Category: Cancer Fight win/lose

Can the Democrats/Independents Recover?

This week, (Jan 20-Jan 25) is one fraught with anxiety, depression, anger, shock, and fear. It began on Monday, the 20th of January with the swearing in of Donald Trump for a second go around of his desire to convert our democratic republic into an authoritarian ChristoFascist regime with him as the Dictator for life. Of course from all indicators, looking at his physical appearance, that for life thingy might not be very long! Yet there is much that he and the rabid Republican Congressional majorities along with the loyalist brownshirts he is replacing our normal federal officials with, could accomplish to either delay or blunt totally a return in four years with a normal, set of humans to the federal powers.

Let’s face it, the Democrats and left/centrist independents dropped the ball horribly during the 2024 election year. Tens of millions (I have seen counts of well over 80 million) of voters for Biden in the 2020 election stayed on their couches, saying they weren’t going to vote because they didn’t like the Democratic Candidates. Wow, what hubris, no what anti-American lazy-assed bunch of slugs. Because of their pissy, childish, and irresponsible attitudes, Trump was allowed to slither into the White House with a 1.7% margin of voters. 75 to well over 80 MILLION voters who cast their ballots to fire Trump in 2020, sat on their fat butts, watching daytime soap operas feeling oh so entitled by stating their dislike of the Democratic Party’s candidates.

So, in actuality, those lazy-assed jerks in fact, really voted for Trump and his fascist storm troopers. As a result, the rest of the regular citizenry will have to keep their hopes alive that the Republican Fascist Cult and their Dear Convicted Felon in chief will not be able to do too much damage to our governance, our way of life and our very livelihoods. So now instead of a POTUS, we have a FOTUS. Never in my wildest nightmares had I ever dreamed that we would be stupid enough to elect a Convicted Felon to the highest elected office in our nation.

The Bride and I have made a decision to keep our own counsel, stay the hell away from the wimpy pretend news media, and try to survive the next four years. We’ve done okay so far in surviving the horrible jackass who was given the Governor’s mansion in Richmond. One more year of this scumbag’s regime and we can hope and pray for a better world in our Old Dominion, Virginia.

As a very senior person (well past 82), my abject fear is that the South American Nazi Musk anointed by Trump as the head of that committee of DOGE and whose primary target out the starting gate is with Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid in his gunsights will get his wish. Not legally, because that rich, bigoted white boy jerk from South Africa has no legal authority, except he had the Ear of his fanboy Trump so he can exert undue and frankly illegal influence on our national government.

The Trump regime’s push already is toward reversing the actions by President Biden of relief for seniors on pharmaceutical prescription medications through Medicare. I just yesterday paid a copay of 2000 dollars for a prescription of chemo therapy medications, only to discover when we got home that the prescription is for a 30 day spread. But, under the Biden action, that co pay of 2000 dollars would be the last of my out of pocket copays for the year. Even for my ongoing chemo prescriptions. If Trump is successful in removing the prescription ceiling for health care, most seniors including me will not be able to afford our medicines. For darn sure I couldn’t afford 2000 dollars every month for that one chemo medication, or the cost of the other chemo infusion treatment every three months. Basically, if the Trump regime does follow through and reverses the Biden action of prescription medications, especially for seniors, this old Vet will slowly or perhaps not so slowly have this cancer grow exponentially thus hastening my departure from this world because I would not have the financial capacity to pay for the chemo to keep my cancers at bay.

Thankfully, I have prepared a will (not that I have any true estate but I do specify my wishes for the actions for my final days and the disposition of my body after I die), and a certified declaration of medical directives, so at least my family will not be bothered with the tribulations of dealing with the necessary actions, decisions and legalities of my passing. Seniors, far and wide, I would also strongly advise that you look now at getting your affairs in order as well. At minimum, have a medical directive established.

So, if Musk Trump and the ChristoFascist Republican cabal have their way, the new relief from the Biden Administration, for those of us with a need for continuing health care and medication use will be eliminated and the pharmaceutical companies with have a green light to raise their prices out of the reach of millions of older Americans. Sort of murder by legislation.

Ahh what the hell, I had a pretty good 83 years in this life, and hope that I earned enough capital to move on to the better place rather than that hot place.

And Now it Begins

December 12, was a good day and a bad day. First it was a good day because was the birthday anniversary of my Son Clifton. Born in 1966, he turned 57 that day, gad I am getting really old, my youngest offspring turning 57 years old.

