I picked up the results of my scans today…..unremarkable…..which is awesome. No changes to remark upon.
EXCEPT the report said there were postsurgical changes from a partial pneumonectomy. I looked it up: lung removal.
What the….how did I lose a lung during a CT scan?!
I called and let them know that I proofread the report for them…..so they could make the report final-final…instead of just final. Pneumonectomy was changed to hysterectomy.
Oh and my right ovary is asymmetrically bulky. That sounds awful. Can they see that on airport x-ray scans? If so, I’m going to be really self conscious.
I hope that will be my LAST CT scan for a long time. I’ve got important stuff to do….
…..like memorizing the first 30 decimal places of pi with Boo. We sing the song. She’s determined to go on…..I gave up after 30.
Then I spent 3 hours on the phone trying to figure out insurance claims today too. It’s never ending. I’ve got some advice for anyone going through chemotherapy and other ongoing complicated treatments: keep a spreadsheet with your bills and note EVERY single appointment, bill, charge etc and match it to your explanation of benefits. If you can’t do it yourself….find someone to help you. I’ve caught so many errors and billing issues I’ve lost count. (I zeroed out my spreadsheet and put in some fake examples. I uploaded it here if you want it…..just add rows where it says to add rows and you won’t mess up any formulas. It’s formatted to print too. Good night and good luck!)
I always tell patients before they leave the hospital to really look at their bills. I had a friend charged for 2 OR times. Please know you are getting screwed.
Awesome!! Sooooo glad you got this great report! Thanks for the spreadsheet. I think everyone needs this. Medical billing can be so complicated even for minor things. It’s definitely important to keep track and I need to be better about this!!
Unremarkable is good!
Thank you so much for sharing your worksheet. Keeping up with medical expenses is a full time job. The first time we went through fertility treatment I called our insurance at least twice a week because of all the errors. Saving this puppy for the next time around to keep all my stuff in one place. Thanks again!
I LOVE ‘unremarkable’!!!!!!
So glad to hear that your scan was good!!!
My daughter has yearly Ct’s and other treatments… I received a bill for what looked like a copay that I KNOW I paid while in the office…. I called. Sure enough… They told me that it was the way that the insurance and billing come out…. Huh? So, if I would have paid it blindly would it ended up being a credit??? Probably not. Great! *eye roll*
Happy to hear it is UNREMARKABLE for someone so REMARKABLE!!
Great advice with or without cancer…. I keep a spreadsheet of all our medical expenses and never pay a bill without the EOB. Amazing how incorrect things can be at times, so grateful for insurance though! I also ALWAYS put every appointment on our calendar, so if someone charges me for something I don’t recall, I can look at the calendar and ‘refresh’ my memory (usually the case) or call and argue that it was a cancelled appt. (always cross out, don’t erase!).
Praise the Lord for unremarkable!
Praise God….I had a hunch all was going to be ok…I think I may have that kind of ovary now too! lol. Anyway, sooo happy for your good news!!!!
doing the happy dance for you! GREAT news. 🙂
Great news! Just think…they could have removed a limb!! lol! Not funny. Thank God here in Alberta, Canada we have free health coverage 🙂 We hear so many horror stories from Canadians who travel to the US that need medical attention while there. Not cheap!
IT IS NOT YOU.
Erin M.
Congratulations on good health! That’s completely remarkable!!
KK
This report, I think, is the ONLY unremarkable thing about you…so happy to hear the good news~ and so grateful for your strength…a true inspiration, thank you!!
that’s amazing news !!
Read this week’s Time magazine. Available online for free. It’s all about the crazy cost “system” for hospitals. With many stories like Ashley’s.
I’m a retired RN and the whole thing just makes me so sad for all the folks who have to go through this bizarre nightmare at the same time they are going through a major illness.
Congrats on being unremarkable! What a great feeling. When trying to balance the bills, I can’t help but feel frustrated for those folks that aren’t familiar with insurance and just pay the bills as they come in. It’s unbelievable the mistakes.
My favorite are the now collections calls for surprise balances for services that took place years ago that were never submitted or processed incorrectly. Because we all know for every service there are many extra charges. Sorry, too late, insurance won’t pay anymore. No one goes the extra step anymore to help.
I’m so happy to hear your good news… Speaking of medical bills, that’s impressive what you are doing. You might want to read this article. It’s long but worth reading specially for anyone who’s dealing with massive health-related bills:
http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/20/bitter-pill-why-medical-bills-are-killing-us/print/
This is such wonderful news! I missed this post and was wondering how you were! Awesome!! And quite hilarious that you lost a lung!! 🙂 Glad you caught that! Congrats on the wonderful news! 🙂
Your spirit continues to be remarkable. I don’t know how you do it, but it’s wonderful.
(an old acquaintance of Perry’s)
I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your “cancer chronicles”. I have recently been diagnosed with Trophoblastic Disease along with surgery and am undergoing many of the same Chemo Drugs that you used also. It was so nice to read your experiences and know that I am not the only one dealing with this craziness(that is what I like to call it). Considering how “rare” everyone tells me this is- imagaine my pleasant surprise when I was blog hopping and happened upon your website; I don’t think it was a coincidence that I found your story and wanted to tell you thank you for helping me feel that I will get through this as well. 😉