Rejected

The appeal to our employer and its prescription service for Mike's chemo was rejected...
I can't really say I'm surprised. They took no time in ruling either (we found out Thursday but I didn't want to ruin Julia's birthday post with ugly news) which makes me wonder if it was even really re-evaluated.

I could go on and on about how furious I am and how I feel like if we worked for a different company Mike might get a fighting chance, and how helpless and angry I feel, but I'm sure you can imagine.
So the doctor's office is now making a request to the drugmaker itself. No clue on how long this might take. It's now been a month since Mike has had any chemo...

We are also considering just outright purchasing the drug. Two cycles would cost $2,000 but we sort of feel like we need to take every shot we've got. Mike would get a CT scan after the two cycles and if it's not working, at least we would know. And if it is, perhaps we could make a new request for coverage. We're just trying to weigh all the options.

The wheels also are in motion for us to see a specialist in carcinoma of unknown primary. His name is Dr. Anthony Greco and he is at the Sarah Cannon Cancer Center in Nashville. He is THE top doctor for this kind of cancer. When Mike was first diagnosed, I read every possible thing I could on this disease, and Dr. Greco's name kept popping up over and over again. He's done numerous studies and has had a lot of success and breakthroughs. Then, the doctor we saw at the Moffitt Cancer Center recommended him and when I read his bio and saw that he went to college and med school at WVU, my heart skipped a little beat. Maybe it's a sign. Who knows.

Anyway, he will see Mike but we have to have our doctor here make the arrangements. It could be months before we get it, but we're excited to get things going.