I am a patient navigator in Anchorage, assisting those who are facing cancer. On average, I see three newly diagnosed people a day.
I work with daughters and sons, like my daughter and son, who don't have health insurance. Young adults who don't check out a lump in a breast or a lump on the back of the neck because they haven't budgeted for an office visit to the doctor. So they end up being terminal, sometimes leaving children behind as a result. Young and terminal: It could be a soap opera.
I work with your parents, people who have worked hard and saved their whole lives, now facing huge co-pays that can bankrupt them. Discussions on how to take out a reverse mortgage so the medical bills can be paid off are not uncommon. Another option might be to sell their home, which is their foundation, a much needed source of stability when you are facing cancer.
I assist people from rural Alaska, who come into Anchorage for treatment. Staying at a low-end hotel in the summer costs an average of $150 per night. Add on food, a car rental and other expenses and the picture is frightening.
As one of my rural patients said, "Without patient navigation assistance to access small mini-grants, I would have laid down and died." I believed him.
I have helped a rural patient find a hotel room for the night, as she had plans to stay in the airport after chemotherapy and catch a flight home the next day. She said she has done this often. Imagine being so sick, and sleeping in an airport because you couldn't afford another option.
All of this happening day in, day out: Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends, neighbors, sons, daughters and grandparents, fearing the cost of cancer and treatment. We call America the greatest nation on earth. From what I see we are beginning to look like a Third World nation. What are our priorities?
Alaskans are calling out for help, from the river banks of Aniak, from the far north of Barrow, to the coastal communities of Southeast, Kodiak and Valdez to the busy cities of Anchorage and Fairbanks. I hear them and hope our senators hear them as well. We need to design a health plan that is adequate, affordable, available and administratively simple. The time for action is now.
Debra Phelps-Jaso is a patient navigator for the American Cancer Society.
By DEBRA PHELPS-JASO