That Stuff Costs HOW MUCH?!?!

One of the realities of the surgery to remove my cancerous tumor was that I would need a colostomy bag for the rest of my life. I wasn't thrilled about that, but given it was my only alternative to ridding myself of cancer, I accepted it. This requires getting bag supplies on a monthly basis. So we have set something up with a local company to automatically ship us a box of supplies every month and so far they have come as scheduled. Fortunately insurance takes care of this.

The other day we received a statement from BC/BS with the cost of these supplies (summarizing the cost; it showed we owed nothing). Cyndy asked me how much I thought the box cost each month. I had no idea but guessed "$50 to $75?" She said, "No, higher." "$100? $150?" "No, higher." Well, it turns out a box of my supplies costs $458 a month. Multiply that out by 12 months and it's around $5,500 a year. Now if I'm fortunate to live another 20 years, we're talking over $110,000 for these supplies over the rest of my life (and that's not allowing for inflation). I don't know if I'll eat $110,000 worth of food over the next 20 years! Thank goodness for insurance (although we'll keep a close eye on whatever happens with health insurance reform). I guess you could add that amount in to the quarter to half million dollars for what my treatment will ultimately cost. I know that's a lot, but I certainly will say that it is very reassuring to be able to look ahead to years and years of (hopefully) healthy living as opposed to having some doctor tell me at some point that I have x years (or months) to live. Two things that makes me feel are (1) that I greatly appreciate each day of life that I now have and (2) that I want to make my remaining years meaningful in some way (hence my desire to preach the "colonoscopy" message). We have been blessed that insurance is covering so much of my expenses because I know that one top, if not THE leading, reason for recent bankruptcies is due to the inability to pay a large medical bill.

My recovery continues on schedule. I feel much better week to week and the constant pain I have had has been nearly eliminated. I still have three weeks of chemo ahead of me (with three weeks of a "break" in between), but certainly my worst days are behind me (no rectum jokes, please). Thanks again for all your support and prayers.