It's apparently time for the DUmmies to resume their bouncy lies on healthcare. You will recall that a few months ago, during the DUmp's previous healthcare frenzy, DUmmy ThomWV claimed to pull his own teeth, making a necklace, due to lack of dental insurance. Now DUmmy Leftist Agitator has decided to go all in, performing cancer surgery on himself with an x-acto knife! Believe it or not! (Not.):
Leftist Agitator (1000+ posts) Wed Dec-16-09 11:41 PM
Original message
So I think I have skin cancer... But I don't have health insurance.
There is a free (well, mostly free) clinic in my city, one that was ironically founded by Milan Puskar, the founder of Mylan Pharmaceuticals. I'm calling off of work tomorrow to go and get checked. But I already know what they are going to tell me.
I have a mole on my stomach that has been there since childhood that has started to get darker and grow. It's three or four times the size that it originally was, has jagged edges and is puffier, for lack of a more precise term.
I have compared it to pictures of skin cancer on the web, and it looks remarkably similar to the upper right image in this photo:
(Then some gruesome color photographs of cancerous moles.)
I'm 28 years old, and don't have health insurance. I'm either going to die, or be bankrupted in the process of saving my life.
I make $9 / hour, and am working at the most 30 hours a week currently. There is no way that I can afford chemotherapy or even surgery to physically remove this tumor, not without destroying my credit and ruining my chances of ever moving back into a major urban locale. In real cities, they do credit checks before anybody will rent to you, as the residents of the same know all too well. And I love(d) living in the hustle and bustle of Miami when I did. It has been my dream to find work in my field that would lead back to an urban life.
Now, I don't know if I'm going to have a life much beyond what I've already experienced.
What would you do if you were in my situation?
I haven't told anybody in my personal life about this... I felt that DU would be a good place to vent and examine my options.
Anyway, please offer any suggestions that any of you might have. I sure could use some good sound advice right now.
P.S. I know it's not the best idea, but is removing this growth myself a viable option? I'm pretty handy with an X-Acto knife.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7249135I recommend the DUmmy take up his x-acto knife and go to work. It's very viable, but if the growth is too large, he may want to switch to a filet knife. And don't forget to post photographs.
Leftist Agitator (1000+ posts) Wed Dec-16-09 11:45 PM
3. Well, I'm going to go to the clinic tomorrow...
And I suspect that I know precisely what they are going to tell me:
"You have skin cancer".
Do you (or anybody else) know of a dermatologist or oncologist who does work at a reasonable rate? Preferably one that's not prohibitively far from my location...
Because I'm fairly certain that I will not be able to afford to be treated at the "going rate", as it were.
If it's cancer, handle it like a real DUmmy democrat, ginseng tea, Vitamin C and macrobiotics!
notadmblnd (1000+ posts) Wed Dec-16-09 11:45 PM
2. Don't panic
it may be less serious than you think and just be a matter of the Dr. removing the blemish.
MilesColtrane (1000+ posts) Wed Dec-16-09 11:47 PM
4. Go to a dermatologist and tell him/her that you don't have insurance.
Ask how much it would be.
I did the same for a growth on my leg.
He ended up charging me $150 to remove it and have a path. report done on it.
Lorien (1000+ posts) Thu Dec-17-09 12:22 AM
21. A friend of mine did the same thing. She had an aggressive skin cancer
(she was very pale and grew up in Kenya, then moved to Florida). She had to have a good bit of surgery done to her face because of it. In the end it cost her around $800.00. She worked a minimum wage restaurant job with no insurance so her dermatologist helped her to find a surgeon who would save her for a fraction of his usual fees. Ask around and do so NOW. There are a few good souls out there.
Do you know how many x-acto knives you can buy for $800? And how much weed you can buy with what you save?
Leftist Agitator (1000+ posts) Wed Dec-16-09 11:52 PM
9. Were they just cut out with a scalpel?
Because if that's the case, I can do it myself. I just need to know how deep to cut and how large of an area needs to be excised.
