Thany....( you didn't show your name!!) so I used part of your email address. Your English is exceedingly good!! I am sorry for your diagnosis & remember all too well how overwhelming the news was!! My husband was diagnosed 3 years ago in Nov 2004. It has been a very hard journey for our family...especially due to the finances. In America, there are very few resources for citizens. We can not afford health insurance, and of course now, hubby can not obtain it due to the cancer, nor life insurance either. We did apply to Novartis for Patient Assistance, and they granted hubby's Gleevec. The bad is that they could not ship out on a timely basis, so my husband could go several weeks between each shipment without the drug. Yet, we were thankful for them sending it for free....when hubby was diagnosed they told us that Gleevec was $1,000 a day which a month's worth would have been a whole year's salary. Thankfully, for others, the cost for Gleevec has come down in price. Hubby finally was accepted into a medical study for another drug Dasatinib & as long as he is on the study he receives the drug for free. He also is much healthier on Dasatinib, so that has been a blessing for us. Regarding all other health care from doctor appointments to hospital stays to other medications. Well, NOT good. In the US, most Hospitals with Emergency Rooms are obligated to provide "emergency" care. Which means that if you walk in, they will treat your symptoms. Basically, they "patch" you up & send you home & tell you to go see your health care provider for follow up treatment. A doctor's appt is one day's pay....most of hubby's other medication's tend to be anywhere from $4 to $70 or so. We got on the internet & there are mail order pharmacies that help those of us that truly are in need. We provide our tax return to show proof of income usually. After that, well, we do without.....as will you. I can only encourage you to at least share your need with your health care provider....sometimes they can network & help you to seek further help. The other thing that was made more difficult was that hubby was so ill that some days he just couldn't work. Which then reduced our income & ability to pay for further health care. Very difficult & we are VERY thankful that he is as stable as he is now. He is even working fulltime. In the back of my mind, I worry about having to pay for the Dasatnib & have contacted Bristol Meyer Squib that is the manufacturer & they also have limited patient assistance. the good & the bad now is that with hubby working fulltime, our income has increased, which means that when we apply for aid, we are not qualifying for as much. You may have heard of US government subsidies such as Medicaid or Social Security.....we didn't qualify for any of that...nor did our state, Texas, have any assistance. We did receive food stamps $30 a month for a couple of years. Our children did qualify for Medicaid for 3 years to have health insurance, but now we can't get that either since hubby is working fulltime. Your struggle will be long & difficult,.....I urge you to be persistent in asking for help. It is easy for folks to just assume you have help or getting your medicines, or going to the doctor. You just have to state your situation. When hubby was first diagnosed & not able to work, the doctor expected him to come in at least once a week for labs which were $54....& of course, we couldn't afford it. When, they called to schedule appointments, I stated that we won't be able to due to finances. The staff then made arrangements & had hubby to come in regardless of our ability to pay. The labs for a bone marrow biopsy (every 3 months) is around $4,000....and that would be two whole months pay. We explained that we couldn't pay, but our doctor insisted on the biopsy...then we get the bills & just cry. Eventually the lab companies write off the bills as bad debts........but I always felt the doctor was wrong knowingly submitting the labs when he knew we wouldn't have the funds to pay the bill. Our medical system is so strange in America. in the end, we are fortunate, that my hubby is alive after 3 years!!! When he was first diagnosed & due to our fiances, the local hospital tried to send us off to a large city for hospice care. Luckily, we had great doctors who persevered & figured out that hubby had CML & it was treatable. So, as you can see...we all have our stories.....& it is good to share & help each other. Lora
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