Bravo. Thank you for posting that.

Thanks for this blog and good luck with your treatment Jane. Living in France, you will also benefit from follow up diagnostic procedures that are covered as opposed to many private insurance programs in the US which exclude coverage of screening once cancer has been confirmed by an initial pathology report. Again, bonne chance!

Good luck with your treatment. And thank you for contributing your valuable story.

Jane: we know the drill -- the exam, the follow up sonogram, sometimes the biopsy, the wait for lab results (why does the wait always involve a week plus a long weekend?) the report (one way or another).
I'm sorry your news was not relieving. But I'm really glad for you that you are in France, that you can rely on the care you receive, and that you will not have to add concern for approvals and payments to your more basic concerns.
Jane, I admire you for taking this blow and converting it to positive use. I really, really admire you for it.
Something to focus on -- of course I hope yours was an early diagnosis. But even if not, a writer I know who was diagnosed late has, after her treatment, received clean reports, every year, for fourteen years. She's clear.

Jane, I haz missed your common sense and wisdom.

I'll keep my er, appendages crossed that it all goes well with no glitches.

AND, I award you the second golden pitchfork award for bravery. You can put it next to your Pullet-zer prize.

=D

I had breast cancer, (caught before it became invasive) and my insurance covered it pretty well, although I had a lot of out of pocket expenses. After that, my insurance refused to cover subsequent mammograms as preventive care (covered 100%) and instead "covered" them as "diagnostic," with a $1,500 per year deductible (in other words, I paid for my mammograms out of pocket as punishment for having breast cancer).

Once my COBRA ran out, I became almost uninsurable here in the good ole USA. I paid more than $8,400 a year for coverage, but with a deductible of $5,000 per year. What does that mean? I had to spend $13,400 in a year before my "insurance would pay one penny towards my health care. If I had the bad luck to need something in December, then it would start all over again in January.

Last night I heard Tom Perriello talk about letting the insurance companies compete. He impressed me with his intelligence, but I wanted to ask him: Are you saying that insurance companies don't have the privilege of competing now?

Thanks for telling your story Jane. Bon courage!

Jane, I read your post today while I was at work, and it wasn't until I got home later that I recommended it. I wanted to rec and comment, you see, but I didn't know what to say that had not already been said.

I've been following you for quite some time and I really get a lot out of your insight, being in France as you are, and your posts are always enlightening. But I just didn't know how to convey that I am wishing you the strength you will need in the months ahead, and grateful that you have the care you will need, and wanting to tell you that you have love and support on these shores, when I barely have commented to you in a long time, if not more than just once.

Tonight, Josh has given you the voice you deserve:

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2009/08/getting_cancer.php?ref=fpblg

Meanwhile, you have given us all the truth, honesty, and hope that we needed.

If we can ever give back in kind, it's my hope that you will ask.

Support is hard to ask for, as so many of us here know, but....it's obviously here, or so many of us wouldn't BE here.

Thank you, and may your days and months ahead be as easy as they can be. May you continue to have the strength and resolve and spirit that you've shown so far.

Merci. And best wishes. Thanks for the Sanity!

From here I can only wish you well, and take comfort knowing that you are taken care of where you are, something that doesn't happen often in the good ol' RedRightnBlue.

I had the entertainment a few years ago of explaining the American medical insurance system to two friends from Paris, one of whom had gotten a post-doc at a UofCal campus out here.

I actually read most of their 'policy' book to them. The acknowledged solution was that, while he would pay for coverage for them both (they got married about six months later, in Provence somewhere,) in the event of anything serious, they'd return to France.

Last year, as they were entertaining their parents (my age) I got to explain it all again, since it was a major issue in the campaign. The now-Americanized children got to join me in laughing at the look on their parents' faces ("Incroyable" and "Bizarre") as we repeatedly assured them, "Mais oui. C'est vrai."

Can we require at least one week of foreign travel (and not just drinking in TJ like Bush had) as a requirement of American citizenship?

Thank you for the insightful and courageous post.

It's remarkable that the mainstream media has so few stories about real people fighting serious illness and so much fluff, nonsense, and lies.

In a way there's a parallel here: The same way that real people in dire straights just plain don't matter to the for profit insurance corporations, the stories about people's experiences don't matter to media conglomerates.

Jane, thanks for sharing your story and good luck with your fight. Thank goodness you're in France. I tell myself if and when I get a cancer diagnosis, I'm going to France (not for the health care, but for the joy). At least you're already there for both.

