Not Quiet, Please

Today I am grateful for the medical insurance my family members and I have, and for access to good and convenient medical care. I appreciate daily the health that I am blessed to have.

When I was in the thick of breast cancer treatments, surgeries, and medical appointments in 2008, I had plenty to worry about and fear. How we were going to pay my hospital and chemotherapy bills wasn’t one of them. We had good coverage and some savings we could tap into. I could consider my mastectomy and reconstruction options without needing to make cost one of the factors.

I chose bilateral mastectomies without reconstruction, a less costly option, because it was the best choice for me. Not because I felt it was the only choice. Many women who face a breast cancer diagnosis and surgeries don’t have the luxury of choice that I did.

I will break down this information more below, but you can also find the links I mention all in one place on my friend Nancy Stordahl’s website. Her blog, Nancy’s Point, is my favorite BC blog. She does a wonderful job of informing and instigating.

Before 1998, breast reconstruction after cancer wasn’t considered an essential part of breast cancer treatment. That changed with the passage of WHCRA- the Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act- in the United States. This act provides protection to patients who have breast reconstruction after a mastectomy. While access to breast reconstruction is guaranteed, the specific types of reconstruction patients have access to are not specified in this act. Read more in this post from Jennifer A. Douglas: DIEP Flap Insurance Coverage at Risk: Urgent Advocacy Issue.

A recent coding change may limit patient access to the DIEP flap reconstruction option. It is a microsurgery that uses a woman’s own abdominal tissue and skin, but unlike other flap procedures protects muscles and nerves from damage and maintains a stronger core. Results also feel and look more natural and there is less danger of chronic pain. This all adds to overall health and quality of life. Not surprisingly, it is also an expensive option.

This coding change is denying some women the access to this procedure, as most cannot pay the $50,000 out-of-pocket.

Watch this CBS Mornings news story for more:

This is a time to not be quiet. Please be an advocate and raise awareness and take action on this issue. I signed a petition the other day where the goal was 2,500 signers, to give the petition more notice. When I signed, the number was in the 1500s. Last evening it was in the 1800s. Keep it moving forward. Sign here.

I also emailed both of my U.S. Senators and my districts’s U.S. Representative (who all just happen to be women too). Go to Dr. Elisabeth Potter’s website to find easy links to getting these letters sent. It only took me about five minutes to get all three emails out.

Although I consider myself a breast cancer advocate, I have been a quieter one lately. Not today. Not quiet, please. Speak up and take action. There are women who need our support and advocacy. Thank you Nancy, Jennifer, Dr. Potter and so many more for bringing this to our awareness. Onward, for all breast cancer patients!