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URGENT to our Canadian Friends -- NON-FINANCIAL Help Needed

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mcscajun

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Tue May-03-05 07:44 AM
Original message

URGENT to our Canadian Friends -- NON-FINANCIAL Help Needed

The following is a repost (by permission) of an email by J. Michael Straczynski, the creator of the Sci-Fi TV Series "Babylon 5", about a friend in Canada who has a fast-moving Cancer headed for the brain and needs some help breaking through the Bureaucratic Maze of the Canadian Health Care System.

This is a matter of life and death. No kidding. If you can help, please do.

From: jmsatb5@aol.com
Date: Tue, 3 May 2005 03:22:54 +0000 (UTC)
Lines: 42

I'm posting this both as a new thread and a follow-up to an existing
thread to make sure it gets through in a timely fashion.

A while back, I'd asked for cancer information on behalf of a friend.
Now I need some real serious help here as the situation has escalated.

The father of a friend in Ottawa, Ontario Canada underwent surgery for
lung cancer which had a good result for a time, but things have
unexpectedly gone sideways. There is now a problem with the cancer
moving toward the brain. Left unchecked, it will be fatal.

There is treatment which can help immensely even at this
stage...however, he is caught up in gears of the medical bureaucracy
there and as things stand now, won't be able to get to the treatment
until it's too late to do any good. I need someone who can break him
out of the gears and get him into treatment asap and in general be of
help to the family.

So I turn to the Canadian B5 fans and anyone with connections up there.

Let me be clear: DO NOT EMAIL ME UNLESS YOU FIT THE CRITERIA BELOW.
The family does not have much time before the treatment becomes
unhelpful, so therefore neither do I. I can't put in time poring over
ten thousand emails fishing for the right ones.

So reply ONLY IF you are a) someone who can help them break out of the
gears and get the treatment needed, or b) you know such an individual
personally. An oncologist, a hospital administrator, an
obuds...somebody who can DO something, preferably in the Ottawa area,
but they can go elsewhere if necessary. Do NOT send emails to
recommend web sites, pass along personal stories, or suggest places
you've heard about. I appreciate the concern and the advice, but this
isn't the time. This is, very literally, a matter of life and death
and time is of the essence.

I know there are a lot of Canadian B5 fans out there, and somewhere in
your ranks I know there is somebody who can help here. Raise your hand
and let me know who you are and what you can do.

jms

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vonSchloegel

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Tue May-03-05 07:51 AM
Response to Original message

1. Great Example

of why Canadian Health Care is the envy of the world.

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trotsky

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Tue May-03-05 07:54 AM
Response to Reply #1

2. Oddly,

when polled, the Canadians overwhelmingly favor their system over a private health insurance system like in the U.S. Makes you wonder, huh?

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matcom

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Tue May-03-05 08:03 AM
Response to Reply #1

4. my Canadian friend had prostate cancer last year

no delays. right into the specialists. treatment & surgery. no paperwork, bullshit or waiting periods.

and he is an average joe with no special contacts of any kind

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brainshrub

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Tue May-03-05 08:01 AM
Response to Original message

3. This story smells fake.

Edited on Tue May-03-05 08:02 AM by brainshrub

I've never heard of an actual situation where a Canadian couldn't get the care they needed due to bureaucracy. My understanding is that sometimes there can be a wait for non-critical procedures, but not something like this.

Michael Straczynski is, presumably, a wealthy man. If he cares about his friend, he would not have a problem getting him the treatment he needs.

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matcom

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Tue May-03-05 08:03 AM
Response to Reply #3

5. bingo. see my post above n/t

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mcscajun

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Tue May-03-05 08:07 AM
Response to Reply #3

6. It's not fake, and it's not about money.

I don't know the details, but I've been on this e-mail list for well over 8 years, and I know the reliability of the man.

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trotsky

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Tue May-03-05 08:09 AM
Response to Reply #6

8. If it's not fake,

there are definitely details that are missing.

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mcscajun

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Tue May-03-05 08:14 AM
Response to Reply #8

10. Hey, there are definitely details missing. They'll be available, I'm sure.

...to those who can actually help.

