Canadian Health Care

leggo

Helen, perhaps you can check into pamidronate. It's much the same as Zometa with the same anti-tumor properties. (I have a novel of research on that topic). I suspect though, that unless you have bone mets, none of the IV bisphosphonates will be covered. The oral ones should all be covered, ie. bonifos, actonel, etc.

konakat

Mason -- I know you've been having a rough time of it lately.  How are you doing?

konakat

Helen -- I see that a lot of Stage III women are on Zometa -- I think it is part of a clinical trial -- is there any way you can get it that way?

hrf

The clinical trial doesn't seem to be an option here. The nice thing about the Zometa is that it is infused only 2 times a year and not monthly the way the Pamidronate is done. After 2 different courses of chemo my veins are shot so the 2 times a year only is more appealing. I'm still looking into options and will let you know what I come up with. Thanks for the advice, everyone.

leggo

Were any of you as shocked as I was to find out the discrepancy in costs for cancer treatment between provinces? $6,500 in the Maritimes? 0$ in Sask? WTH? Is there anyone in the Maritimes who can enlighten me? What is it that you are paying for? This makes me angry and I feel I need to do something about it, but I don't kow what exactly, because I'm fuzzy on the details. Anyone?

lassie11

wow - the deletion of entire threads is quite something. I am almost speechless.

bluedahlia

Well that sucks.  Once again, the bullies win.  Instead of penalizing the "report" abusers, the rest of us are penalized by having the entire threads removed.  Bad decision IMHO.

hrf

That's too bad. I learned a lot from both those threads. The sharing of diverse opinions is healthy.

Beesie

I'm just shaking my head.....  .  I don't get it.  I too see it that the bullies have won - their actions have been reinforced and all the others who were trying to have a civil discussion have been penalized.

CapeBretongirl

I thought both threads were very informative, politics notwithstanding. But, I didn't post in either thread. It just didn't seem appropriate for me, to do so. But I enjoyed lurking.

pip57

I must say that I learned a lot about health care in the US and other countries from those threads.  I also learned a lot about human nature too.

konakat

I hope this time the bullies take heed to the Moderators, and either play nice or butt out!  Funny thing though, I bet those bullies never considered the earlier warnings from the moderators to be respectful were also directed to them!

covertanjou

Konakat,

I agree with you.  That is why I wish the moderators had restored the posts that should not have been reported  and deleted.  Ahh well, maybe this time it will be different. 

crazy4carrots

Help!  I had a post "removed by the community" on another thread and I can't remember how to contact the moderators.  From my POV I did not break any rules, so I'd like them to review it.  How do I contact them?  (I did it once before, many months ago, but these days I can't remember sh**)....

Yeah Pip, we sure did learn more than we wanted to know about human nature, didn't we?  Oh well, maybe others that haven't participated in those threads will feel confident enough to express their viewpoints and share their hopes for healthcare reform on the new threads.

AnnNYC

Linda, you can send a PM to Moderators_Tami-Melissa.  It's now just Melissa, but Tami still appears in the "member name."

I just find it depressing.  There were more than 500 posts in that "Healthcare in other countries" thread, probably 1000 by today -- that's a lot of thought and writing.  I find it infantilizing that the prescription is to "be polite."  I try very hard to keep a moderate tone, "a civil tongue in my head" -- LOL, a civil tongue in my fingertips on the keyboard, I guess! -- and yet we're all adults with opinions, and I don't see what's so wrong about expressing opinions forcefully...

(I mean, especially when those opinions are correct, LOL! )

Your neighbor to the south,

Ann

konakat

Very true about learning about human nature -- might have been the biggest, and most surprising, lesson of all.

CapeBretongirl

Dear Pretty, "Human nature" Boy did you get that one right!

crazy4carrots

Sort of reminds you of the townhalls, doesn't it?  Scream as loud as you can and as long as you can to drown out the voices of those with the facts.

p.s. thanks Ann.  Message sent to Melissa.  Hope she is able to check into it.

mke

Being a moderator must be a thankless task.  But this "removed by the community" while initially useful for spammers has now become a political tactic.  Before we had to report this post or somehting like that and I'm sure it was a pain for them, much easier to turn it over to the community.  But they claim that the community is in excess of 60,000 so why should 5 have censorship power (that would be less than .001 percent)?  I think if 10%, that is 6,000 report the post, then it should be deleted.  If 5 report it then it should be looked at, and the reporters too.

crazy4carrots

mke - I couldn't agree more!

barbe1958

I joined the thread that Coonie started (Amercian Healthcare vs Other Countries) as she is my bud from a couple other threads. She backed out pretty quickly as it heated up fast! I stopped posting in late July (I think). We even talked about this thread in our August Canadian Get Together! It just got too political. The original thread wanted info on other country's healthcare systems. We gave it. Then we all got slammed down and it became a "You are lying" and an "I hate Obama" thread. Very scary. Very cultish. You can see how it starts! I even mentioned in one post that perhaps it was Coonies use of the word "vs" that made it a hot button for people posting.

