Bladder cancer at age 17 ):

....and you better listen to Gramma Jean young lady!

She knows of what she speaks!

Mike

P.s. I fuss because we care! We really, really do! You are our youngest member ever and we welcome you with open arms. We want you to be here when YOU are 79 and telling people your story. Please?

Heather.... First of all let me say how sorry I am that you are going through this at such a young age. I believe I am the "Grandmother" of this forum at nearly 79.
If you ever drank diet soda or do now please don't drink it any more. I really believe artificial sweeteners are carcinogenic and they are not good for us. I have been on this board for 7 years and so many younger people never smoked but drank a lot of diet soda.
Call your local social worker and tell them how critical it is for you to get checkups. I hope you find someone to help you.
I will keep you in my prayers and please keep us posted.
Blessings.....Jean

BTW, we talk about bleeding and urine and catheters and surgical drains and such all the time around here. Never worry about that.

So...how many calls have you made so far?

Please report back here every week and let us know. It is really, really, really important. High grade bladder cancer has a recurrence rate of 80%. CIS has a recurrence rate of up to 93%. That is why regular surveilance is critical.

Mike

Heather,

Bladder cancer has the highest recurrence of all cancers. When caught and treated it early it can be curable. Delaying treatment or not going for checks will cost you your life.

There are financial aid services available to you as others have already pointed out to you. My objective is for you to realize that this is absolutely urgent and other than feeding, clothing, and bathing your child and yourself there is NO higher priority than getting things worked out for you to get on a regular follow up schedule that you must stick to.

Call your parents to see if you can get back on their plan. If that does not work then start calling hospitals and doctors and financial aid groups. Now!

Best of luck to you! Cure yourself. Your child needs a mother.

Mike

Heather,

First off welcome.





Do you have a Luthern Social Services, Planed Parenthood, or a Free Clinic in your area? If you do please go and see them to ask if ther is any medical assitance available to you.

If you dont have any agentcies like this you can go to any hospital and ask them about this also. Most hospitals have a department that handles these situations.

Another area that you should be looking to is your county assistance or social worker. Dont be afraid of looking for help in this matter. I and many others have worked very long and hard our whole lives and did not have to draw any benifits from the county. PLEASE! Go get some of our money back and get some help.

Your county should have a Health and Welfare phone number in you local phone book. If you cant find it Google your state and county name and include the words Medical Assitance.

Please get this done soon. You MUST get those checks regularly.

Let us know if you need any help in this matter. I am sure one of us will be able to get you some answers.

Mark

I thought I was young being 39 at diagnosis. It's rare being so young, but not unheard of. Sara Anne's suggestion of checking the local hospitals to inquire about their financial assistance programs is good. Asking your doctor for assistance is an option as well. If your parents have a family health plan you can stay on their's until you're 26 I think.

Where you get your checks can make a hugh difference in cost as well. Generally, if a urologist practice is owned by a hospital it can increase the cost of checkups. You get hit with a doctors fee and a facility charge in this case. You have to dig a little to find this info out. All too often you only find out when the bill comes and then it's too late.

When I got diagnosised I got a scope done at Sloan Kettering and got billed a doctor fee and a facility fee for a total charge of over $2000. My local urologist whose practice is not hospital owned charges a total of $350 for the same test. That's quite a difference. Granted, Sloan Kettering is the Cadillac of bladder cancer treatment, but my local urologist is more than capable of spotting a reocurrance at a fraction of the cost.

You really want to keep up with your checkups, espcially have a young child. I had a 7 and 3 year old when I was diagnosised, so I know what it's like having young children and getting a diagnosis of bladder cancer.