I only passed on what was given. I have no additional info.

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brainshrub

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Tue May-03-05 08:17 AM
Response to Reply #8

12. Yes, and spreading rumors

that Canadians need to wait for life-critical procedures is irresponsible of Straczynski. This kind of story could set back universal health-care in the United States for years, thus costing thousands of American lives.

RWers won't ask for the details for this case. It makes a great talking point: "You don't want to be like the Canadian friend of the Babylon 5 creator do you?"

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mcscajun

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Tue May-03-05 08:22 AM
Response to Reply #12

14. The man is talking about One Canadian.

You think it's impossible for someone to 'fall through the cracks' in any given bureaucracy? I don't.

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China_cat

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Tue May-03-05 08:07 AM
Response to Reply #3

7. If this treatment is in trial or experimental stages

that could explain why the need for someone to help 'break him into the system'. Not the healthcare system per se.

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mcscajun

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Tue May-03-05 08:18 AM
Response to Reply #7

13. That may be exactly what is at issue here. Thank you for pointing that out

I know absolutely nothing about the Canadian Health Care System, but I do know that JMS wouldn't be talking through his hat in a situation like this. If money could fix it, he'd fix it himself.

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yvr girl

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Tue May-03-05 08:27 AM
Response to Reply #7

15. What bureaucracy?

I can use my BC Medical card at any doctor's office/hospital in the country. Getting medical care is dead simple.

I agree, if this is a standard medical procedure there isn't any bureaucracy to face. Sometimes you might need to wait for a bed, but if your case is urgent you get in. My dad has been in and out of the hospital for the last few years. He always gets right in.

My last trip to the emergency wasn't even a horror story. I wasn't critical at all. My friend dragged me there because I had been throwing up for 3 days and I couldn't eat or drink. I waited for about an hour. I was hooked up to an IV, given some drugs, examined, given an appointment for a follow-up test. Painless.

If it's an experimental procedure, that would be different. You would have to meet the studies criteria etc.

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mcscajun

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Tue May-03-05 08:58 AM
Response to Reply #15

18. And that could be what's under consideration here...

...we're talking about the Brain.

It's possible that experimental is the one key word left out of the original e-mail. I dunno.

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sui generis

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Tue May-03-05 08:10 AM
Response to Reply #3

9. I got the same impression

Hey real canucks, please weigh in!

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mcscajun

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Tue May-03-05 08:15 AM
Response to Reply #9

11. Thank you. Input from Canadians -- helpful input, is what's needed here.

Edited on Tue May-03-05 08:17 AM by mcscajun

I don't have enough details to quell cynics, but if it was only about money, JMS wouldn't be asking what he is.

And perhaps, as another poster suggested, it's some treatment out of the usual norm that is required here.

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trotsky

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Tue May-03-05 08:38 AM
Response to Reply #11

16. Then it should be noted that

"treatment out of the usual norm" would face enormous obstacles anywhere - even here in the U.S.

I just don't like how this "story" is ripe pickings for the right wing to bash Canada's health system while tens of millions of Americans suffer under our "If you can't afford it, you're not worthy" system.

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mcscajun

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Tue May-03-05 08:57 AM
Response to Reply #16

17. Well, I'm not going to worry about what the RW is or is not gonna do...

...when someone needs help.

If they're out there, they're also on the mailing list I got this from in the first place, lurking.

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vonSchloegel

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Tue May-03-05 09:12 AM
Response to Original message

19. It's more common than you think,

I have a friend whose Grandmother died in Canada on a waiting list for cancer treatment. Another friend has a niece who needed ear surgery, and by the time they would have gotten around to her, she would have had a permanent speech impediment. Fortunately for the little girl, the family was able to muster up the resources to take her to the US and pay for the surgery out-of-pocket.

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trotsky

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Tue May-03-05 09:22 AM
Response to Reply #19

20. I swear it's true!

My grandpa's milkman's daughter's cousin's mother-in-law, who lives in Canada, was denied treatment for her broken hip and died a horrible painful death while Canadian bureaucrats with bad combovers laughed and pocketed tons of money!

