Living With Cancer: Kris Carr's Story in Scientific American

Kris Carr is featured in Scientific American this month. Click here to see the article. Kris founded the social networking site, "My Crazy Sexy Life" where I have learned immeasurable gems and wisdoms about my health, myself, and my journey.

I believe that the information learned there has likely saved my life.

I would never have found Kris or her site without first getting cancer.

In this regard, having cancer has probably saved my life.

(Hey, that's one of those logic thingies :-)

Paix - Jen

www.jenniferbunker.com

Juicing Queen

The thing about getting cancer and having to wait for many weeks for a diagnosis and prognosis is that it gives you a lot of time to think. And search the Internet. As I have mentioned before, I came across a website which has been my rock throughout this ordeal. When 32-year-old Kris Carr was diagnosed with incurable liver cancer, she started a social networking site called My Crazy Sexy Life for people with cancer and other debilitating diseases to trade information, chat, and educate each other.

And in my case, I learned fast and got a good education. I've learned so much there that it's still hard for me to assimilate it all. However, the one thing that I let sink into my stubborn noggin is that I don't have to sit around and wait for somebody else to do something about my situation. There is a lot I can be doing to reverse my bad health, and then stabilize it for the future.

After researching and encouragement from friends at Kris's site, I bought an Omega 8005 juicer. I've learned that humans can get full protein from living foods (plants) and that ingesting animal products is a direct causative for cancer and many other ailments. I took this information and cross checked it, researched it, and came to the obvious conclusion that eating compassionately is the way our bodies want to eat, were born to eat, and the way to ensure incredible, optimal human health.

Soooo, even though I don't really like vegetables OR fruits I dug in and began to juice. Thankfully my online posse provided endless green juicing and green smoothie recipes, along with other amazing raw recipes. I actually LOVE the juice that I make, and am putting things into it that I would never have eaten otherwise. Vegetables taste different when they are juiced, and not in a bad way!

Here's my typical morning recipe:

1 big cucumber (substitute zucchini if making for Liz)

2 - 4 celery stalks

1 apple

1 lemon

2 leaves kale

2 carrots

hemp protein powder

powdered milk thistle

It is so delicious! It also gives me about a 2-hour buzz in the morning after I drink it. Since I've been juicing (twice daily, then a third vegan meal like potato leek soup and vegan spring rolls) I've lost all of my aches and pains, I no longer retain water, my chronic sinus pain/allergies are gone completely, I am no longer tired with malaise, I no longer use any deodorant (think about it, there's no "smelly" waste this way), I have way more energy, and I am sleeping like a baby. That's a big deal for this chronic insomniac!

Many of the peeps at Kris's site are devoting their lives to this idea of eating compassionately. It certainly isn't a new concept to me. One of my heroes, Liz Bunker, has been a devoted vegetarian for 12 years. She is a roll model and an unbelievable help to me in the journey. She has quietly lived her compassionate beliefs through the most egregious of questions, probing, and downright disapproval from friends, family and strangers. I really could not have made the journey without her.

Here's to a long and "fruitful" life!

Peas - Jen

www.jenniferbunker.com

Have Medical Records Will Travel

Because I haven't have medical insurance for the past 10 years and didn't see the doctor much in that time frame, it has been an interesting journey into how medical care has evolved since I last participated. I am amazed at the new way my surgeon takes my blood pressure, and the way almost everybody takes blood now with a "butterfly". Now if only there was a way to look inside a woman's breast without smashing it. How come we don't have that one handled yet?

Anyway, one of the big disappointments is that medical offices seem to be in constant chaos. I learned early that just because I ask one office to send my records to another office doesn't actually mean that it will be done. If fact, I've learned that it pretty much won't get done.

So, now I arrive to every appointment with my up-to-the-minute medical records file in tow. This file holds every single paper generated from every single visit. I offer each physician the updates and they always happily copy them. This was so odd to me at first, but I realized that if I were to step up and take responsibility for the distribution of my own records, I would be the ultimate winner.

It's interesting to see what they write about me in the files. Each visit offers an assessment of how I "presented" such as, "is pleasant and upbeat", "seems informed and knowledgeable," and there is always mention that I have been "chaperoned" (my girls are with me).

Getting the records is much easier than BI (before insurance). I remember that offices and hospitals wouldn't give you your own records under any circumstances, but instead they would send them directly on to the requesting physician. It's probably because of the things that they said about you that they didn't want you to see. Thanks to new HPPA rules, records must be given to a patient who requests them. I bet physicians are kinder now, knowing that patients will be reading what they wrote about them.

