Cancer is costly. What if I did not have health insurance or a steady paycheck? Would I have fallen through the cracks and died of metastatic breast cancer before anybody told me I was sick? An exercise in role-playing taught me that there is help available.
PUBLISHED November 14, 2018
Felicia Mitchell is a poet and writer who makes her home in southwestern Virginia, where she teaches at Emory & Henry College. She was diagnosed with Stage 2b HER2-positive breast cancer in 2010. Website: www.feliciamitchell.net
Cancer is costly. What if I did not have health insurance or a steady paycheck? Would I have fallen through the cracks and died of metastatic breast cancer before anybody told me I was sick?
Inspired by political conversations regarding health care, I put my question to the test by imagining a different cancer journey in my rural Washington County, Virginia, home. With a population of 54,387 in latest figures, 14.7 percent live in poverty in this community. The U.S. Census estimates that 10.6 percent under 65 in 2017 did not have insurance.
We know that early detection saves lives – or at least makes the remaining days of a life less uncomfortable. My insurance pays for an annual mammogram as well as a routine check-up. While it covers oncology check-ups and other medical care after I reach my deductible, the insurance company weighs in on what I should pay before then. What if I had fewer resources? How would I have even learned about my cancer?
We know that early detection saves lives – or at least makes the remaining days of a life less uncomfortable. My insurance pays for an annual mammogram as well as a routine check-up. While it covers oncology check-ups and other medical care after I reach my deductible, the insurance company weighs in on what I should pay before then. What if I had fewer resources? How would I have even learned about my cancer?
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