center is out to make all the money they can by whatever means they can. I'm still sitting and waiting to see what their response is to the fact that supposedly they did this analysis BEFORE they had my slides and blocks....Which I suppose is irrelevant, because if I complain and the insurance agrees with me and refuses to pay,then I get left holding the whole bag. I'm still puzzeled as to what my next move will be. I called them, and haven't had any response yet in a week's time.

Also, Joann, you have to realize that both Lis and I had BC before we were 40, which 90% of the time is a death sentence. The closer a woman is to 20 the worse her changes. I was lucky, what I had was more of a nusiance than anything else, Lis got run through a ringer. Both of us got an unwanted "degree" in breast cancer, while researching what we had.

What you said wasn't irrelevant in general,and it is an important test. I just realize that since Lis is over 7 years out from her recurrence (years out= time since biopsy, mastectomy,lumpectomy etc.), that Her2 neu status doesn't count for much at this point.

Laura

Having been an RN for 30+ years should account for something, you two. I do have some knowledge about this topic, both professionally and personally. I don't understand how they could have run tests on material that they didn't have. That is physically impossible. And you should also know that just because one institution says you're negative, another institution may have different results. My girlfriend's Her2 neu came back positive from the Mayo Clinic, but negative from a Minneapolis hospital. Is that irrelevant? Could be very relevant to individuals depending on the results of this test to tailor the appropriate therapy to their condition. Worked in the OR for many years (20+, not always as an RN) -can't tell you how many times pathology and/or the lab screwed up. So do institutions trust each other? No. And this looks like an example. There is no need to respond to this post. This truly is my last. Joann