I was recently asked how I decide what organizations to make donations to.  Here’s my answer:

I try to remove my emotions from the equation and not focus on my cancer story. Instead I look for a bird’s eye view on the situation.  I act like a business person making good investment decisions.  I ask: What is the biggest problem facing the cancer community right now?  How can more cancer deaths be prevented?  What will give the most bang for my buck?

I was blown away a few years back when the head of the American Cancer Society said that increased access to health insurance could reduce cancer mortality rates just as much as scientific research.  That is HUGE.  I’m big on doing smart scientific research, but if we develop treatments and preventative protocols that nobody can afford to access then what’s the point?

Compared to the enigma of finding a cure for cancer, getting health coverage to all Americans seems pretty doable in a short period of time. So, this year I’m only donating to organizations that are doing education, outreach, and action in support of the public option.  Unfortunately, I don’t know of any young adult cancer organizations, or even general cancer organizations doing the work necessary to pass meaningful health insurance reform that will truly give access to all Americans. So my donations of time and/or money will be going to great organizations like Illinois based Campaign For Better Health Care, and the national organization Health Care for America Now.

In the past I’ve supported young adult cancer organizations but this time around, I’m not focusing on quality of life issues – we need quantity of life first, and lots of us are dying because we are being screwed by private insurance companies.  Young adults are especially affected because we can’t hack the cost of insurance on entry-level job salaries or while working internships.  I’m tired of us complaining about how to afford treatment.  I want to do something about it.

Lastly, before writing a check to any org, I research their rating on Charity Navigator, and I call and ask the org for a detailed copy of their annual budget.  (If they won’t give it to me, they don’t get my check.) I want to make sure they’re spending their money on actual services and operations, not just on marketing and promoting their name.  I also ask myself if their services are really needed or if another org is doing the same job better.

How do you decide who to donate to?  What organizations do you think are benefiting the most people?

For tips on how best to make a difference in the cancer community read Everything Changes: The Insider’s Guide to Cancer in Your 20s and 30s.

Excerpt from:
How Do You Decide Where to Donate?

Please check out Kairol’s book “Everything Changes: The Insider’s Guide to Cancer in Your 20’s and 30’s” at Amazon.com by clicking here.

Warning: None of this is fun, but if you pretend you are Michael Clayton or Erin Brockovich, it helps.

The first step to reducing your medical debt is asking your doc or hospital upfront for a discount on your bill. This takes time, chutzpah, and smarts and is worth the work.  Use these stellar how-to’s based on the National Endowment for Financial Education’s Avoiding and Managing Medical Debt brochure.

1.  Have a positive attitude. Your odds are good: 50% of people who ask for reduced costs get them, plus your chances might be higher using these savvy strategies.

2.  Talk to the right person, face-to-face: Your doc, your doc’s or hospital’s office, business, or billing manager.  Don’t do it by phone or letter.

3. Honey goes farther than vinegar. Be polite. Kill’em with kindness.

4.  Be persistent. Don’t take no for an answer.  (I never do!) Many hospital staff don’t know the correct policies and will say “no” when they should say yes.  Work your way up the ladder.

5.  Build your argument. Find a copy of the hospital’s free and discounted care policy.  (This is where you can play cool lawyer.)

The American Hospital Association has a Billing and Collections Practices Policy.  4,200 hospitals have signed on agreeing to assist patients who cannot pay for all or part of their care, and making these policies accessible and written in clear language. Visit this link and click on “more than 4,200” and see if your hospital is on the list.  If so, you’ve got some ammo.  Use it.

6.  Contact your State Attorney General. If you are at a non-profit hospital, many state AG’s will help ensure they provide charity care.  Find your State AG here.

7.  Compare costs. Do some high level sleuthing to find out what patients with insurance or Medicare are paying for your same procedure codes (it is often lower!) and demand that you are charged the same.

8.  Get it in writing. When they agree to your request, get it in writing!

Have you ever asked for a reduced medical bill?  What happened?  If you have not, why not?  Do you have the energy to move these mountains during cancer treatment?  Could your friends or family help? Also, check out my book Everything Changes for tons of grants, financial assistance resources, and money saving tips.

