Unexpected good news

About halfway through treatment, despite being told that the treatment center would get preapproval from my insurance company, I was informed that my claim for proton therapy was being denied. Blue Cross and Blue Shield claimed that proton therapy was experimental for recurrent rectal cancer and not medically necessary. Needless to say, this was quite frustrating and upsetting as it would result in thousands of dollars in medical expenses that I would have to pay out of pocket.

I've spent the last two months dealing with the insurance company, the cancer center and patient advocacy foundations, with the help of my sister Janet. Down to the final external appeal, we had both become increasingly pessimistic about the chances that the denial would be overturned. While, my doctors insisted that the treatment was not experimental and was definitely necessary, it seemed like things weren't coming together to make our case as strong as possible. On Sunday, Janet and I both lamented that it seemed like the appeal was going no where.

However, I received a call today from the proton center telling me that the denial had been overturned, and that my treatment would be covered! The woman I spoke to sounded as shocked as I was.

Obviously, I am thankful for the external review board's decision. I haven't seen the official paperwork yet, but it seems that my doctors were vindicated in the end. However, I cannot help but see the Lord's hand in this circumstance and I want to thank all of you for your prayers over the last couple of months. This is a big burden of worry off of my shoulders and I couldn't be more thankful.