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Cancer health care

  • 01-08-2020 8:31pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 259 ✭✭


    I’m asking in this thread as a lot of people will have experience with cancer here. My friend has just been diagnosed with cancer. And I suppose I have a few questions. Firstly what’s the difference in having private health insurance or not? How would your cancer care be any different? Do people with private health insurance Have access to better oncologists or how does it work? Does cancer treatment cost the same for everyone? My friend has both private health insurance and also a medical card. What’s her best way to go about it and get the best treatment/oncologist possible?
    How much should she expect to pay?

    Also on another note, if her cancer was terminal, could she choose to spend the rest of her days at home Or would she have to go to the hospice?
    Thanks


Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 27,939 ✭✭✭✭looksee


    I am sorry to hear about your friend sallyanne. I do not have personal experience of cancer, but I may be able to suggest answers to some of your questions.

    If your friend has both private insurance and medical card it would seem reasonable to use the insurance. Not because treatment is better, my experience of having both is that the treatment is the same, once you are in the system. There are not different levels of qualification in oncologists for different types of cover, but your friend will have more direct contact with one specific consultant if they use insurance. If they have insurance there is no reason not to use it. If they only had a medical card they would get the care they need.

    My experience has been that, as an out-patient they will pay for consultant visits, but usually a good portion of this is reclaimable. It does depend on the level of cover and the insurance company they are with, the only way to get accurate answers is to contact the insurance company.

    Don't start thinking of hospice care at this stage, a positive approach and not anticipating the worst is essential in cancer treatment. Those sort of issues would be better discussed with their medical care providers, at the appropriate time. As a friend your role is to be just that, a friend. Be strong for your friend, be there to listen, but don't be too quick to organise or advise, your friend may need time to take everything on board.


  • Hosted Moderators Posts: 17,422 ✭✭✭✭Conor Bourke


    looksee wrote: »

    Don't start thinking of hospice care at this stage, a positive approach and not anticipating the worst is essential in cancer treatment. Those sort of issues would be better discussed with their medical care providers, at the appropriate time.

    Respectfully I must emphatically disagree with this piece of advice. While the issue of what to do in the worst case scenario will hopefully be a premature consideration for the moment, it is nonetheless a real and valid concern and it is absolutely natural for her and those close to her to find themselves swinging through the pendulum of hope and despair until they have more concrete information to hand.

    If your friend brings up any of the concerns you have outlined, please don’t minimise them or shush them away. Telling people that they have to stay positive places a weight of expectation upon them and doesn’t allow them to express and explore their fears and feelings if they want to.

    From a scientific point of view, many studies have shown that having a positive outlook has no demonstrable positive effect on ones outcomes in having cancer.

    https://medivizor.com/blog/2015/04/30/positive-thinking-and-cancer/

    It can be incredibly isolating to want to talk to those close to you about your anxieties bit to feel unable to do so because you must keep the best side out, keep fighting, stay strong, stay positive etc etc. For you as her friend to be able to sit with someone and help them to face the terror they may be experiencing from a life changing diagnosis is a phenomenal gift.

    https://www.mindful.org/real-gift-negative-emotions/

    On the other hand however, if your friend hasn’t given any thought to the worst case scenario, or is unwilling to discuss it at the present time, don’t try to force her to do so.

    If your friend has very strong preferences about her care, how/where she receives it, who she wants to support her and how and she wants to make those preferences known, it might be no harm to get them all down on paper somewhere so that if heaven forbid the worst happens, there’s less chance of confusion or disagreement between loved ones trying to guess/decide what her preferences might be if she is unable to articulate them for herself.

    If she’s up to it, completing a Think Ahead form might give her some comfort, knowing that her voice can still be heard even if she is unable to speak.

    Wishing you and your friend all the best for the road ahead.


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