Support for LateToSchool

epistrophy · March 29, 2008, 11:08am

Done (the same day I received his response).

binx · March 29, 2008, 11:16am

That WalMart story is unbelievable. No, I take that back - very believable, but unbelievably sad.

latetoschool · March 29, 2008, 11:20am

What’s really bizarre is that I just have to think that it has cost Walmart far more than the $400,000-ish to pay their legal talent etc. to battle this out - and these costs surely were forseen, knowable ahead of time, why not just back off and let the poor woman keep her money - it won’t go far anyway, it’s a drop in the bucket - to both sides.

ellemenope · March 29, 2008, 11:21am

This is a whole different mindset from where I am currently. But I am sure that he is right. Thanks for sharing his insights.

ellemenope · March 29, 2008, 11:30am

What is really bizarre about the Walmart situation is that a deal between Walmart and Debbie Shank was not made in advance by Walmart & Debbie Shank’s attorneys. When Walmart’s expenses would chew up all of the plaintiff’s recovery, the plaintiff has no incentive to sue. To get Debbie to sue, Debbie’s lawyers should have made Walmart be willing to take a lesser share of the recovery if the recovery was not enough to pay off Walmart and give Debbie enough left to fund her trust.

Debbie’s lawyer “assuming” that Walmart would let her have the money without wanting its medical expenses reimbursed seems downright negligent.

latetoschool · March 29, 2008, 11:34am

In this horrific, weird, just downright nauseating situation, both sides lose. Debbie/Debbie’s family will have no money. Walmart will have spent far more in legal fees and admin costs than the amount of money available to recover.

Epistrophy, FasterCures sounds like an interesting venture…I notice that it has a grant from the Gates Foundation…

binx · March 29, 2008, 11:35am

Since the money was banked for future needs, and it seems clear that Debbie is going to have multiple future needs, I don’t understand why the money was released at all. It’s not like it was truly “left over.” Apparently WalMart doesn’t have some sort of long-term benefits? Or are they still paying those?

NYMomof2 · March 29, 2008, 12:45pm

I’ve only had time to skim recent posts, but I did want to say that I am on the faculty of a major university with access to many (but not all) journals, and I would be happy to get any articles I can…

gbesq · March 29, 2008, 12:56pm

I’m not sure whether Wal-Mart is truly bound by the terms of its insurance plan in this situation, but suffice it to say that this is just another reason for me not to shop there.

epistrophy · March 29, 2008, 12:57pm

another (small-cell) lung cancer “survivor”

Detroit businessman Thomas Angott, Sr., of West Bloomfield, Michigan, is an 18 year lung cancer survivor. The former Detroit Fire Commissioner was diagnosed with small-cell lung cancer, a very aggressive cancer, in 1989. He was 63 years of age at the time and hadn’t smoked a cigarette in over 20 years.

“I was a heavy smoker for about 35 years,” said Tom. “I remember the day I quit. It was during the 1967 Detroit riots. I was Detroit Fire Commissioner at the time. I was standing on 12th Street exhausted from fighting the fires and angry, looking out at our burning city. I went to light a cigarette and it hit me. At that moment I realized the destruction of the fire and smoke and threw the cigarette down. I never smoked again. Little did I know that 22 years later I would be battling lung cancer.”

When Tom was diagnosed in 1989, he had already lost his father to pancreatic cancer and lost his first wife to colon cancer. His wife Nancy, a nurse, convinced him to go to the doctor to check on his cough. He was on the board of the Michigan Cancer Foundation at the time, now known as the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, and reached out to seek the help of the cancer experts there. When the diagnosis of stage III small-cell lung cancer came he knew it wasn’t good. He had surgery to remove a lung and went through a strenuous regiment of chemotherapy and radiation over a period of time.

“I always remained optimistic,” expressed Tom. "I had excellent care. I didn’t fear death. I just always believed I would make it.

