Financial Burden of Mesothelioma

There's a lot of unexpected that can come with any cancer diagnosis, especially mesothelioma, whether that be home medical costs, an unexpected trip to the emergency room. A patient shouldn't have to make a decision about the treatment they're going to have or traveling to a center of excellence based on affordability. We didn't know what mesothelioma was. Of course, we looked it up on the phone. It didn't look good. We were facing a lot of financial problems during that time. We were not prepared for it, all the medical bills, and then we had to travel. We don't live in Houston, so we had to travel back and forth. And then he had to go into short term disability. And my job, of course, I don't earn a lot of money. So it was kind of hard to do all that. The average mesothelioma patient is typically retired. So usually they are on Medicare, which means that there is twenty percent out of pocket. So when a patient is receiving a form of systemic therapy, they can anticipate a couple thousand dollars per infusion. I have not reached a point yet where I don't continue to have a lot of doctor visits, lot of medical bills, and the cost of insurance, the deductibles, and all of these things, they continue. What I do regret is not spending more time with him when we got home because I had to work. I had to work two jobs to pay the bills. Navigating the financial options on your own can be super overwhelming. First of all, you're dealing with a diagnosis that can be very expensive. Oftentimes, you don't know if your insurance is gonna pay for your healthcare. Are you gonna be able to afford your co pays? What is it gonna look like in six months or a year from now? We actually have learned all of this and we can share with you what we've learned along the way to walk you through that journey to help you make wise choices, whether it be even looking into other insurance options, finding a lawyer will be best suited for you, or looking into other options like should I go on disability, should I file my VA claim, what else is out there for me. So we actually can help walk you through the whole process. Right now I'm doing quite well. It's been ten years now since the original diagnosis. I'm just so thankful for everything at this point.