Names of the Dead

My only daughter Cara died at the age of 36 from Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. She was self-employed and the mother of four when she was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma at the age of 32. She and her husband had tried to manage a business and care for their four children but found the expense of health insurance too costly for their budget here in Michigan. When she first began to be plagued with symptoms, she went to several medical clinics that accepted patients who were uninsured. She was treated for bronchitis several times and was given anti-biotics. She was never sent for tests or blood work. When she finally became so ill that she wound up in an emergency room, she was admitted into the hospital, but was not biopsyed until the social workers were able to finalize the paper work for her to be accepted for medicair. - By this time she was already in stage 3B which meant that her cancer had progressed quite rapidly. The doctors told us that her type of cancer was easily curable if it was detected in the early stages. - - When she was able to receive Medicaid, she received chemotherapy at the University of Michigan and her care and treatment was excellent. Thus, the fallacy about government healthcare programs being inadaquate. Medicaid was the best insurance she had ever had. She was in remission for four years, but the Lymphoma recurred as Non-Hodgkins and with a vengeance. She was treated with a different chemo regime this time, but to no avail. She died on November 15, 1999. - - Her children and I still miss her terribly to this day. I only wish that her cancer had been detected sooner, but without insurance, many symptoms and minor illnesses are swept under the rug and ignored. - - I only hope that a decent health care plan with a public option will be voted on by the house and senate very soon. I have been volunteering with Progressive groups by making phone calls. We are asking the residents of our state to call their elected officials and tell them to vote for Healthcare Reform with the public option. -