“The Karmanos Cancer Institute is the crown jewel for cancer care,” said Tom. “With its cutting edge research, multidisciplinary approach to treatment and clinical trials, it’s the finest place you can go for cancer care.”

Eighteen years later, Tom is still on the board of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute. He is chairman of C.F. Burger Creamery and enjoys life with his wife Nancy, their 12 children and growing family.

[BREATHE</a> Lung Cancer Conference, Nov. 30, Offers Medical and Patient Education, Advocacy and Survivor’s Perspective](<a href=“All News Releases and Press Releases from PR Newswire”>All News Releases and Press Releases from PR Newswire)

binx · March 29, 2008, 2:45pm

My S1, who lives in Georgetown, got up early this morning to take pictures of the Cherry Blossoms at sunrise. He posted the pics on Picaso. Beautiful. I thought of LTS, and hope she has a chance to see them at their peak! I won’t be there till next weekend, and he thinks I may only get to see the tail end. (But I was there during peak last year.)

jym626 · March 29, 2008, 3:02pm

LTS-
Be sure to take note of NYMomof2’s wonderfully kind offer to help you get journal articles. Didn’t want that offfer to get lost amidst the discussion of WalMart’s insurance subrogation battle.

As for WalMart, I am surprised, unless perhaps WalMart changed insurance plans (or changed companies managing their plan, if they are self-insured) and it somehow got overlooked, that it took 4 years to request subrogation. This is common with insurance companies, and as ellemenope said, any decent attorney would have known that, especially a personal injury attorney. My friend just had her gall bladder out and she got one of those letters from her insurance company asking if her recent surgery was the result of an accident, an auto accident or work-related injury!! :eek:

Most insurance companies send these letters out when the bills start rolling in to them for things that look like they are accident-related. We got one of these letters when our s. broke his leg last year. Insurance companies are always looking to see if they can recoup their costs i.e. from legal action, or if another carrier (auto insurance, workers comp, etc) is responsible or partially responsible for the bill. It is surprising, and unlikely, that this issue didn’t surface sooner. Problem is, WalMart will get a ton of bad press as what they are doing, even if they are entitled to do it, looks really mean-spirited. I suspect this will get settled, and the terms of the settlement will be sealed. (and as Ellemenope said, maybe this is due to their attorney’s negligence-- the family could, and probably should, sue him ).

epistrophy · March 29, 2008, 6:10pm

and another . . . .

“Dolores: The start of a journey”

Hello, my name is Dolores. On July 21, 1989 I was having sharp pains penetrating pains that cut through from my chest to my back. In the Emergency Room, x-rays revealed something. The doctor told me. I thought to myself, Is it a heart attack, is it pneumonia? Am I having gastritis? I didn’t know what was going on, but the CAT scan revealed the problem. I had not idea what a CAT scan was at that point; however, I began the journey of lung cancer in 1989. I really know what the statistics are. The five-year survival rate for all stages of cancer combined is only 14%. I really realize that I’m a long-time survivor, but I live with enthusiasm infused with spirituality being the height of my life, because I know that I’m a living miracle. God has granted me his grace. And my purpose in life is to share with others that they can be healed, also. In July 1989 I never suspected that I had cancer, although I began smoking cigarettes when I was 15 years old. I choose not to reveal my current age. I know you think that’s strange. But anyway I worked up to a pack a day. I didn’t have many of the classic symptoms. I look back now on some of the things and maybe those were keys, but I didn’t know at that time.

