Good luck to you and yours too. I hope everything works out well for her.

>My mom is going through this now. She has had numerous ER visits over the past few years for her emphysema that were terrifying. She is 70 now and only has Medicare. I'll be thinking good thoughts about your dad - hope the results are GREAT! The typical course for my mom would have been radiation and chemo but due to her age, COPD and Emphysema, she will only be going through the radiation (every day for 4 weeks). She starts the 14th... The good thing is the pet scan didn't show any evidence that it was any place other than the one spot the biopsy showed as squamous cell carcinoma. In 1996 we went through the same treatment experience with my father-in-law. It is an exhausting process for everyone concerned.
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>>Tracy, much appreciated. He wrapped up treatment a few days ago and is in good spirits considering. We're waiting to hear from his oncologist w/ the results of the recent scan. The ER visit was an experience. If a patient didnt have family members there keeping an eye on IVs, ordered-but-never-delivered meds, and other issues, the quality of patient care (from my layman's perspective anyway) took a hit because the place was so overwhelmed. The system definately has big problems, but i'm also worried about the fix.
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>>Was your mom insured at that time? What kind of coverage did it provide?
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>>>I'm sorry to hear that. My mom recently had a similar experience (why she now sends me negative articles about healthcare in the U.S.). We've run the gammut with healthcare and costs for her medical care and insurance coverage over the past 10 years.
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>>>It's why I'm (mostly) a libertarian who supports national health care in this country (probably the only one).
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>>>>>
>>>>>you have to wait 6 hours to be seen
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>>>>>by an emergency room doctor;
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>>>>Based on recent experience, thats pretty accurate. My dad is going thru chemo and radiation treatment right now. He collapsed at his place and ended up in the ER. He had a bed in the ER hallway for 9 hours before getting an ER room. 5 more hours for a hospital room. Granted he had nurses attending, but if i recall it was close to 5 hours before a doc saw him. Its quite the mess.