Last January, my former nanny - Rani - died from breast cancer that had metastasized to her brain. As mentioned on this blog earlier, she was uninsured, and received much treatment and care - but all of it was just too late to change Rani's outcome.
I've had the opportunity to learn more about insurance and breast cancer in the intervening year, and what I've learned most recently is that some breast cancer survivors will suffer from lymphedema - painful swelling of the arms. And sometimes, the appropriate medical treatment is for them to wear a lymphedema sleeve.
Only these sleeves aren't often covered by insurance.
And this means that if you happen to have the double whammy of not being well-off AND getting breast cancer, you might not be able to actually get this medically necessary lymphedema sleeve, because it's expensive. Had Rani survived, this would have been the case, unless someone purchased them for her.
You can read more about the issue here.
So, Susan from ToddlerPlanet got together with Sue from Laundry for Six, and together they put LympheDivas (maker of cool-looking lymphedema sleeves that Susan wears) in touch with Crickett's Answer (charity that pays for services for women with breast cancer) and now there's a way for low-income breast cancer survivors to get free lymphedema sleeves.
If you know anyone who you think might need these sleeves, please have them get in touch with Crickett's Answer. I've been told there are hundreds of sleeves waiting to be shipped out to women who need them.
If Rani were alive today, this is something she most definitely would've benefited from. I'm sure there are more women just like her out there. Let's find them!
Elaine
I found that Crickett's Answer has shut down. :(
ReplyDeleteReally sorry to hear that.
Delete