Fighting against the odds

When they diagnosed me with cancer, I was in complete and total shock. He said cancer and I thought death, and that’s how it went. I went on every emotional roller coaster ride that you can go on. I overheard them saying that my prognosis was two years, or a year and a half at most. I didn’t receive that, though. I did not choose to register that in my mind and they said and I heard them saying it too, I was in a kind of a I don’t know how you say it, a waking sleep state of mind, so I was not completely awake but I was not completely asleep. And I heard them saying this. But I choose not to accept that as being really my diagnosis, no, I’m going to live. I have to live because I have a son that I have to raise. My son, who was six years old, needed a mother. I was not discharged upon their diagnosis in the emergency room, I just went on for further testing, blood work, and prepared for surgery. They took out 3/4 of my left lung and the lymph nodes and after a month in the hospital, I was on radiation and chemotherapy for eight months. It was a rough trip. My family and my friends were always there to help me and to lift my spirits in any way possible. They were my strong support system. I had countless friends who would take me there every day because I was too weak to drive to the hospital to receive the chemotherapy and the radiation. There was no way that I would be able to. Corey’s father does not live in the home, he lives in New York, however, he was here to rally by my side during this times. It is amazing what people will do and continue to do at this point in time, because I’m not always in my best, but it is okay.

I believe in surrounding myself with positive people, energy I believe that you sap from them. And I, one of the things that I did was prior to anybody doing anything for me I asked them because I felt it was very important, how do believe? I needed to know if they believed the same as I did. I needed to know this and I asked them, Do you believe in miracles? One of my doctors, I had a team of four doctors I ended up with which I knew none of them prior to. But one of my means of measuring whether or not this could be a doctor that could work on me, and you do have to form a relationship with them. I needed to know what they believed. So my question was always to them, Do you believe in miracles? My one doctor said to me, yes, I believe that God gives me the knowledge on how to work on you. The second doctor, when I asked him, Do you believe in miracles? He said, yes, I believe in the ones that you can explain and the ones that you cannot explain. And I said I thank God for you guys and I would love to have you on my team.

Everybody that was around me that came to visit me, thoh, they hado be on the same wavelength. I didn’t need anybody around me that didn’t believe as I did, because as I say, I was in a weakened state and I had to sap the energy that I received from the people that were around me. I felt that this was very important too. So I had to know that everybody around me had no negative anything. I’m in a fight and I’m fighting for my life, and so I need all the strength and the support and the help that I can get which I did get. I appealed to God to help me and I needed to know. My question was, am I going to survive, and I did not get an answer readily. And I was crying out, unable to sleep, because you don’t want to sleep because you don’t know if you go to sleep whether or not you’re gonna wake up. Crying out to God please tell me whether or not I’m going to live.

Finding the answers

My answer came in the form of my son, and my son said, " I don’t know if you know it or not, but you’ve already been healed." And I said, “Thank you, Jesus.” There was the answer to my question. So I believe that what you have to do is have your beliefs as I believe. I believe that God is a healer and that’s who did the first work. Then came my doctors and my friends and my family, and then, me, myself. I had to know within myself, and my desire. I had to want to live. Sometimes people give up very easily because of what they’ve already said to them, lung cancer, death sentence. Well I refuse to accept that as my sentence. I choose to believe that I’m going to live.

I do have shortcomings, but that’s okay because I believe that as we get older, all of us do. I went through a lot of different things, and I did smoke cigarettes, so I don’t know whether or not it was because of the cigarettes, because I also was on a nontraditional job, and at that time it was a lot of dirt and soot and dust in the areas where I was working, so I can’t say to you what the cause was, all I know is that I did have it. I do now continue to get hiccups. I catch colds more easily than others and that’s okay. That’s because I can’t ward it off so I have to be comfortable in my surroundings, and people that I’m around because I catch things so easily because I can’t fight it off. I don’t have the capacity with the lungs to fight it off, so I catch respiratory things all the time. So I just go and get it treated and use antibiotics and a lot of rest, because you can’t do much else. But I am very good and I do support others that are going through the same thing or like things, because when I was going through, let me say this. There were not very many people around that were still alive that had had or were having or going through lung cancer. I couldn’t find them. I could not find them and I was seeking them out everywhere, and I couldn’t find them. So what happened is, I wanted to see anybody that had it at that point any kind of cancer and that were still alive. I needed to see them. So that’s why it’s real important for me to share with others what I’ve gone through what I’ve been through and where I am. And I think that’s it.