Your story raises a question for me. I wasn't aware of these Medical Councils. I'd like to know how much they pay when they determine that an illness or a trauma IS at least partly a person's fault. Say, smoking-related diseases, or, maybe, breaking a leg while skiing. Do you have any insight about this, and how do people take it when they find out they're only getting 70% or 50%. Does anybody ever get a "you've brought this on yourself, dummy, and you're outta luck?"

Thanks, and best wishes.

Thank you for your bravery in telling your story Jane, I know that same courage will aide you in your struggle.Our hearts go out to you hoping you comfort and strength.Thank God you live in a country who is on your side and you dont have the additional burden of fighting insurance companies as well.I wish more people could read what you have written and with your permission I will share it with all those I know.

While we could really use someone like you here, I'm glad you're there and taken care of. Thank you for sharing this and please let us know how you are doing. You have yet another friend on this side of the pond and I'll be thinking about you.

Said with wisdom, perspective, and warmth. Best wishes for your recovery and for the recovery of our American country from the grips of a most unkind and disreputable mentality toward the suffering.

I wish you all the best for a full recovery, Jane.

My sister in Cambridge, UK, has had two fights with cancer in the past five years and has been successful with both. She was fortunate to live near Addenbrook's Hospital, one of the finest in the UK I believe. In all that time, never once did she have to worry about how to pay for all her treatments, and was told to take as much time off work as she needed.

I was born and bred in Ireland, but have lived in the US for 20 years. Being self-employed, my US-born husband and I have always bought individual plans. We used to have very good health insurance a decade ago, with affordable co-pays. But with rising costs, we switched a few years ago to catastrophic insurance with a Health Savings Account (so basically, we're paying for everything ourselves). I joke that we are eating healthy foods and exercising more as a hedge against future health care costs than anything else...

However, one thing that I never hear mention is how different the costs are from state to state. The Blue Cross/Blue Shield premiums where we live now in New Mexico are HALF the cost of what we paid in California, the deductible is lower, and I dare say the coverage is better. We got a letter this year saying our rates were going up - by a few cents a month! (In CA, they doubled every few years so we'd switch plans to reset the cost - I'm sure they offer better prices to new customers.) We still worry about rising costs in the future, and pray that Obama can get something passed that will help individuals like us. But at least in NM we don't feel quite so ripped off. Most doctor's visits and lab fees seem more reasonable as well, with the exception of dental.

Which reminds me, on Christmas Eve some years back, while visiting family in Dublin, I needed some emergency dental work. I was seen immediately by the dental hospital, at no cost. They didn't even ask me whether I paid taxes. I guess I sounded Irish, and that was good enough. They did break some bad news though: "Because of the antibiotics we've prescribed, we're sorry to say you won't be able to drink over the holidays..."

My husband became an Irish citizen some years back. I call it our Health Care Plan B. Yes, it is pitiful that the US health care system is so bad that an American citizen has to become a European citizen as a backup plan...

Americans have no idea what European health care is like. I lived in the UK for a while, and their system is top notch. When you get sick, you can focus on yourself and not worry about getting huge bills. You just walk into a pharmacy and pick up your prescription - free. Of course, you are paying for all that care in your paycheck, but better that fee than worrying about premiums skyrocketing each year (esp. when you hit a milestone like 40 or 50 or 60), or even being dropped or denied coverage. And you don't lose your coverage when you switch jobs.

There is so much fear and loathing out there for the UK system, but it serves its citizen very well. It's not perfect, but that is mostly due to lack of funds, not pure hearthlessness and profiteering.

Sorry for rambling on... (Seeing so many stupid people on TV with crazy ideas just set me off.)

Jane, I get so angry with the fools who believe their own interests are preserved by perpetuating a parasitic system of profiting from pain.

It is already obvious we here at TPM will hold you in our hearts as you traverse this challenge in your life.

Godspeed for your recovery and may peace be with you and yours.

Thank you for speaking out. Best wishes on a full and speedy recovery.

Jane,

First of all thank you for speaking up. Welcome to the club no one wants to belong to.

I am a 41 year old, 3 1/2 year breast cancer survivor myself and I want to wish you the best. While there is a lot of publicity and "awareness" about breast cancer there are still a lot of things that are not spoken of in public so find the resources that work for you. Your treatment course will be determined by a variety of things but at least in your case one of them will not be your ability to pay.