Any idea on how many Americans die because they can't afford cancer treatments or ear surgery and don't have health insurance?

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vonSchloegel

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Tue May-03-05 11:07 AM
Response to Reply #20

21. Nobody is refused

Edited on Tue May-03-05 11:51 AM by vonSchloegel

My wife works for a Neurosurgeon. They specialize in new and radical treatments, and nobody is turned down ever. If the patient doesn't qualify for Medicare or Medicare (which is rare) the Neurosurgeon just eats the cost.

But you won't believe that, because I can't prove it. (HIPAA regulations forbid it). You didn't seem so skeptical when matcom talked about his friend's prostate treatment, or yvr girl's story of the BC magical card.

Here's a verifiable example of the state of Canadian Healthcare:

http://www.globalaging.org/health/world/2004/bacteria.htm

I can assure you that in America, we no longer have wards, we think 40 people is too many to share one bathroom, and people don't die of Diarrhea, just because the pills cost too much.

-edited for spelling

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prolesunited

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Tue May-03-05 11:44 AM
Response to Reply #21

23. What planet do you live on?!?!?

Nobody is refused?!?!? They are every day throughout the country. The only place they can't be refused is the ER, and all they have to do is stabilize the patient, take them out of immediate danger of dying.

The likely reason people aren't turned down where your wife works is that the poor are being used as human guinea pigs for these "new and radical treatments." If they fit the

Are you really going to try to argue here that the Canadian health system isn't better overall that the one in the U.S.? Sure, we *do* have the best medical care that money can buy, but if you don't have the money, you're screwed.

You really think you can walk into any hospital and they'll give you the care that you need. I'm sure that's why $25,000 just had to be raised for Andy just so he could get in the door.

As far as Medicare/Medicaid is concerned, you do realize that you have to have no assets to qualify if you fall below retirement age, no home, no car (maybe a clunker that barely runs), no savings or retirement. You have to get rid of all of your assets to qualify and because of the abysmally low rates the feds pay, more and more doctors and hospitals are refusing to accept these types of patients.

Ah, the beauty of the corporate-run, for-profit medical system in the U.S. But, go ahead and keep your fingers in your ears singing "la-la-la-la."

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SixStrings

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Tue May-03-05 11:34 AM
Response to Original message

22. BS

Simply BS. Turn off Rush and Hannity for a while please. I want more details. I am Canadian and this simply wouldn't happen. Not to say there aren;t any issues (try getting an MRI up here), but this just wouldn't happen. Is he a Canadian citizen?

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mcscajun

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Tue May-03-05 11:52 AM
Response to Reply #22

24. I never listen to Rush and Hannity. I never have. If I had more details,

Edited on Tue May-03-05 11:53 AM by mcscajun

I'd be happy to provide them. I'm only passing on the facts that I have, from a source I trust implicitly. I'm not that close that I can ask for further details, as his e-mail makes clear. Unless I have the help his friend needs, I'm not going to waste his time.

I DID think I might do some good by posting this here. Guess I was wrong.

If I had a clue that this post was going to generate this much heat, I might not have bothered, in spite of the fact that a man's life is at stake. Ugh.

I trust the source. You don't. You don't know me. Simple. So ignore it, and me.

But DON'T imply I'm some kind of freeper, 'cause I'm not. I can't prove that either, but if you read some of my other posts, they speak for themselves.

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vonSchloegel

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Tue May-03-05 12:27 PM
Response to Reply #22

25. You can't get MRIs in Canada?

Perhaps that's the problem. Neurosurgeons always work from MRIs. If he can't get an MRI, then the Neurosurgeon won't know where to drill. It might not be the BS you think it is.

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SixStrings

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Tue May-03-05 02:16 PM
Response to Reply #25

26. What do you want me to do?

So you want someone with 'connections' to do what exactly? Displace someone who doesn;t have connections? And that's right?
You can get MRI's, definitly, but if it is not life threatening, you are looking at a few months waiting period, (you know, so the serious patients can get attention first, not the wealthiest).
I just don't understand this post. Did you think a member of our gov't is going to see it and pull some strings?

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