Today Life's Outlook

Today-

            Well it is Monday morning as I sit here wondering how in the world did I get here.  (Here is Columbia South Carolina)  I wanted a way to express my feelings as well as document this journey that I am about to embark upon. 

 

The journey is my bout with breast cancer.  Maybe I can be a blessing to someone and/or help encourage someone to please ,please  get tested yearly as well as conduct self exams, both men and women.  I was completely thrown off guard when they told me and today three weeks later it still feels like I am in a dream.  This couldn’t possibly be happening to me.  I was wrong…..the worst part about my story is that we still don’t know what stage I am in or what form of treatment we will take.

 

You probably thinking why is it taking so long for this to be diagnosed?  What’s really going on here?  Let me answer those questions… I am among the growing number of working uninsured people in the United States.  At the beginning I asked my self how I got here… Until 72 months ago I was a fulltime employee for a major insurance company.  After three years of working off of an average of 5-6 hours a sleep a night and the pressure and stress of my job I was offered an opportunity to move to South Carolina (unassisted) and try to build a better life for my family.  (Myself &  three children) Long story short I was told that having no insurance would be temporary.  I am sure that I would have never left  Colorado to relocate to South Carolina without health insurance.. Now everything I do is cash pay.. hence my current problem.. I must pay in cash upfront for my cancer care and locating providers that will work with my dilemma is difficult.

 

I have been applying for assistance from every local agency that I can find but the fact that I have a job and make more than $22,000.00 annually, I do not meet federal, local poverty guidelines. The cost of insurance for me would be $800-1500 monthly, an incredible amount…. I can’t afford either one…. What are my choices????

 

I must wait….

 

At this point I am waiting for a direction.. an answer from God….something….

 

 

Cynthia R. Burt