I'm going to link to your post from my blog as yet another case of why we need health care for all here in the States.

Of course if there's anything a survivor from this side of the pond can do please ask, there are more of us than you'll ever expect. Best wishes and drink as much water as you can stand, it helps. - Kate

All the best to you, I'll be hoping for your recovery. Peace to you.

I just keep pointing people to this Frontline show from 2008:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/

It presents so much in a straightforward way - five countries with national health care systems. Some are single-payer, some are not. Britain, Japan, Germany, Switzerland and Taiwan.

Switzerland's system before changing was the most like ours, of the five.

Taiwan went out and looked at everybody else's and incorporated all the best features.

It is an eyeopener. VERY informative.
.

Thank you, Jane, for both your courage and your generosity.

Your willingness to share your experiences may open some eyes in this country and that, in turn, may well save some lives.

Prayers and best wishes for you . . .

First, I want to wish you health, happiness and a speedy recovery.

As you probably know, acceptance is only the first step. Many people are concerned that once accepted, they will have to wait some period of time before actually receiving the care they need. So, a few questions are in order to help us more fully understand your situation, and what might await those of us in the U.S. subject to a similar health system.

How long a period of time passed between your diagnosis and your first treatment? How long did the council take to approve your application? If the application had been disapproved, is there some form of appeal?

You mention that only one question is addressed and that is related to the length of time care is needed but, there is, apparently, an initial assessment as to the source of the illness: "...prolonged illness that is in no way the fault of the patient." Can you clarify the apparent contradiction --that the decision isn't predicated on any other factor.

For example, would an alcoholic in need of a liver transplant be denied because of the self-inflicted nature of the medical problem?

I've had my own medical emergency recently (late April), and I'm absolutely stunned at the costs to both the insurance provider and myself for the services provided.

Again, get well soon.

Dear Jane - my best to you, from a fellow American in Paris.

When I quit the corporate America job that was making me ill and moved to France, I had no healthcare. Cobra would have cost me $650 a month, and I didn't have a job. One day here in Paris I had a sort of metabolic meltdown and passed out in a restaurant while having lunch. I went to a friend's GP, who wrote a script for several, maybe 6-7, tests. Then she asked me if I had insurance. I said no. She said, "Then I won't charge you for this visit." It was only 12E, so I paid her, but I felt that she was very gracious. The tests took place in a lab in the neighborhood and I went in at 9, finished at 9:30 and picked up all my results at around 3. I stood at the counter worried about how much it would cost. I'd taken 300E out of the ATM, and knew it would not be enough. It was 110E. Those tests would have cost me a fortune in the states.

I am so happy to be living here, even though, as you know, France has its idiosyncracies, but I feel safer here, and my life is so rich - with friends and conversation and lovely walks and beautiful things to do and see.

Thanks for voicing the truth about your situation so that others might have the chance to open their eyes. Good luck to you!

Thanks so much for sharing, Jane. I went through breast cancer treatment last year (2 surgeries, dose-dense chemotherapy, and radiation) here in California. Our insurance was with Kaiser Permanente, a west coast HMO.

They were fantastic! Because I had cancer in 7 out of the 8 lymph nodes they removed, I had a lot of auxillary tests performed to check whether the cancer had metastasized further. Scheduling the tests were easy and I never had to wait for insurance authorization. My treatment was state-of-the-art for my diagnosis (I checked). In fact, my surgeon arranged for a conference with the other on-site surgeons, oncologists, and breast cancer specialists to discuss the best treatment options for me.

My medical records were computerized and all my doctors could access the information, including scans, laboratory tests, doctor's notes, etc. I had a question about my CT scan results and my plastic surgeon uploaded the scan and spent 15 to 20 minutes discussing it with me. Everyone spent time with me to discuss my options and never mentioned cost except to tell me not to worry about them. Once we met our deductible/out-of-pocket-expense-limit, everything was covered 100%.

We chose Kaiser for our insurance because, frankly, they had the lowest premiums for our family. We were worried when we signed up that we might be foregoing a higher standard of care for the more affordable premiums. Obviously, that wasn't the case and it makes me confident that health care reform can be implemented in a way that controls costs without affecting care.

Best of luck to you during your treatment. I hope that you have as much support from your friends and your treatment team, that I did!

I'll keep you in my thoughts.