No Insurance - Never Give Up

Hello Everyone, I was reading my 1st question posted on CSN.(10/12/2010) At the time I didn't realize just how good the advice I received really was but reading it today really made me 'think twice." 1.Glenna M suggested that Connie apply for financial assistance at a good cancer center and to apply for medicaid. (Glenna,I pray everyday you beat cancer a 2nd time)
2. Jimbo recommended that if we could not get assistance that we might checkout treatment overseas and that he had received top notch affordable treatment in Thailand.
3. Linda (abbimom) suggested we might have a fundraiser, check on medicaid, and that Connie would need to get any dental work done before treatment (radiation).
4. Mike (luv4lacrossee) suggested a clinical trial and also to be persistant when applying for financial aid
5. MarineE5 suggested the Compassionate Allowance and explained that even if Connie received Social Security, she could still have to wait 2 yrs for Medicaid
6. Dawn (sweetblood22) re-affirmed the 2 year wait for medicaid
Now I want anyone here that reads this to know how Connie attained treatment and how important the advice we received really was. The 1st thing we did was apply for financial assistance at MD Anderson Cancer Treatment center. The next move was to apply for Medicaid at the Social Security Administration. The employee there mentioned to us that Connie would be elgible for Compassionate Allowance and that this would speed up her application for Medicaid. Our next move was the National Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) which is a temporary insurance that is available for people who are un-insurable due to pre-existing conditions who have not had insurance for 6 months, it cost around $600 a month if you qualify. Then we proceeded to call the aid dept. at MD Anderson everyday, which I think they decided to give her assistance so we would quit calling.. As it turned out Connie qualified for assistance at MDA and had her 1st appointment on Nov.16,2010. She had her 1st chemo treatment on Nov.26 2010 approximately 6 weeks after her diagnosis. It was the longest 6 weeks of our lives but we were appreciative to get started. She was accepted into a clinical trial and Connie was on her way to recovery. I write this to recap how IMPORTANT the advice we received here really was. I hope this info helps anyone that might be desperate for treatment with no insurance. I would like to thank Glenna, Jimbo, Linda, Mike, MarineE5 and Dawn, the advice you gave us was priceless! Connie was granted Medicaid in Dec. 2010 and I am not proud that Connie had to receive Medicaid and would like to re-pay the government for all the treatment she received. Unforetunately, I know the cost of cancer treatment is so high that is impossible. I would like to see the cost of treatment be lowered as the cost for cancer treatment is astronomical and ALL Americans be offered catastrophic health insurance at an affordable rate. After all our government is picking up the bill and we as taxpayers are paying it or borrowing the money from China to pay for it. Any plan is better than No Plan as cancer regrettably is not going away. Sincerely, Homer & Connie