Insurance company blues...

Well, the appeal is still going on with Secure Horizons. I got to give my statement today, but I was under the impression (from the girl in the office at Arbor Hills) that he was not progressing enough, so that Secure Horizons would no longer cover him in that type of capacity. So, when I gave my statement today, that is where I was coming from. Luckily, I said that I was concerned that with his treatment starting he would get weaker, so it is more important that he continues with his PT.

Shortly after I got off the phone, I talked to my Aunt and she got a copy of the report that was declined, and come to find out that he is not being declined because he is not progressing, but that they feel that he has progressed to his maximum capacity...So which is it? I can understand if they don't feel he is going to get up and run a marathon, and even if he is at his maximum potential, we need to continue the PT so that he doesn't lose anything as fast.

So, we are supposed to hear tomorrow the result of the appeal. Either way, we will find a way to make it through.

So enough about the insurance companies...Let's get to the more important stuff...My Dad. He seemed to be doing well today. So far, very few side effects. The worst one is that the mask they put him in for radiation is difficult to get on, and is rough on the skin of his face. It tends to scrape and he sometimes bleeds a little. But he said it is nothing because it doesn't take that long, so it is no big deal. He still seems tired, and he was having a little trouble with remembering specific places and their location. This drives him crazy....Well, that combined with me trying to help him by playing 20 questions..."Where is it?" "What city is it in?" "What is it close to?" I usually don't help much, but eventually he will stumble on something that gives me a clue as to what he means, and we get it figured out.

The highlight of my day was when I got to tell Dad that I signed up team "Scotch on the Rocks" for the National Brain Tumor Foundation 5K walk on September 13th, down on Mission Bay. As I get more together, I will send out more information for anyone who may want to walk on "Scotch on the Rocks" or anyone who wants to donate to our team and this important and timely cause. He looked at me and started crying (which is not as frequent as it used to be), and said "top job. Such good news...Thank you, top job." I want to make him proud, and help support the kind of research that has lead to the treatments like the focused radiation and the chemo pill (that is designed to go through the blood-brain barrier, which was difficult for other types of chemotherapy to be as successful with brain tumors) that my Dad gets to benefit from. I know there are some really promising things on the horizon at Stanford, UCLA, Duke and Cedars-Sinai, including a vaccine that is in testing trials to help prevent the regrowth of this kind of tumor. It uses the patient's own cells, and their cancer cells to create a vaccine that encourages the bodies immune system to prevent regrowth. Here is a brief video about it: http://www.webmd.com/video/brain-tumor-vaccine

I have not been able to find anything more current than spring of 2007 regarding the vaccine or the results of the trials to date, or if there is anyplace locally that is participating. I mentioned it to Dr. Hardy when we last met with him, but didn't get much of an indication that it might be available as a clinical trial nearby. But it is certainly promising.

So, please consider walking on "Scotch on the Rocks" in September. It is $25 registration fee, and they are hoping that each walker can raise at least $250 in donations. Here is the NBTF Web site page on the walk: http://www.braintumor.org/AngelAdventure/san_diego/

And here is my donation page: http://www.firstgiving.com/scotchontherocks

Much love and a great weekend to all!