You need to skin out a very large area. ThomWV has a nice necklace, but this DUmmy could end up with a unique wallet, or, if the mole is large enough, he could even go for a lampshade.
Sgent (1000+ posts) Thu Dec-17-09 12:15 AM
17. What you cannot do
at home though is check them under a microscope to make sure you got all of the lesion rather than just most of it.
This guy is all prepared to do some DUmp pathology!
Leftist Agitator (1000+ posts) Thu Dec-17-09 12:20 AM
20. Well, this science nerd actually owns a microscope, thank you very much.
A 900X toy model, but it's powerful enough to see cellular structure, and if you squint enough on a stained slide, certain organelles.
But I still would have no ****ing clue what I was looking at or the significance thereof.
Regardless, you make a very valid point. But I feel that if I excise enough skin, that I might be able to contain this problem before it becomes life-threatening.
Mind_your_head (1000+ posts) Wed Dec-16-09 11:52 PM
8. If you're only making $9/hour and only working 30 hours/week you should be eligible for Medicaid
I think....
From what I have read here on the DU there is a 'right way' and a 'wrong way' to approach Medicaid for these things....something like you can't get Medicaid after you've gone and had your cancer diagnosed or SOMETHING like that ~ I'm really not sure.
Please look through the DU archives (or hopefully those knowledgable about how Medicaid works will chime in here).
If he looks through the DU archives, all he will find is that enormous firestorm of Medicaid arguments between the REAL DUmmy TLB, at her arrogant, obnoxious best, and the rest of the DUmmies.
The Medicaid argument was the beginning of the end of the REAL DUmmy TLB, as she pissed off every DUmmy in sight by implying that deadbeats don't actually curl up and die on the sidewalk outside the hospital.
GreenPartyVoter (1000+ posts) Thu Dec-17-09 12:09 AM
11. Yes, go back and get more info on Medicaid. My family is on it and it is a godsend. There
are basic federal guidelines, but I believe states tweak the program because what I am on is called MaineCare even though it is technically medicaid.
Sgent (1000+ posts) Thu Dec-17-09 12:15 AM
16. Depends on the state
in most southern states you can't get Medicaid unless your under 21, disabled, or pregnant
Since DUmmy TLB is no longer slithering around the DUmp, we don't get a new Medicaid brawl.
XemaSab (1000+ posts) Thu Dec-17-09 12:12 AM
13. Go to the doctor
The worst that can happen is they charge you $25,000 and you tell them you can't pay it.
It's sort of like student loans in that way, really.
Leftist Agitator (1000+ posts) Thu Dec-17-09 12:16 AM
18. "It's sort of like student loans in that way, really."
Oh, tell me about it. 80k in loans and I have a shit job with no way to pay them back.
But I could tell you more about food rationing in Europe during the Second World War than you ever wanted to know.
Oh, and unlike student loan debts, medical debts can be discharged when one files for bankruptcy. So I've got that going for me.
Pardon my levity, but right now I think a smile on my face is a good thing.
No democrat plans to repay student loans. Even a DUmmy knows he can't make a living with a degree in womyn's studies, A-A studies, or the other worthless easy feelgood subjects they like.
DUmy cliffordu explains what personal finance means to a democrat:
cliffordu (1000+ posts) Thu Dec-17-09 12:19 AM
19. I've gone bankrupt twice - no biggy if you are sick enough to get
ruined by health care costs.
Corporations and pension plans go banko because they throw away money. This is your ****ing life and health. Don't give it a second thought.
DUmmy girl gone mad, a more dedicated democrat, recommends that he commit fraud before bankruptcy:
girl gone mad (1000+ posts) Thu Dec-17-09 12:31 AM
23. If you have any money or assets, try to shelter them..
then work out a payment plan with a dermatologist, put it on credit cards, then default. Most doctors understand. You might even be able to find a doctor whose office can help you go about it the right way.
