Gone are the worries of a lapse of insurance coverage, gone is the fear his treatment would be interrupted, gone is getting on COBRA and its ridiculous price!!!
Jeff was mistaken and had thought his insurance ended the Tuesday after he got laid off. He actually had coverage until the end of the month (today). Tomorrow he already has coverage through the state.
Yesterday Jeff had his first Keytruda infusion. Pleasant surprise that both Keytruda and the flush only takes about 35 minutes.
So far, so good. Just hoping it gets in there and starts working magic.
As per his labs, his hemoglobin was low AGAIN. He’s having another blood transfusion today.
He seems to have a glimmer of his appetite back. He invited me to breakfast tomorrow morning. Awww ❤️
~ Stephanie
#teamjeffgallagher
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Great news and a heavy load lifted off your back....Best of luck with Keytruda. I had my second Xofigo Weds. and have been kind of "off" for the last couple of days. Wishing us both the best results on our new treatments....
I’m so glad to see some of that back breaking string of bad news … lifted for now Stephanie and Jeff. Seemed like you guys couldn’t catch a break and now a happy uplifting ( relatively speaking yayahahahaya) positive thing is happening…. You deserve to relish the moment. What a relief.
So glad you are catching a break if even minor to some.Was hoping you could get onto MNsure it was great for me when I moved here in late 2020. Really glad for you.
It really is one day at a time. Rejoice/enjoy when even the smallest break comes along.
So glad they approved him quickly. As if dealing with a matter of Life and Death isn’t bad enough— shameful, that so many people need to worry about losing insurance coverage during a health crisis. So glad Jeff is covered and I pray that he has a super response to whatever treatment he has coming!
Great news fellow Minnesotan. FYI I spent my last 40 years of employment in insurance.
MNSure (aka Obamacare) are based on narrow networks. All this means is that your network is in a narrow geographic band and what may or may not have been covered under his employer, may no longer be covered or in your new network.
Usually these limitations are things like your doctor is no longer in your network, or the medicine he takes is no longer in his "formulary". Lastly, some procedures that may not have required pre authorization, might be required now. Lastly, seeing some specialists might require a pre-auth.
Bottom line, when you go see a doc and they recommend a treatment, you need the procedure code (CPT code) and confirm that the provider is in network, the procedure is covered in network and so on. I know it's a pain, but so is a $20,000 bill.
Always has to be a pragmatic person appear lol.Anyway seriously I don't see any need to worry at least if my experience can be related to what may occur in Jeff's case as he is with Mayo and Minnesota Oncology.
I am with Minnesota Oncology which is also associated with Mayo.
Never paid more than a dollar for anything while on MNsure (labs, scans, zometa, eligard, walgreens prescriptions, zytiga, office visits) pretty unbelievable actually.
I assume the income he stated may have an effect but still I predict no traumatic medical expenses.
I hope pragmatic is ok. 👌 MNSure networks are defined by where you live. In my case, I live in a suburb of Minneapolis. MN Oncology is in the MNSure network, Mayo is not. I confirmed over the phone as well with the carriers and the Mayo. So I've stayed on my employer plan, paying COBRA rates. Just want people to have the info. I'm moving to Medicare this year and not going with Medicare Advantage as they are private insurance and use the same narrow networks as MNSure.
We didn’t really have much of a choice. COBRA is so expensive and while I say “we” all the time and I’m clearly very involved, Jeff is my ex husband. He couldn’t pay for COBRA and still meet his other financial obligations.
Jeff is in Rochester, I can’t fathom Mayo not being in network. Might run into issues if Dr. Kwon still wants us to go to the cities, but that’s later down the road. I can only worry about so much. 🤪❤️
That's good news. I can't see Kwon sending you outside of the Mayo. I'm not sure any tech would be found in the cities that isn't already right in your own back yard. I'm glad you are getting the care you need!
Actually, Dr. Kwon originally wanted to send us to the cities for oncology. Our experience has been there’s some sort of discord between the 2 departments.
Our original goal was to get Jeff on LU-177. Evidently there’s too much red tape currently and that’s been tabled.
Dr. Kwon said if administering LU-177 failed, he’d be sending Jeff to the cities for Keytruda. However, when they reviewed Jeff’s case for LU-177, another oncologist volunteered to administer the Keytruda to Jeff. He got to stay in Rochester for treatment.
Awesome news! There are times things work great in our Government! Let’s hope Keytruda works well for him. I did 9 infusions before I developed side effects. Every one responds differently but many on the forum have responded well!
Looks like there are two good things about Minnesota now. One is MNSure, the other is that you freeze your cojones off during the winter so you get free ADT! Here's hoping the Keytruda is the silver bullet that you need. ☺️
I just spent my second winter here in Minnesota. Its an adjustment to say the least. I came from Chicago and trust me 250 miles more to the north makes a difference in winter.
