Its been over a year since my fingers touched keys and produced a legible sentence.

During that time I was diagnosed with (in this order): cancer, arthritis, and Advanced Macular Degeneration (AMD). It seems I’m getting old. Aging.

All the circumstances surrounding these three health issues will be talked about in the future but here are some observations of importance:

1. Hearing the word “cancer” when my OWN health was being discussed was one of the hardest, strangest events of my life. Almost as bad as Red, The Dog, dying. It was less of an event than the death of my mom, but the impact a six letter word can have on your view of life is not to be overstated.
2. The US Health Care System (UHCS) is a mess. My care over the last 12 months was mainly marked by confusion, poor communication, and 6 figure financial bills. Sadly: too much of the UHCS is dominated by financial concerns that usually are of no benefit to the patient but huge benefit to the Insurance and Health Care Providers that rule the world of care. It’s got to be a fine line doctors walk to determine the correct care for an individual patient without costing the patient too much money or missing an opportunity to save the patients life. Its was astounding the cost of my care and it felt like some providers were more attuned to cost than care. More on that, later.
3. There are a lot of smart people on the internet. Who knew? When faced with my cancerous dilemma, I found the best information, help, and support from the various blogs at the Mayo Clinic, Harvard Health, and others. The most important lesson learned from all the participants was this: each patient is a unique individual and no one should be forced to endure a drug or operational protocol simply because it worked for others. It will be hard and take time from the doctors/specialists, but they need to see the person/patient the doctors are treating as that unique human being, not a slot-filling, money-generator. My heart goes out to all the care providers who really, really try to do the right thing for the patient and yet, have to keep supporting the hospital system that writes their paychecks.
4. Of Note: Both insurance companies and the UHCS are well off. Don’t feel bad for them. At all.