There were many instances where I received help from family, friends, and work colleagues, and all contributed in some way to supporting me. But there were two people whose spirit of generosity led to financial relief that assisted me greatly.
Money is not supposed to be a concern but there were many thoughts racing around my head and not all of those were health-related. I had only been in my current job for six months and had very little sick leave. My long-term health was important but the fear of having no money had an impact on my health as my anxiety rose.
The first person whose generosity lifted me out of that anxiety was my boss. He phoned me to ask how my diagnosis had gone. He had been very caring in his conversation, but then I heard him say he wanted to raise a practical matter. I remember thinking, 'This is it, I'm going to lose my job'. I felt like I was floundering around in a thick fog but somewhere in that fog I heard him say, 'You are not to worry about money'. I was to be paid sick leave for whatever time I needed to get through this.
I needed a mastectomy and opted for an immediate reconstruction so the out-of-pocket expenses were enormous. One by one I paid the accounts but still did not receive an account from my plastic surgeon and given I had a TRAM flap reconstruction this account would be a large one. At Medicare one day I mentioned the situation and they checked the computer and said that the account had been settled through Medicare. The relief was enormous and at the time I didn't ask the surgeon how he worked that out, later when discussing the cost of further surgery I asked him.
He said his philosophy was that when women are diagnosed they have enough to worry about without worrying about medical costs. He said that because things move so quickly that women on most occasions do not have the opportunity of getting a second opinion that would also allow them to compare medical costs. He felt that they are pushed through his door with not many options so the costs of the surgery are claimed through Medicare and there are no out-of-pocket expenses.
Many people assisted me in many ways and I will be forever grateful to those who gave of themselves. But the generosity these two men demonstrated in recognising that the practicalities of financial worries also needed to be addressed blew me away. Their spirit of generosity took a lot of pressure off, which meant that I could put that energy into dealing with breast cancer.
--Jen