But regardless of what they write, it's kind of comforting knowing that I have my whole file with me and can produce my health situation in its entirety at any moment. Dear friends Lucki and Sandy Latimer recommend a complex filing system that includes dates, notes, and all records held in a single journal. They advised to always bring along another set of ears, eyes, and hands so that second person can take notes enabling the patient to dialog freely.

Good ideas that have served me well so far.

Have a peas-ful day!

Love, Jen

Unbelievably Inspiring

Check out what 10-year-old Mimi Ausland of Bend Oregon has done:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25675151#25642902

Visit her website and play the trivia game to donate dog kibble.

AND...


... look at what this family did. Amazing.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25675151#25568850

Love ya - Jen

It Was Even Scarier Than Cancer (For a While)

While I'm driving the Gloom and Doom bus, I'll blog about something else that I have found can be even more scarier than cancer.

My insurance company is trying to prove that I applied for insurance with them under fraudulent terms, and then drop me without paying for any of my coverage.

Here's the back story. It has been my good fortune to become acquainted with several individuals who have the inside "know how" on how insurance companies work (one of whom works for and insurance company herself). When I began to sense trouble on my own insurance front, I consulted the bunch of them and here is what they said:

"Insurance companies are in the business of making money. They are not interested in losing money on any patient for any reason. If you are self-employed (as I am) and you have an individual policy (as I do) and you get cancer (as I did) they will move heaven and earth to drop you. This is because you are a lone little nobody without a group to back you therefore making you easy pickings for the kill. People at the insurance company are specially trained to weed out lone cancer patients like you."

In my case, my insurance company has frozen all payments to any of my doctors pending a five year review. According to my friends in the know, this means that the insurance company will closely examine all of my medical records for the past 5 years, and then try to catch me in a lie from my initial application. Not only will they be looking for evidence that I lied about having cancer, but they'll also be looking for any tiny foothold to prove that I lied about anything and then will drop me.

The stories: One lady was dropped by her company after they discovered she had not disclosed a visit to a psychologist. When she asked them how that could have anything to do with her current cancer, they said "You were probably depressed about having cancer." They promptly dropped her from coverage.

Another woman was dropped when the insurance company learned that she had fudged her weight on the initial application by 10 pounds. They declared this "fraud" and dropped her even though it had nothing to do with her cancer.

An third woman was given consent for a cancer surgery by her insurance company and proceeded with it. Afterwards, the company demanded a 5-year-review at which time they rescinded their approval of the procedure, refused to pay for it, and left her holding the $40K bag. Spiffy!

I have no idea what my own status is. Limbo I guess. I get letters in the mail every day explaining that payment is being held pending examination of the records. Sad stuff, huh? I'll keep you posted as the saga unfolds.

Paix - Jen

Five Weeks In; No Game Plan and None in Sight

Saw another surgeon today. He is associated with the hospital in my town and came recommended by the Oncologist that I saw last week. The visit was just so-so, I'll spare you the details. However, when we went to schedule a possible date for surgery ... surprise! My insurance doesn't cover surgery at that hospital.

So, to recap, my insurance covers surgeons who work at the hospital the insurance company doesn't cover, but the insurance doesn't cover any surgeons at the hospital where I can have surgery. How's that for a pretty good racket?

Ah the hilarity. That literally leaves me with absolutely nowhere to go to get this cancer out of me. Five weeks and still no game plan. I have a call into the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, but I am not hopeful.

So, the options are, do nothing and hope for the best. Treat myself with alternative therapies and hope the cancer goes away or at least doesn't spread. Or pay for the surgery myself at my local hospital. (Sure thing! Let me just run and get my checkbook.)

I told my girls afterward that my work has been hanging in limbo for over a month now and that I have to get back to it. I am a self-employed single mom who runs a busy business and who has agents and clients who depend upon me to show up and work everyday. If I don't work, I don't get paid. So, cancer in tow, that's what I'll do for now.

Here's hoping for a better day tomorrow. Jen

Compassion at Long Last

Information and kindness has arrived in the form of Dr. Hanson, white-haired Oncologist at McKay Dee Hospital. He and his wonderful physician's assistant (who's name I actually did not catch) were unbelievably compassionate and actually gave me information that I can use. AND, they treated me like I am a whole person with thoughts and concerns and questions. In the end, the doctor gave me some options and then .... drum roll please .... asked me what *I* wanted to do. What a novel idea!

It seems that it should always be that way, especially with those of us who come armed with mega amounts of knowledge about the whole thing (thank goodness for the Internet) and are ready to have a good decisive discussion about the various options. The relief in my daughters' faces was as close to heaven as I could get.

Unfortunately there is nothing for me to decide yet, because I have still another appointment with another Dr. However, one month after diagnosis, we finally feel we are on our way.