[The</a> Cancer Survivors Network, supplying information, resources, chat, stories, discussion forums and support for cancer survivors and caregivers.](<a href=“http://www.acscsn.org/Talk_Shows_and_Stories/Featured_Stories/Dolores.html]The”>http://www.acscsn.org/Talk_Shows_and_Stories/Featured_Stories/Dolores.html)

epistrophy · March 29, 2008, 6:36pm

Emmy award-winning actress - and (small-cell) lung cancer “survivor”

You may recognize Emmy award-winning actress Kathryn Joosten from her role as Mrs. McClusky on ABCs Desperate Housewives, or from her role as Mrs. Landingham on NBCs West Wing. Maybe youve seen her on ABCs My Name is Earl, where her character was kidnapped by the lead character, Earl, so he could help her quit smoking. What you may not know about Ms. Joosten, though, is that she is a 5-year survivor of small cell lung cancer. The Partnership talked with Ms. Joosten about her experience with the disease and what shes learned as a lung cancer survivor. Ms. Joosten credits her early lung cancer diagnosis to a great relationship with her primary care physician. He knew that she smoked, so he insisted she receive chest x-rays every 6 months. One visit, they found a suspicious lesion, and a subsequent PET scan lit up like a neon light, according to Ms. Joosten. Fortunately, her cancer was caught very early, before she had any symptoms, so although it turned out to be small cell lung cancer, which is not typically treated with surgery, she was a candidate. My thoracic surgeon had a horrible bedside manner, but he was the best surgeon around, so he and my primary care doctor convinced me they could get all of the cancer, said Ms. Joosten, I quit smoking the day I was diagnosed.

Although Ms. Joosten had been a nurse for 10 years, she wasnt prepared for what would happen as a result of the surgery. They thought they could make a small incision and do a camera-assisted, minimally invasive procedure. When they got in there, though, they found that the tumor was very close to my ribs, so I wound up having my upper right lobe removed, along with the lymph nodes on that side and a couple of ribs. I was really in denial about this I didnt tell my children about it right away I thought I could just go in on a weekend, have the procedure and recover quickly, Ms. Joosten said. Although she has to deal with significant keloid scars on her back and some nerve damage as a result of the procedure, she is glad to have had the surgery. They got it all and told me I was cancer-free, there was no need for chemotherapy or radiation therapy. I am now officially a survivor, having passed my 5-year mark, said Ms. Joosten.

When asked about whether having lung cancer has affected her career, Ms. Joosten said that at first she didnt want anyone to know, because she was afraid she might not be able to get work. When working on films, actors are required to undergo physicals so that the producing movie studio can get insurance to assure that the picture will be completed. Although the physicals are limited, (They listen to your heart through your shirt and ask you to turn your head and cough and thats it, according to Ms. Joosten), she knew that her diagnosis could present a problem. Television roles were offered to her instead, so her diagnosis wasnt an issue. Now that shes passed the 5-year mark of her diagnosis, she is no longer considered a risk to producers. The biggest effect this has had on me professionally is that I drive the make-up people crazy, said Ms. Joosten. I only sweat on one side of my body since my lymph nodes were removed on the other.

Ms. Joosten wants people to know that she was incredibly lucky, and that this was primarily due to the fact that she had the right physician at the right time. She encourages everyone especially cancer patients to be partners with their doctors in their own care. She also highly recommends getting treated at a major cancer center if you are diagnosed. People can become paralyzed by their acceptance of diseasen you just cant do that, said Ms. Joosten. You have to become proactive research your condition and treatment recommendations and find the best place to receive the treatment. Being treated at a trauma center or general hospital is not the same as being treated at a cancer center.

