The Colon Club

O Stoma Mia wrote:

L.andr wrote:... Any advice you have will be greatly appreciated.

If you are looking for advice, I think it would help for you to create a signature that summarizes what your situation is so far. This will allow readers to determine if they have any information that might help you.

One of the most important items is the location of the tumor, i.e., whether in the colon or in the rectum, and in which part, exactly. Any details you can provide will be helpful.

Instructions for creating a signature are given here:

Adding your signature and other tips
https://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=52681&p=421597#p421597

Hello Mia
Thank you for the tips on the signature info, I added some to mine,I really appreciate your advice on that.
L.andr (Lynn)

L.andr wrote:... I'm supposed to start Xeloda this week. found out my UHC advantage plan will not cover it. Expensive, I know it may mean the difference between life and death so I will do it.....

Apparently there are patient assistance programs that may help pay for all or part of the prescription price for certain drugs provided the patient meets certain medical and financial conditions. It might be worthwhile checking it out to see if any of these programs apply to you. The program cited in the link below lists Xeloda as one of the eligible drugs.

Eligibility
The Genentech Access to Care Foundation provides free medicine to eligible patients who are uninsured, rendered uninsured by payer denial, or underinsured. To qualify, patients must meet specific financial and medical criteriia.
Reference: https://www.pparx.org/prescription_assistance_programs/genentech_access_to_care_foundation

Also, there are several non-profit organizations that provide this type of service, too, so if you don't qualify under one organization's rules, you might qualify under another's. Again, it's worth a try. Probably it's best to start by calling the phone numbers given on the websites to talk to a customer service representative who can briefly explain whether their program applies to you and what to do if it doesn't. (If you just blindly fill out a form and send it in without first talking to someone, it might take a long time before you can get any feedback.)

You could also check out websites such as the following:

http://www.patientadvocate.org/index.php?p=775

I am not a BSN yet, but I sure felt like one to my mother. I slept next to her each night at the hospital and I was awakened every 3 hours.. it wasn't fun at all. You will get through it with time and patience, this is a great site for support. xo

I'm glad your surgery went well and hope your recovery goes well!*hugs* I was diagnosed as stage 2a in 2014. My cancer hadn't spread. Chemo wasn't recommended and I have been in remission since surgery.