HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post - Cancer causes job loss

dawn · 02-15-2007, 11:14 AM

I don't know where you are getting your information from But I have to disagree with it. I was dx last march. Had my chemo, all tests and scans all covered by my provincial health care plan(Newfoundland). Which is no cost to us, whatsoever? You should count yourself as lucky. January 2006, Newfoundland Government decided to full cover Herceptin treatment, which I am taking now. And if I didn't have insurance to cover the drugs for sickness or side effects of the treatment the hospital would give them to me or my local cancer center has programs set up for this purpose. To ensure no patients have to do without their treatment, with a lot of support from the government and private sector to do this. Yes, luckily I have insurance. Prosthesis, wigs etc. can be gotten from these funds.. As I am over an hour away from my cancer centre, I was given gas cards from a provincial oil company to help with the purchase of gas from my car, when I had to travel back and forth daily for my radiation treatments. Not because I couldn't afford it, but because it is in place to help ease the financial, emotional, phyiscal strain of having to deal with cancer on a daily basis. I can't find one negative thing to say about the Health Care System or how I have been treated for the past year. We are so lucky to have the care we do in Canada. Not having to put off our illness or checkups because we have no insurance, Nohaving to do without medication, that we need. There is always someone that has it a lot worst, We have to look at how lucky we are. AS for the employment part, I haven't had any problems there either. I just started back to work Jan 07. When I have an appointment or treatment, there's no problem. My employee, personally, checks in on me to see how things are going and how Im feeling. In his words, "Ask for anything, you don't know who this is going to hit in your family." The other thing is, when you go for an interview for a job, you are under no obligation to tell them that you have been dx with an serious illness, and it is also illegal for them to ask. So I still don't see how having cancer is affecting the ability to get employment.
I hope things start looking up for you soon.

Dawn
Newfoundland, Canada

02-15-2007, 11:14 AM	#4
dawn Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 153	I don't know where you are getting your information from But I have to disagree with it. I was dx last march. Had my chemo, all tests and scans all covered by my provincial health care plan(Newfoundland). Which is no cost to us, whatsoever? You should count yourself as lucky. January 2006, Newfoundland Government decided to full cover Herceptin treatment, which I am taking now. And if I didn't have insurance to cover the drugs for sickness or side effects of the treatment the hospital would give them to me or my local cancer center has programs set up for this purpose. To ensure no patients have to do without their treatment, with a lot of support from the government and private sector to do this. Yes, luckily I have insurance. Prosthesis, wigs etc. can be gotten from these funds.. As I am over an hour away from my cancer centre, I was given gas cards from a provincial oil company to help with the purchase of gas from my car, when I had to travel back and forth daily for my radiation treatments. Not because I couldn't afford it, but because it is in place to help ease the financial, emotional, phyiscal strain of having to deal with cancer on a daily basis. I can't find one negative thing to say about the Health Care System or how I have been treated for the past year. We are so lucky to have the care we do in Canada. Not having to put off our illness or checkups because we have no insurance, Nohaving to do without medication, that we need. There is always someone that has it a lot worst, We have to look at how lucky we are. AS for the employment part, I haven't had any problems there either. I just started back to work Jan 07. When I have an appointment or treatment, there's no problem. My employee, personally, checks in on me to see how things are going and how Im feeling. In his words, "Ask for anything, you don't know who this is going to hit in your family." The other thing is, when you go for an interview for a job, you are under no obligation to tell them that you have been dx with an serious illness, and it is also illegal for them to ask. So I still don't see how having cancer is affecting the ability to get employment. I hope things start looking up for you soon. Dawn Newfoundland, Canada __________________ Dawn Mar 2006Stage IIIA, Her2/Neu 3+++, Er & Pr positive, 8 of 18 pos 03/14/06: Mastectomy 04/19/06 started Chemo adriamycin, chlophosphamide, taxotere 25 rads Nov 1, 06: 3 years Tamoxifen, Herceptin (1yr) Jan 2009 Femara mets to bone aromasin and aredia June2009: Full Histerectomy 2/22/2010 6 spots in liver 2 mm-10 mm: switched to xeloda and Herceptin will continue with Aredia J Scan February 2011 new onc, switch to abraxane April 2011 NED clear organs, 3 spots on bone scar tissue. Scans August 2mm spot on liver and lungs. now on to tykerb/xeloda Dec 2011 scans nothing on lungs, liver down to 1 2 mm spot. j une 2012 another spot on liver on to cisplatin/gemzar.