so mad

Not sure were to start, I stopped in to my HR dept to get things lined up and check on my ins. I was told if I'm off for more then 30 days my ins. would end. unless I started to pay for it . I tried to explain how would I pay for my ins. if I ha no money coming in and if no ins. does my treatment stop. my next question was. so I go in for the surgery and after have no way to pay for my treament or stay working there answer was we will be thinking of you. does anyone know the fed laws about this I work were there is about 1000 employes
My dr. tells me I will be out of work for 3-6 months. I should be worried about my PC not ins. or if they are going to take my home. I know I need to get off my pitty pot but my wife passed away at 30 I raised my two little boys alone. help pay for there collage
This was too be my turn to live I'm sure I will lose everything I have worked so hard for.
just mad,sad ,

Ask your surgeon again why you may be out three to six months. That's not my experience.  Make sure he has quite a bit of experience.  Mine for example had over 1,500 chances at this surgery behind him.

Tony

Greetings, Pat.  With all you have been through there is no way you can lose.  You are to be commended on picking yourself up and regrouping and keeping your family on the right track through some difficult circumstances.  Yes, this is another hiccup in the road but I am confident that with your track record you will make it through again with flying colors.

I don't know all the laws but am somewhat familiar with how things work related to insurance.  It would be very unusual that if you can't work for 30 days you are out and that you are out with no insurance.  You might have some unused vacation/sick leave/paid time off that you haven't used that could extend that time period.  You should also ask if you have short term disability coverage through your work.  Even if it were the case that you are out after 30 days, you should be eligible for Cobra (carry-out) coverage.  Yes, you have to pay for it, but it is usually cheaper than an individual policy.  Also it should be guaranteed coverage with no unusual exclusion particularly no exclusion for a preexisting condition such as your prostate cancer.  There are some exceptions to Cobra - for example I work for a religious organization and we are exempt from complying because of church and state issues in the law.  However, our organization voluntarily complies because it is the right thing to do. 

I too would encourage you on the length of time you will need for recovery.  I had the open RRP and went back to work part time after 3 weeks.  I was only on part time for 2 weeks and so after 5 weeks I was back full time.  Yes, I work in an office and if I was out and about doing heavy lifting I probably would have had a different recovery time. 

Pat, hang in there.  You have found friends here and we'll be glad to pitch in and tell you our experiences that hopefully will help you along the way.  David

Dear Pat, I dont know you but I am sure all of us here feel privileged and hornored to have you come to this site.  I agree with Tony completly.  You have faced so much adversity in your young life and in spite of it all you have found the strength and resolve to continue to do what is right for you and your boys.  No job or bad insurance company is going to be more than a bump in the road for a man with your abilities.   I was told that I may be off work from 3-6 weeks.  I have a mostly office job and was doing some work at home 3 days post op.  I was going to the mall to do my walking exercises and shopping day 5 through 7 days.  I was back at work part-time day 7.  Full time back at work around day 10, easy job (government work) I will say however that lifting anything over a gallon of milk is for sure no sooner than 6 weeks minimum.  So if you do heavy labor this may challenge the 6 weeks recomendation. This 3-6 months comment you have I never heard that spoken at all. So,  your going to be off work for 14 days, by the looks of your history you have a great chance of being cancer free and your insurance will not expire.  Sounds like things should be lookin up.  Dont hurry into surgery, become informed and educated as to this disease.  Pick Doctors that have conducted the procedure you choose many times, more than 400.  Once the surgery is over you will just simply get back to your life. I do say that some of us get on with our live's with a new found appreciation for the simpler things. There is a lot of good information on this site.  Stay with us. All the very best, Frank

Interesting discussion about insurance here. I once worked many many years ago on commission only. Which meant if I didn't work regardless of the reason, I didn't get paid. Having that said, my portion of the insurance cost was taken out of my commission check each month to pay for the upcoming month. Basically you pay in advance for your insurance. So when the payment was due...if I didn't have a commission check to draw the money from, I had to pay for it out of pocket. This sounds almost like what Pat is up against. He can't be terminated for his surgery...thats plan and simple and the law, but unless he pays the monthly premium then the insurance is dropped. I would just make arrangements to pay the insurance up front ahead for a couple of months and then go about your business and get the treatment done.

Good luck on what ever treatment plan you chose...primary thing is getting cured at all possible.

Edit:  One more thing...if you go short term disability with your work your premiums remain the same...it's only if you go long term disability that premiums could increase.  The premium cost for long term is generally what the Cobra plan costs are.  With your surgery you won't need to be long term...at most short term depending on the type of work you do.  Most of the time any saved vacation time and standard sick leave that you work provides will be more than enough to cover your time away from work.

I was essentially out for 2 weeks with DaVinci. Catheter out in 1 week. No complications, thankfully, and recovery was fast. Now just down to a little incontinence (1pad/day) and ED. Even with open RP, I don't know why the MD is saying 3 - 6 months. Are there other medical issues? If not, I might opt for a second opinion.

Good luck.

You may want to investigate the robotically-assisted prostatectomy because the recovery time is much quicker than the open procedure. Ask around to see if any other doctors in your area offer the DaVinci robot option. Look online at this site for a doctor near you :  http://davincisurgery.com/surgeons/index.aspx

Here's more info:   http://davincisurgery.com/procedures/urologic/prostate/davinci_prostatectomy.aspx

Best of Luck!