California Dreamin' (More Like a Nightmare)

Being diagnosed with cancer of any form is hard. You feel violated and helpless. And scared. Most cancer treatments require removal of the affected area, and in many cases, the affected areas are internal or otherwise unnoticeable to the naked eye. But just imagine if you had to have an arm removed... How much more devastated would you be? Sure, you could cover it up with a sleeve, get a prosthetic limb... who would know the difference? YOU WOULD KNOW THE DIFFERENCE. The lasting effects of cancer treatments leave far more emotional scars than physical ones. In my opinion, breast cancer leaves the deepest emotional scars because it attacks one's very womanhood. That reason is exactly why I was so upset by a recent article I read in WebMD Health News. The study basically said that fewer than one in three women eligible for breast reconstruction surgery following mastectomy for breast cancer undergo the procedure, according to a small snapshot from four counties in California. It further stated that women with private insurance were nearly eight times more likely to have reconstruction than women with Medi-Cal insurance, California’s Medicaid program, mostly due to the shortage of plastic surgeons willing to accept Medi-Cal’s lower reconstruction reimbursement rate.

EXCUSE ME?

So, in essence, California is saying that cancer doesn't discriminate, but they do? I'm not certain, but I imagine this snapshot is indicative of the national picture as well.

Reconstruction is an important part of the healing process, in my opinion. I have not yet undergone reconstructive surgery, but view it in my mind as a sort of "rite of passage" from victim to survivor. Allowing the cost of the surgery to deter a woman from feeling whole again is adding insult to injury, and is particularly offensive to me. Cancer doesn't pick and choose it's victims by their economic demographic, and surgeons who perform reconstructive surgeries shouldn't choose their patients that way either. New York State law mandates that health insurance policies providing medical and surgical coverage are required to pay for costs of breast reconstruction after surgery for breast cancer. That's the way it should be. Wonder why that isn't yet a nationally adopted policy? Ask any Health Insurance Provider. I'm sure the response will be... interesting, to say the least.