<a href=“http://www.nationallungcancerpartnership.org/newsletter/Fall--2006.pdf[/url]”>http://www.nationallungcancerpartnership.org/newsletter/Fall--2006.pdf</a>

[Kathryn</a> Joosten - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathryn_Joosten]Kathryn”>Kathryn Joosten - Wikipedia)

bethievt · March 29, 2008, 9:54pm

Holy smokes, epistrophy, you are a wizard!

bethievt · March 29, 2008, 10:00pm

We fought for years (unsuccessfully)to keep Wal-Mart out of our town. They pay terrible wages, price gouge and drive more socially responsible retailers out of business. Eventually, they’ll be able to do whatever they want because they’ll be the only game in town.

kelsmom · March 29, 2008, 10:59pm

jym626, I was wondering the same thing. S broke his foot a couple years ago. He ran over it while turning the corner on a mini ATV. I got a letter from our medical insurer almost immediately after the foot was put in a cast (it took 2 weeks from time of accident to casting … break on growth plate, so took awhile to get verdict on sprain vs. break). I had to call the friend’s parents & get the name & address of THEIR home insurance carrier. I apologized all over the place (S & their kid never hung out again after that … hope if was just coincidental!). I can’t believe it took WalMart that long to come after her when that much money was at stake.

epistrophy · March 30, 2008, 8:08am

another lung cancer “survivor”

Estrea Dworkin Janoson is embracing life – two lives to be exact. The eight-year lung cancer survivor has four and a half year old twins, Lara and Justin, born three years after her lung cancer diagnosis. “Strange as it may sound, it is because of lung cancer that my husband and I became parents. We realized life was too short to go through it without experiencing the joy of kids.”

Janoson’s journey began in September 1998 when abdominal cramps forced a visit to her internist. A CT scan revealed an anomaly near the bottom of her left lung. Although her internist down-played the significance of this finding, he did recommend that Janoson get an immediate biopsy.

“When we first had that conversation, it didn’t even occur to me that it could be lung cancer,” says Janoson of her experience. “I hadn’t smoked in 13 or 14 years, had quit at a fairly young age and had not smoked much or very long. I really didn’t even have any idea I was at risk.”

Moving quickly, two weeks after the CT, she had selected a surgeon and underwent a lobectomy after a biopsy revealed a malignancy while she was still in the operating room. “After recovering from the surgery, the first emotion I dealt with was anger,” says Janoson of learning the facts about lung cancer. “I was angry that as a former smoker I had been misinformed about the risks.”

The anger fueled Janoson’s drive for information and to make a difference. The result was the first online support message boards that she founded and directed with fellow survivor, Dave Grant. “We found that it was impossible to find support for those of us dealing with this terrible disease so we decided to change that using the fastest growing medium avaialble – the Internet.”

That community, Survivors for Lung Cancer Awareness and Support, became a lifeline for hundreds of members who looked to it for support. With Janoson’s and Dave Grant’s help, that membership recently became the foundation for our LCA Survivors Community, the Lung Cancer Alliance’s new online support efforts.

Janoson has been diligent in getting the best follow up care available. “I learned all that I could, so I would know what to expect if it did come back,” says Janoson of her attitude since surgery. “It gave me peace of mind, in case something showed up.” With eight years now behind her, Janoson is feeling confident that she has beaten it for good.

Janoson has moved beyond her disease. “It really kind of defined my life for a very long time,” says Janoson, who had previously discussed having children with her husband. “The diagnosis put the whole thing on hold. But, after I reached the year and half milestone without a reoccurrence, we reevaluated.” As a result of that thinking and some technological intervention, Janoson gave birth to twins – a boy and a girl – right before Thanksgiving in 2001. “I was ecstatic – two healthy babies and an instant family!” 

Unfortunately, in 2003, Janoson and her husband were dealt another medical crisis when their daughter was diagnosed with Autism. A beautiful, bright child, Lara has been getting the best education and therapy possible and has made marked improvement. “I still can’t believe that this has happened to my adorable little girl. But, like with my lung cancer diagnosis, I am optimistic.” And, now she has two causes to fight for.