Read more here:
Smart Way To Reduce Your Medical Bills

Warning: None of this is fun, but if you pretend you are Michael Clayton or Erin Brockovich, it helps.

The first step to reducing your medical debt is asking your doc or hospital upfront for a discount on your bill. This takes time, chutzpah, and smarts and is worth the work.  Use these stellar how-to’s based on the National Endowment for Financial Education’s Avoiding and Managing Medical Debt brochure.

1.  Have a positive attitude. Your odds are good: 50% of people who ask for reduced costs get them, plus your chances might be higher using these savvy strategies.

2.  Talk to the right person, face-to-face: Your doc, your doc’s or hospital’s office, business, or billing manager.  Don’t do it by phone or letter.

3. Honey goes farther than vinegar. Be polite. Kill’em with kindness.

4.  Be persistent. Don’t take no for an answer.  (I never do!) Many hospital staff don’t know the correct policies and will say “no” when they should say yes.  Work your way up the ladder.

5.  Build your argument. Find a copy of the hospital’s free and discounted care policy.  (This is where you can play cool lawyer.)

The American Hospital Association has a Billing and Collections Practices Policy.  4,200 hospitals have signed on agreeing to assist patients who cannot pay for all or part of their care, and making these policies accessible and written in clear language. Visit this link and click on “more than 4,200” and see if your hospital is on the list.  If so, you’ve got some ammo.  Use it.

6.  Contact your State Attorney General. If you are at a non-profit hospital, many state AG’s will help ensure they provide charity care.  Find your State AG here.

7.  Compare costs. Do some high level sleuthing to find out what patients with insurance or Medicare are paying for your same procedure codes (it is often lower!) and demand that you are charged the same.

8.  Get it in writing. When they agree to your request, get it in writing!

Have you ever asked for a reduced medical bill?  What happened?  If you have not, why not?  Do you have the energy to move these mountains during cancer treatment?  Could your friends or family help? Also, check out my book Everything Changes for tons of grants, financial assistance resources, and money saving tips.

Follow this link:
Smart Way To Reduce Your Medical Bills

I try to reduce my exposure to household carcinogens without entering the territory of enviroparanoia.  I buy products that are inexpensive, free of scary ingredients, and don’t have heavy perfumes or essential oils (I just don’t like the smell).  I also like products that actually work.  Buying something green that only does half the job is just a waste. Here are the products I like and a few I don’t:

Dr. Watkins – All purpose cleaner, lemon scent, available at Target.  Cleans counters, tile, bathroom, entire kitchen.

Bon Ami – This stuff has been around for 120 years.  That’s before most scary chemicals were even invented.  It works like magic on my tub and faucet handles, and cleans super skanky pots and pans like a dream.

Vinegar and Water – Cleans windows, hardwood floors, and mirrors.

Automatic Dishwasher Detergent -  Ecover and Seventh Generation have failed to do the trick. Instead, we’ve been using Cascade, which seems like it belongs in a super fund site. Any recommendations?

Has cancer or any other illness made you more conscious of the cleaners you use? What are your favorite green cleaners?  Which ones don’t you like?  Can you recommend anything for my dishwasher dilemma?

Continue reading here:
Cancer and Greener Cleaners

I try to reduce my exposure to household carcinogens without entering the territory of enviroparanoia.  I buy products that are inexpensive, free of scary ingredients, and don’t have heavy perfumes or essential oils (I just don’t like the smell).  I also like products that actually work.  Buying something green that only does half the job is just a waste. Here are the products I like and a few I don’t:

Dr. Watkins – All purpose cleaner, lemon scent, available at Target.  Cleans counters, tile, bathroom, entire kitchen.

Bon Ami – This stuff has been around for 120 years.  That’s before most scary chemicals were even invented.  It works like magic on my tub and faucet handles, and cleans super skanky pots and pans like a dream.

Vinegar and Water – Cleans windows, hardwood floors, and mirrors.

Automatic Dishwasher Detergent -  Ecover and Seventh Generation have failed to do the trick. Instead, we’ve been using Cascade, which seems like it belongs in a super fund site. Any recommendations?

Has cancer or any other illness made you more conscious of the cleaners you use? What are your favorite green cleaners?  Which ones don’t you like?  Can you recommend anything for my dishwasher dilemma?

