Tens of thousands of Canadians died waiting for medical care in the past year: report

[DFW]

48. "Reports" that are THIS slanted deserve some other designation

When I think “report,” I expect an unbiased factual bit of prose, and not some “see? We’re worse than you are!”

Here in Germany, when she was working, my wife was covered under the usual “tourist class” health insurance that most working Germans have. When she was diagnosed with probable breast cancer in January 2001, she was scheduled for a small operation. It confirmed the bad news, and they said she needed a big operation ASAP or it would spread. Their idea of ASAP was late May, and it did indeed spread. By then, she needed a big operation, after which she needed chemo, radiation and a month at a cancer victims rehab spa. It was long and brutal, but it seemed to have worked. It probably would have worked a LOT better if they had operated months earlier, but there were “scheduling issues” for tourist class insurance holders.

The second time she got cancer, it was 15 years later, and it was an always-fatal kind known in Germany as “the murderer,” because it was very silent, and never discovered until it was too late. She was 64. By now, she had no more health insurance, since she had taken early retirement at age 60, and her German version of Medicare had not kicked in yet (you have to turn 65). We had enrolled her in a sort if German COBRA health insurance program. It was about $7250 a year, but no way was I going to leave her with nothing. That was lucky, because when she was diagnosed with The Murderer, she was immdiately referred to one of the top oncologists/clinics for this kind of cancer. He told us flat out it was bad news, BUT he had NEVER seen it caught this early, and she might just have a chance. She scheduled for an immediate, brutal six hour operation, during which they took 84 biospsies (!!!!!!!). We sweated for three days, but on the third day we met with the surgeon, who said that ALL 84 biopsies had come back negative. No metastasis at all. He didn’t want to give us false hope, but she just might be that one in ten thousand who survived the murderer. Most women with that diagnosis alre dead within 18 months. My wife had her operation nine years ago and is still cancer-free. She WAS the one.

So, the system plays a role, but not always the sole role. Luck can be just as crucial.