[Lung</a> Cancer Alliance - Support - Stories of Hope](<a href=“http://www.lungcanceralliance.org/facing/hope_estrea_janoson.html]Lung”>http://www.lungcanceralliance.org/facing/hope_estrea_janoson.html)

shelley14 · March 30, 2008, 6:06pm

Dear LTS, I hope this will put a smile on your face today!
I am a frequent reader and sometimes a poster on cc. I click on Latest Posts nearly everyday and scroll down and read posts that look interesting. For many weeks now I’ve been seeing “Support for LateToSchool” posts. I never clicked on one until today. I thought the subject was some parents’ movement to support later in the day classes for our exhausted teenagers!
I was quite surprised to read the true topic. After reading much of this thread, I am so impressed with your courage and stamina. I wish you well in this battle and will pray for your victory.

epistrophy · March 30, 2008, 6:20pm

another lung cancer “survivor”

Although you know you have cancer, you can’t let your life be circumscribed by the disease. You enjoy your family, the theater and concerts, friends, you lead your life as you normally would.

I’m a 15-year lung cancer survivor. Not too many people can say that! But I’m living proof that lung cancer is not necessarily a death sentence.

In February of 1991, I was visiting my daughter in Florida when I was involved in a car accident. The car was totaled and I was taken to the hospital. A chest x-ray showed a scar on my lung. “Oh sure, I know about that,” I said. “I had pneumonia when I was young. That scar’s been there since I was 26.” The doctors insisted on doing a CAT scan-a new technology in those days-and sure enough, this thing on my lung was malignant.

I’m very fortunate to have been diagnosed at stage IA with no nodal problems. Had I not had that accident and waited until I had symptoms, things could have turned out differently. In the CAT scan, they found another tumor on my other lung. During surgery they discovered that I had adnocarcinoma with some BAC (bronchioalveolar carcinoma) and squamous cell carcinoma.

I had regular scans over the next few years and everything looked fine. Then, six years after my first diagnosis, I was diagnosed with another spot in my lung-it was a third primary. I’m the only person I know who has had three primaries. It was in the lymph nodes. This time, I was determined to have chemo. I even drove myself to treatment!

Most of the cancer went away, but I had a persistent spot in my lung that shrunk but didn’t go completely away. One doctor wanted to operate, another said it was so small that it wasn’t worth disturbing my quality of life. I waited to see if it would disappear.

I became an advocate for lung cancer research. I was going to lung cancer conferences all over the country, gaining knowledge and then bringing it back to my local community. Generally, the doctor will tell you everything, but you have to know what to ask them. When I was first diagnosed, there was nothing on lung cancer in the libraries, and it was never included in women’s cancers. So I had to go out there and inform myself. And now, people call me when they have questions and I’m more than happy to help.

I started taking a targeted treatment on an expanded access program in 1999; I was called to testify in an FDA ODAC (Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee) hearing in 2002 about my experience with the drug since it had not yet been approved. When a new targeted treatment became available in 2004, I switched to that drug but it didn’t work for me. My tumor was growing. At present, I am in a clinical trial for a new treatment.

I still get scans every three months. I am a fighter, but I know what’s coming. It will probably kill me, but not today, and not tomorrow, either. Although you know you have cancer, you can’t let your life be circumscribed by the disease. You enjoy your family, the theater and concerts, friends, you lead your life as you normally would.

As for me, I give back to society by teaching others what I know about the disease. I tell them I know what it feels like, I’ve been there, and they feel really helped by that. I feel like God gave me this extra life to do this, to share what I have learned and to put out a message of hope.

[Lung</a> Cancer story of Anita Johnston - CancerUnion.com](<a href=“http://www.cancerunion.com/contents/Cancer_Story/Lung_Cancer_story_of_Anita_Johnston_11.html]Lung”>http://www.cancerunion.com/contents/Cancer_Story/Lung_Cancer_story_of_Anita_Johnston_11.html)

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