Good News, Bad News

WOW!
I have just read through all the messages in this thread and they really and truly are mind-boggling! The strength and courage you women are showing is truly inspiring! I'm so sorry that it meant dissolving your marriages because let's face it... when you are starting your life out as a new married couple you aren't looking forward to the day when you might have to divorce your new husband... that thought doesn't even come into the equation. But life goes on and no one knows what the future will hold for them. Not only have you ladies had to go through the heartache of separation and divorce, but the heartache of having husbands who weren't there to support you in your hours of need.. and then to have to deal with cancer on top of all the personal life stuff! You are truly amazing women!

I kind of look at myself now and almost feel guilty at how much easier I seem to have it. I am single but with a huge support group of friends and work colleagues. As some of you know, I live in Canada, so our health insurance is universal and subsidized (not to be confused as social medicine). What this means is the monthly insurance premiums are so incredibly affordable it's almost sinful... IE: for a single person in British Columbia, the monthly premium is $50/month. For a family, it is $108/month. My employer covers that so I don't even pay the $50/month premium. I also have what is called "Extended Health Benefits", which is a secondary insurance coverage (also supplied by the employer) which covers some of the extras that the basic insurance might not cover. IE: ambulance services, having a private room in a hospital (vs a 4 bed ward), prescriptions, after you leave the hospital, where the insurance covers 80% of the cost, I cover 20% until I reach a certain amount then, prescriptions are only $1 per prescription. In other words... there is nothing about my healthcare that is going to break the bank. When I had my original surgery done, I was quite a mess ... not only did I have a large tumour that had already perforated through the intestine, an abscess had formed around it so I ended up also having perotonitis (infection of the abdomen). I ended up being in the hospital for 30 days and my total bill for everything was $114 for the tv rental. Everything else was covered by the basic insurance plan, other than my private room which was covered by my Extended Health Insurance.

Then, another benefit I have through my employer is Long Term Disability Insurance. I have been off work since Dec 1, 2006. For the first 6 months I was off, I was on short term illness where I was paid 100% of my wages, then after 6 months off, I was eligible for the Long Term Disability. For that I get paid 70% of my wages, but retain all my benefits such as the medical insurance, dental insurance and Extended Health Insurance. It's coming up 2 years that I've been off work and I will remain off until my doctors feel I can go back... but as long as they say I can't, I remain on Long Term Disability with the benefits.

So, you can see why I might feel guilty after reading all your stories. Not only do I not have to stress out about the financial burden this disease can cause, I don't have the stress of what it would be like trying to fight this disease and being with a partner/husband who causes more stress than help.

So, ladies... my hat is off for all of you who are going through these problems. You have my total admiration and I am serious when I say I'm in total awe of the strength you ladies show. I know I've only just recently started posting here again, but in the short time I've been reading your posts, I am proud to say I have been introduced to you all, thanks to technology, CSN and the internet

Huggggggs,

Cheryl