Living with Cancer - a day at a time

Summary

On February 22, 2020, I went to the ER because I collapsed at home.  I fainted several more times when the paramedics arrived and were treating me.  Once stabilized I was brought to the ER where it was discovered that my hemoglobin count was down to 4.5 when it should be 13.5.  This led to the obvious question - where am I bleeding? A CT scan revealed lumps on my colon and my liver.  A colonoscopy revealed a 15cm mass in my colon and biopsies were taken.  I was told the colon biopsy results on Friday, February 28.  I have colon cancer and because I have lesions on my liver, the longest at 7cm and I don't drink or smoke or do drugs, it looks like it's stage 4 colon cancer.  

I am 52 yrs old and I live with my 87 yr old mother to help take care of her needs and the house.  Needless to say the stage 4 diagnosis caught me completely off guard.  Not only do I now have to deal with my own health issues, I am no longer able to help my mother nor is she in any condition to help me.

For the most part, my experience with the hospital, nurses and doctors has been one where everyone talks like this is common standard procedure and assume I know everything they're talking about including financial obligations.  The reality is this is my first time experiencing cancer and I'm learning as I go. I have learned that not all prescriptions are covered by insurance and that I am going to get "conflicting" prescriptions depending on what stage of the process I am at.  For instance, I was prescribed Miralax to help pass stools while eating regular food.  Later I was prescribed Imodium as an anti-diarrhetic during chemotherapy.  Neither is covered by insurance.  And at first glance, they seem to conflict.  I've learned that this is all part of the learning curve with my particular situation in dealing with colon cancer.

I appreciate any and all help I can get to get through the coming days with all of the twists and turns and unknowns.  You can follow along on my journey through my blog about this experience called "Living with Cancer - a day at a time" at HanielHann.com.

Treatment Plan

The oncologist is planning on 4-6 cycles of 3-drug chemo (2 weeks per cycle) and evaluating the size of the mass in my colon then to determine if it's operable.  So preliminary financial estimates are I need 2-3 months of recurring income and add one month for the re-evaluation period.  If I am not able to handle the 3 drug regimen then it'll be dropped to the regular 2 drug regimen and more cycles will be needed to complete this phase.  

A PET scan and possible liver biopsy still need to be done.  I am not 100% certain what all is covered by Medi-Cal for these tests.  

After surgically removing the colon mass, it is assumed another round of chemo will be needed to go after the cancer elsewhere in my body.  And once again, the financial need is unknown at this point.

Financial Need

In preparation for the aggressive 3 drug chemo therapy, I have taken a leave of absence of unknown duration and have already gone through what money and credit cards I have.  

So far, it looks like Medi-Cal will cover the major medical bills, but things like prescriptions and non-prescription medicine are not all covered.  Nor are special dietary needs and clothing requirements during chemo.

I'm also in need of a new "hospital" like bed and dressers since my old bed with drawers is no longer able to support me during chemo.  

While I have reduced my monthly bills to the bare necessities, I still have to pay the remaining bills as well as travel expenses to the doctors offices and treatment facilities and monthly food.

The immediate needs that I am currently aware of total a one-time budget of $4659 and a minimum recurring monthly budget of $1300.   This does not include any sales tax or delivery fees.  I expect both of these budgets to increase after chemo therapy starts on March 24 and I get better idea of what I really need and don't need.  

The initial $100,000 budget for this GoFundMe campaign was recommended by friends who had to take care of their family members who suffered from cancer and eventually passed away from it.  Their experience shows that my initial calculations are going to be way off when all is said and done because I simply do not know at this point what all I am really going to need to get through this.

I would add that anyone who is not able to donate at this time, no worries. Just come back when you can in the coming weeks and months.  This will be an ongoing effort.  And any dollar amount donated is great!  Every dollar counts and helps me out directly.  Thank you!

Just bear in mind that GoFundMe charges a transaction fee for every donation which is a flat fee of 30 cents and 2.9% of the donation.  So if you can only donate a dollar realize that less than 70 cents will actually get donated to me.  So save up your dollars to a larger amount to make each transaction more worthwhile and let's not pay too much to the banks for each transaction. Thank you!  

Also for those who know me and live locally and want to help out, please contact me directly to see what needs to be done.  Just understand that once chemo starts and for the duration of the chemo treatments, my immune system will be severely diminished as part of the side effects and I can not go anywhere that I might catch any germs or receive anyone who may have been in contact with anyone who is sick or are sick themselves.  Thank you!

For a more complete story and updates about my cancer and myself, please visit my blog "Living with Cancer - a day at a time" at HanielHann.com.  

Lastly, I am able to take donations via Pay Pal or Zelle. Please contact me directly if you wish to use either.

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