About 1 in 100 breast cancer cases are men

[daugen]

that donut hole is bad news. I think they've reduced the size of it, but for years we would get to a point where the next four thousand dollars was right out of our pocket.
I'm not complaining, my wife's seven years of illness cost well over a million dollars in medical bills. And Medicare paid almost every penny of it, except for the copays and donut hole. Between the cost of health insurance and out of pockets, we were running over thirty thousand per year.
I don't know how many people could afford that. And if I couldn't, the idea of my wife not getting her chemo or whatever would be more than I could bear.

I spent most of my working career in different parts of the insurance business, and (see Bird's post above) thirty years ago remember selling many 80/20 Prudential small business plans with a one hundred or five hundred max out of pocket limit. Can you imagine what that would cost now? One hundred deductible. One hundred copays. Two hundred max out of pocket for any one person per year. Boy have times changed.

 

[dave1949]

that donut hole is bad news. I think they've reduced the size of it, but for years we would get to a point where the next four thousand dollars was right out of our pocket.
I'm not complaining, my wife's seven years of illness cost well over a million dollars in medical bills. And Medicare paid almost every penny of it, except for the copays and donut hole. Between the cost of health insurance and out of pockets, we were running over thirty thousand per year.
I don't know how many people could afford that. And if I couldn't, the idea of my wife not getting her chemo or whatever would be more than I could bear.

I spent most of my working career in different parts of the insurance business, and (see Bird's post above) thirty years ago remember selling many 80/20 Prudential small business plans with a one hundred or five hundred max out of pocket limit. Can you imagine what that would cost now? One hundred deductible. One hundred copays. Two hundred max out of pocket for any one person per year. Boy have times changed.

It is a problem.

Under the Health Market place thing with ObamaCare, the lowest-cost individual policy for me is $674/month with a $5,200 deductible. That's $13,288/yr before receiving any insurance benefit to speak of.

As of two years ago when Sharon retired with subsidized health insurance, she pays around $350/month, to add me was around $1100/month. Heck, I ain't worth that much, so I bought a personal plan for $307/month with a $15,000 deductible. That same plan now costs $399/month. It was extended into 2014 even though it does not meet the minimum policy requirements, due to all the snafus.

I would hate to add up all the medical care my Mom has received over the past several years under Medicare. Broke both her wrists in two separate falls, that cost her next to nothing out of pocket. She just had some laser treatments for swollen legs, three visits at a list price of $3K each. Who knows what Medicare pays, or what she may end up paying out of pocket after Medicare supplemental insurance. I'm sure her situation is not unusual, there are many millions like her.

The good news is, for normal age-related maladies, they can keep people going for a long, long time that was not possible in the past. The bad news is there is no sane way to pay for it.

 

[bindian]

I had my annual mammogram this morning. One of the questions on the forms was,........"Does anyone in your family have male breast cancer"?
hugs, Brandi

 

[daugen]

Brandi, just confirming they meant in your bloodline, not your spouse. If the latter, I wonder if they think it is contagious...or just gathering data like good researchers. thanks Drew

 

[bindian]

Brandi, just confirming they meant in your bloodline, not your spouse. If the latter, I wonder if they think it is contagious...or just gathering data like good researchers. thanks Drew

Yes, just your bloodline. There are looking for parameters that would indicate a higher risk.
hugs, Brandi

 

[daugen]

thanks Brandi. My father, mother, uncle and wife have all died of cancer. Ages 65, 51, 81 and 55.
At least my Naval Captain Uncle lasted a good while, probably due to a very straight backbone...
Needless to say, I get checked out pretty regularly. Two melanomas so far, and more to come.
When I think back to the coconut oil we used to slather on ourselves as teenagers at the beach.
Sizzle sizzle.
And fifty years later, chop chop.

and I just read that smoking pot heavily can give a guy "man boobs".
Something tells me that's not a good thing considering this thread.
I wonder if they are tracking that too.
We are what we eat, how we live, how we seek treatment and when.
And our DNA of course, and yes, for some of us, maybe a little bit of the Grace of God.

 

[jinman]

and I just read that smoking pot heavily can give a guy "man boobs".
Something tells me that's not a good thing considering this thread.
I wonder if they are tracking that too.
We are what we eat, how we live, how we seek treatment and when.
And our DNA of course, and yes, for some of us, maybe a little bit of the Grace of God.

Does 2nd hand pot smoking count? I've had lots of friends who smoked, but I never got any thrill from it. However, I am concerned that all the "healthy" chicken we eat is pumped full of female hormones for fast growth. I don't think that's good for men or women.

 

[Western]

My wifes job has "re-done" our insurance, inline with OCare. If we wanted the best policy, (provided by BCross-BS) the "90%" policy with dental and vision, the Gold was over 60K a year!! that is no joke and I can probably post the quote for validation. We went with a "silver plan, (funny how it correlates to OCare) That will have a $6500 deductible, I believe that is for "each" and pays 80% after. No help on meds this time either. All this for just $ 800 month give or take and they dont even thrown in a set of Ginsu knives!:confused3: We are not sure if our "network" doctors will be the same yet.

Jim, wish you and the family, a great Holiday and many more "new Years":thumbsup:

 

[farmgirl19]

I had my annual mammogram this morning. One of the questions on the forms was,........"Does anyone in your family have male breast cancer"?
hugs, Brandi

There is also a theory that all of the radiation contributes to cancer. In fact, I've known three women that each found their lump doing monthly self exams, within 3 months of having a "clear" mammogram, and having had them annually. Knowing your own body, and doing the checks is probably the best thing anyone can do.


Many women have gone to having thermograms, instead of mammograms. The thermograms will detect increased blood flow, which will be present, even before the tumor grows to a size detectable by any means. If there is something suspicious on the thermogram, then a mammogram is usually indicated for further investigation, but until then, one can avoid the radiation. Thermograms have been FDA approved screening tools, for 20+ years, and are effective. (Too bad so many in the healthcare field seem unaware of this.) Unfortunately, one usually has to go to a larger city, such as Dallas, to find a location with the equipment. Also, the thermogram can cover more of the body, so can screen more than just the breasts, should it be deemed appropriate.

 

[Larro Darro]

Does 2nd hand pot smoking count? I've had lots of friends who smoked, but I never got any thrill from it. However, I am concerned that all the "healthy" chicken we eat is pumped full of female hormones for fast growth. I don't think that's good for men or women.

Jim, since I have been trying to diet, I have been eating more chicken and turkey. The hormones are a concern, as are the antibiotics they use. But like Redd Foxx said when people got on to him for smoking and drinking, "you will look funny laying there dying of nothing."

Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Larro