I think that if you are reporting a post, it should immediately take you to the window that I am typing in right now. To report a post, you have to say why. Then your post will start off with your avatar and screen name....IMHO. (even if you won't say why, at least your name/avatar is shown)

crazy4carrots

Careful, Barbe, with the KKK reference -- you know what happened on this thread earlier (even though Jimmy Carter seems to agree...).

Report this Post button pushers need to be identified; it's only fair to the poster.  But this suggestion has been made time and again, and things remain the same.  I can't believe that it would be a technical impossibility so there must be some reason, of which we are all unaware, why it hasn't been followed through or even responded to.

Anonymous

Sorry to butt in on your thread, but I feel like I can't let that kk... comment stand unchallenged.  I doubt that you would have used that term if you understood how very emotionally charged it is.  Yes, some people disagree strongly with the current administration's stands on a variety of issues.  Nearly half the country voted for McCain for president.  That doesn't mean that they deserve to be compared to murderers any more than the people who disagreed with our last president.

I absolutely agree that anyone reporting a post should be identified, and possibly publicly state the reason that the post is being reported so the originaly poster might be able to correct the issue even before the moderators get to it (especially over a weekend). 

That thread has been given a fresh start, even though the vs. is still in the title, and hopefully  it will be more welcoming to the whole world. 

barbe1958

I have edited my post as it was in no way meant to offfend anyone, but just to let those who weren't involved on the earlier thread know how deep the emotions were running. Sorry!

Mantra

I agree, reasons for deleting a post should be made public.  Not only does deletion cause distress to the posters, it deletes valuable information. Even though some may find that information to be offensive, it is of value, if even one person learns something from it. If we all knew the same information and we all felt the same way about everything, than people wouldn't be logging in to gather and research breast cancer. For example, what I may find helpful, comforting etc, may in fact be offensive to someone else. But that's like saying just because I like my bagel toasted and only eat the top half, doesn't mean that it's wrong for someone else to like their bagel untoasted, does it??

That said, I know from personal experience that deleting posts causes dissension in the group and can make people stop posting. I used to post in a newsgroup for dogs. In replying to someone's thread asking where they could adopt a dog, I mentioned a website that strictly deals with dogs who are in "kill shelters" and each has a picture, info and includes the anticipated date of euthansia". Someone obviously found it offensive, it was reported, the thread was deleted, and several us of posted that we were leaving the group because we now realized that someone in the group obviously was not a dog lover. I mean  . . . seriously, who else would report my post?? We all left in April and have never been back. Each of us added value to that group, even if just one person learned something. The moderators never answered any of us as to why my post was deleted. Had they, we may have had the opportunity to make our case. Instead, we just left.

barbe1958

Gee Mantra! I think your dog link should have been at the top of the list to adopt dogs! What a better way to save a fur baby's life?

I was offended on that "other" thread when someone said they should change the name of the White House..... When it started to go that way I dropped out. Not polical anymore, just racist.

barbe1958

Gee Mantra! I think your dog link should have been at the top of the list to adopt dogs! What a better way to save a fur baby's life?

I was offended on that "other" thread when someone said they should change the name of the White House..... When it started to go that way I dropped out. Not polical anymore, just racist. (And thus my original comment above.)

revkat

I feel like I should tiptoe and whisper, since I think my post on one of those other threads was the one that started the whole delete thing. . . but I think that some of you might get a laugh out of this video http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/041b5acaf5/protect-insurance-companies-psa

(ps. It's sarcasm in case anyone misses it.

She

Dropping in to let y'all know I survived my bilat mx & diep.  My PS is an artist, with a gift from    G-d.  I had 4 wonderful nurses without whom I doubt I'd have survived.

Had I known our system was this bad I'd have gone with another partial mast. My hospital stay was a gong show, my room not cleaned once and I was on a 'sterile' ward.  My IV pump was broken and my poor nurses were on the run the whole time.  The problem is administrative.  Our front line people should have the right tools to do their jobs.  I can't say enough good about the doc's and nurses, bless them.  I got home to find out Home Care 'were too busy to come'.  My children have been taking care of me, I can't imagine how it would be without them here.

What happened?  We used to have top quality healthcare.  I've previously had 2 partial mast and had wonderful care.

You can bet I'll be out in front of my Premier's office topless (ha no nipples so they can't arrest me) as soon as I'm healed.  I know my docs and nurses will support me, we've already talked about it.

I saw someone used the word Sheeple as I was trying to catch up.  Time to stand up ladies.  We are already being manipulated to pay for our own cure (uh oh I see a report this post coming.....) don't you all think it's time we did something instead of bending over further?

Did you know during the depression farmers from the Fraser Valley started martching to Ottawa?  Along the way they were joined by many others.  The military was sent to Regina to disband them.

My father and grandfather helped build this country and I'm not ready to let everything they worked and died for go to HE double hockey sticks in a handbasket.

She

Hey Barbe!!! Just wanted to add ... the history of the name "White House".  During the war of 1812 we Canuks tried to burn it down.  They whitewashed it and then named it the White House.

I hope our American friends don't get me banned for referring to an actual historical event.