Also that day was a bad or not so good day. Because around 9am on that day, I traveled to the offices (Infusion Center) for the Virginia Cancer Specialist organization whose medical professionals specializing in oncology cases to begin my treatment for prostate cancer. I have been assured that the treatment will not impair me like some cancer treatments do. I probably will not lose any more of my hair, but I may experience some uncomfortable side effects depending on how my body reacts to the cancer drugs they will inject this afternoon and those oral medications that I would be required to begin within a two week span following the first cancer drug infusion. Fingers crossed, as I have witnessed the onslaught of cancer the the effect of the treatments on several of my relatives. Concerned> sure, I would be an idiot to not be concerned. Cancer within my family has been quite frequent and fatal for those who are attacked by this dreaded disease. 

What are my chances? Well the medical folks are upbeat about my procedures and the chemo drugs they are prescribing. They believe the processes they are setting up (my oncology team), will win the day. I am sure that is the impressions from the oncology folks who treated my dad, my brother, and one of my favorite aunts. Nonetheless, they all passed in short order from initial diagnosis until their final breaths. So, anxious, concerned, and yes depressed are pretty strong in the old guy. Hells bells, I was 82 when they diagnosed my prostate cancer and then found that it had spread outward from the prostate to several other areas of this old aging body. Will they be successful or will Cancer claim another of the Hodges clan?

What ever, I guess. My lifelong philosophy has always been to concern myself with things I can fix or change and not to concern with those things that I have no control over. Cancer is in the second category, that while I hopefully have a very solid, professional and knowledgeable oncology team, Cancer is still very much in the forefront of my thoughts every single day.

While side effects and the fact that I am now an official Cancer patient bother me quite strongly, my major concerns are what the financial impacts this Cancer treatment will bring to my family, my wife and myself. While we have a decent, stable, income (I am on Social Security and my wife has a substantial position at her work), the horribly expensive medication and cancer specialist involvement are a grinding anxiety generation and cause me no end of anxious times through out the day. 

Should I lose this battle with cancer, what will I leave behind? Will there still be a crushing medical debt facing my wife and family? I was encouraged to take part in the online fundraising system called GoFundMe and after considerable thought, I decided to attempt that avenue that might provide a fund for paying for these cancer treatments and not leave a medical debt obligation on my wife. 

As we all know, medical bills are a huge reason for personal financial crises in this nation. And frankly only in this nation since every other developed nation has its populations covered under a Universal Health Care program. Would that be the case here, at least I could then focus totally on my cancer fight and not on how we were going to pay for the medications, the infusion costs and the costs of the oncologists and the oncology technical folks. Many in my family and my friends speak to me of this treatment or that treatment all that were successful for their relative or friend. My question is okay, tell me how much those treatments cost and how were the funds to pay them acquired. Social Security and Medicare do not offer a safety net for high cost cancer treatments, and the patient’s out of pocket costs are at least 20% and can range into the six or seven figure obligation for the patient and their family.

This is the link to that fundraiser if one is so inclined to assist/help in this fundraiser?

https://gofund.me/fac343b9

Again, this personal experience now reinforces the efforts and activism that I have been involved with on and off since 2003. That of replacing our commercialized health care system with a universal health care program like the rest of the developed nations have had for many many years. The USA is the only developed nation that does not have a single payer universal health care system in place. As a result, USA residents, and especially most senior citizens are adversely harmed by medical necessities. And it was not for trying, in 2003 the bill numbered HR-676 was introduced to the Congress at their opening by Representative John Conyers and a number of Co-signer/Supporters from the Democratic Party. The legislative bill did not get out of committee, being tabled by the Republicans and their health care industry executives and insurance corporation masters. Each new Congress, Representative Conyers resubmitted his bill to at least two and often to three different committees for consideration and possible move to the House Floor for debate. Each year, regardless of his enhancements, the bill has floundered in committee and not been released to the Floor debate. One would think that with the huge benefit to the American population that this bill would at least get a Floor debate. Finally in 2017, the last edition of HR-676 was posted to these three committees and still did not get out of committee for a full House review and debate. Conyers passed that year and HR-676 essentially died with him.

So here we are, with a GoFundMe application posted to Facebook and several kind souls having contributed to my battle, we are still a very, very long way from having a financial cushion for the cost of my cancer treatment/battle. I frankly am extremely concerned at this point with when my battle will be lost and what the cost obligations will be. Depression, fear, and Anxiety are with me daily, and in my thoughts during the night. My only hope is that either a win or sadly a loss will come fairly soon so that the financial burden is not to great.

So, I will leave this blog entry at this point. As things progress, I may create follow on commentary as to the status of my Cancer. Or, if there appears to be little or no interest in this topic, perhaps I might post on some other mundane topic.