Hair

A lot of people will tell you that their hair grew back differently after chemo…either it was straight pre-chemo and grew back in curly or it was curly pre-chemo and grew back in straight. Mine is the former. It’s so curly! Mom tells me that her wacky post-chemo hair lasted about two years and then went back to normal. So I guess I have about another year, year and a half of curly hair.

Why is this difficult for you?

Dear Health Insurance Company,

I don’t understand. You covered almost every speck of my cancer surgeries (three, averaging about $20,000 apiece), various reconstruction procedures (totalling probably $25-30,000), and chemo treatments (six, around $16,000 per round, not including prescription take-home meds)…and here we are, still bickering over whether or not a test we all know as a “pre-chemo echocardiogram” done a year and a half ago is necessary?

Are you serious?

Do you really think people have EKGs for fun? Or have chemo for fun? What part of “pre-chemo echocardiogram” (WHICH YOU REQUIRED, I might add) is hard to classify for “reason for test?” When you ask me “what was the diagnosis code for this test?” and I say, “uh, cancer, ’cause I was about to start six rounds of chemo, which I’ve since completed and you’ve paid every dime on already?” how come you can’t believe ME over the COMPUTER??

I am grateful that you pretty much didn’t make a peep during my surgeries or chemo, but why are you bitching about a $300 test that you required that I have before starting chemo? Don’t think I won’t call you every day and bug you about this, either. You’re not getting off easy. I am not going to pay for that test. You are. In exchange, I get to not be eligible for life insurance for the next five or so years. Deal?

Your friend,

Sarah