Read the original post:
Cancer and Greener Cleaners

I try to reduce my exposure to household carcinogens without entering the territory of enviroparanoia.  I buy products that are inexpensive, free of scary ingredients, and don’t have heavy perfumes or essential oils (I just don’t like the smell).  I also like products that actually work.  Buying something green that only does half the job is just a waste. Here are the products I like and a few I don’t:

Dr. Watkins – All purpose cleaner, lemon scent, available at Target.  Cleans counters, tile, bathroom, entire kitchen.

Bon Ami – This stuff has been around for 120 years.  That’s before most scary chemicals were even invented.  It works like magic on my tub and faucet handles, and cleans super skanky pots and pans like a dream.

Vinegar and Water – Cleans windows, hardwood floors, and mirrors.

Automatic Dishwasher Detergent -  Ecover and Seventh Generation have failed to do the trick. Instead, we’ve been using Cascade, which seems like it belongs in a super fund site. Any recommendations?

Has cancer or any other illness made you more conscious of the cleaners you use? What are your favorite green cleaners?  Which ones don’t you like?  Can you recommend anything for my dishwasher dilemma?

See more here:
Cancer and Greener Cleaners

Is talking about money just too taboo?  Why in the young adult cancer world do I never ever hear anyone talking about medical debt?  It’s a crying shame because we’ve got plenty of it and it seems that a bit of conversation and education is in order.  Consider these factoids:

* More than 35% of all young adults have problems with medical bills including getting calls from collections agencies, paying off medical debt, or having to seriously alter their life to accommodate for medical expenses.

* Out of every age group in the United States, 18-34 year olds have the most medical debt.

Given these statistics, it seems likely that the numbers are even higher for young cancer survivors because we are racking up mega medical bills.

I’m going to make a series of blog posts about how to avoid and resolve medical debt, information about credit card usage for cancer patients, and where to get good credit counseling.

But before I dive into these issues, I wanted to pass on a suggestion from Joanna Morales, legal guru at the Cancer Legal Resources Center.  She says: Sometimes medical debt is the result of other unresolved medical issues such as unemployment due to discrimination or other issues around disability.  How can you get out of debt if you don’t look at the root of the problem?  Brilliant idea.  Contact the Cancer Legal Resource Center (866-THE-CLRC).  They are amazing and will help you brainstorm around the factors that are contributing to your medical debt.

Do you or have you ever had medical debt?  How often do you think about it and what impact does it make on your life?  Does it change any of the decisions you make about your care?  Is this something you discuss with friends, in cancer support groups, or talk about online?  If not, why not?

Read more:
Cancer and Medical Debt

If you’ve read Everything Changes, you know the saga of my sudden onset cancer claustrophobia.   Since cancer, sitting on an airplane feels to me like the Star Wars trash compactor scene.  I’ve chalked it up to either post-traumatic stress disorder, or the anxiety that can be a common side effect of the high doses of thyroid hormones I’m on.

Over the past couple of years xanax has become my flying friend.  Without xanax I could not have flown to my San Francisco surgery, checks ups at Memorial Sloan Kettering, or to see my friends and family.  I also only fly Southwest because they are super sweet and let me sit in the front row where I can see the door.

But something totally odd has happened: with no explanation, my raging claustrophobia has quite suddenly simmered down.  I’ve flown xanax-free on my past four trips to speaking engagements and book parties.

This past week I was speaking in Pittsburgh.  I woke up one morning on the trip and in that limbo morning mind state of half-dreaming, I confused being wheeled into surgery and getting anesthesia with boarding a plane and flying.  For just a moment, the two were the same.  I started freaking out, but my phone rang and woke me up.  It was amazing to see my two fears come so head to head in my mind.

I am thankful that my mind is chilling out.  And, I’m really curious about the mystery of what has made this go away.  If I knew, I’d share my secret.  Have you developed any fears or anxieties since your diagnosis, or as the result of any other illness or trauma?  How have you coped with it?  Has yours ebbed and flowed?  Ever suddenly receded like mine?  Does anxiety ever hinder your daily activities?

Originally posted here:
Cancer and ANXIETY