I know. No kidding. And last year with early and record warmth fooled me.This spring has been a shocker lol. Wasn't it only about a week or so ago that we once again had snow. I digress lol.
This is a record of my Keytruda treatments for my Lung Melanoma. MSKcc
Number 1 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 02/07/2017
Number 2 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 02/28/2017.
*Took CT body scan on Thursday, 04/06/2017
Number 3 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 04/21/2017. (SKIPPED!)
Dr. said that my recent C.T. scan (04/06/2017) showed that the nodule on my left lung decreased in size.
Lungs: Decreased lower lobe metastasis:
Now 1.2 x 1.0 cm. previously 2.4 x 2.2 cm.
Pleura/pericardium: Resolved small left pleural effusion.
Number 3 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 04/11/2017.
Number 4 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 05/02/2017.
Number 5 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 05/23/2017.
Number 6 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 06/13/2017.
Number 7 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Thursday 07/06/2017.
*Took CT body scan on Tuesday, 07/18/2017.
Dr. said that my recent C.T. scan (07/18/2017) showed that the nodule on my left lung decreased in size.
Lungs: Decreased left lower lobe metastasis:
Measuring now 0.6 x 0.6 cm. previously 1.2 x 1.0 cm.
No new suspicious lung nodules.
Pleura/pericardium: No effusion.
Number 8 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 07/25/2017.
Number 9 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 08/15/2017.
Number 10 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 09/05/2017.
Number 11 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 09/26/2017.
Number 12 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 10/17/2017.
*Took CT body scan on Monday, 10/30/2017.
Number 13 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 11/07/2017.
Dr. said that my recent C.T. scan (10/30/2017) showed that the nodule on my left lung stayed the same size and that was a good sign.
Number 14 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Wednesday 11/29/2017.
Number 15 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Wednesday 12/20/2017.
Number 16 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Wednesday 01/10/2018.
*Took CT body scan on Friday, 01/26/2018.
I met with Dr on Wednesday, 01/31/2018 and based upon my CT Scan of 01/26/2018 he said that I do not need any more treatments for 3 months since my scan showed the following
LUNGS/AIRWAYS: Further decreased residual ill-defined left lower lobe metastasis, barely perceptible. No new suspicious nodules. Schedule for a CT Scan on 04/24/2018 and a consultation with Dr. on Tuesday, 05/01/2018.
This is a record of my Keytruda treatments for my Lung Melanoma. MSKcc
Number 1 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 02/07/2017
Number 2 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 02/28/2017.
*Took CT body scan on Thursday, 04/06/2017
Number 3 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 04/21/2017. (SKIPPED!)
Dr. said that my recent C.T. scan (04/06/2017) showed that the nodule on my left lung decreased in size.
Lungs: Decreased lower lobe metastasis:
Now 1.2 x 1.0 cm. previously 2.4 x 2.2 cm.
Pleura/pericardium: Resolved small left pleural effusion.
Number 3 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 04/11/2017.
Number 4 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 05/02/2017.
Number 5 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 05/23/2017.
Number 6 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 06/13/2017.
Number 7 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Thursday 07/06/2017.
*Took CT body scan on Tuesday, 07/18/2017.
Dr. said that my recent C.T. scan (07/18/2017) showed that the nodule on my left lung decreased in size.
Lungs: Decreased left lower lobe metastasis:
Measuring now 0.6 x 0.6 cm. previously 1.2 x 1.0 cm.
No new suspicious lung nodules.
Pleura/pericardium: No effusion.
Number 8 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 07/25/2017.
Number 9 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 08/15/2017.
Number 10 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 09/05/2017.
Number 11 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 09/26/2017.
Number 12 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 10/17/2017.
*Took CT body scan on Monday, 10/30/2017.
Number 13 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Tuesday 11/07/2017.
Dr. said that my recent C.T. scan (10/30/2017) showed that the nodule on my left lung stayed the same size and that was a good sign.
Number 14 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Wednesday 11/29/2017.
Number 15 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Wednesday 12/20/2017.
Number 16 treatment with KEYTRUDA on Wednesday 01/10/2018.
*Took CT body scan on Friday, 01/26/2018.
I met with Dr on Wednesday, 01/31/2018 and based upon my CT Scan of 01/26/2018 he said that I do not need any more treatments for 3 months since my scan showed the following
LUNGS/AIRWAYS: Further decreased residual ill-defined left lower lobe metastasis, barely perceptible. No new suspicious nodules. Schedule for a CT Scan on 04/24/2018 and a consultation with Dr. on Tuesday, 05/01/2018.
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