Are any of you having trouble getting proceedures done?

[Irishonly]

I ask because a dear friend of mine is having horrible problems. She and her husband had to switch insurance companies last summer. She is the insurance carrier and her husband is the throat cancer survivor. they were promised there would be no problems with anything. I don't know much about throat cancer so all I can do most of the time is listen and research for them. Her husband has to get his teeth pulled and has to have special treamtent and I am sorry I can't remember for the life of me what they are called. I know it involves 12 emersions (think that is what she said) before the dental surgery can be done and at least 10 after. The hospital doesn't do the treatments so they have to be done at another hospital. I know the insurance pays for treatments at other facilities because they did it for me. My friend believes they are stalling and her husband is talking about ending it all. I am scared for both of them. Have any of you gone through anything like this and what did you do to resolve it? I am checking about a formal complaint but we all need some help.

[YvonneCa]

1. I don't know anything about this issue, but...

...if the husband is 'talking about ending it all' that's a critical sign...he needs counseling right away.

[Irishonly]

2. We got that much done

The poor guy is starting to believe the insurance company is waiting for him to die. I am sure they are not but this merry go round has been going on for about four months.

[YvonneCa]

3. That is good. I was ...

...worried.

[Irishonly]

4. She scared me to death when she told me

I went over and talked to him. He agreed to see a doctor and to let us deal with the insurance.

[sinkingfeeling]

5. You're talking about Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment . Yes, once somebody has had

radiation to their throat and thereby, their jaws, teeth extraction can be very dangerous. I had tonsil cancer 3 years ago. I was initially advised to have all of my teeth extracted to avoid future problems. I elected to have repairs made on them prior to beginning my radiation. I also had some problems with a disintegrating jaw bone a few months after finishing radiation, but was lucky that with some treatment healed without the hyperbaric treatments.





http://www.ehow.com/facts_5918647_hyperbaric-oxygen-treatment-radiation-damage.html

[Irishonly]

6. Thank you for the information

I am sending the information on and will let you know when I hear from my friend

[sinkingfeeling]

8. Your friends should locate a local chapter of SPONHC. The support groups

for people with oral, head, and neck cancers and survivors. Wonderful source of information. I belong to a chapter and we've had numerous folks undergo HBOT. Also many can give advice about dealing with insurance companies.

http://www.spohnc.org/

[cmd]

7. Tooth extraction can be very iffy

I had a tooth that needed to be removed last summer. Because of the meds I had taken no one would take it out. I ended up having a root canal and the tooth made much smaller than it was. I've had no trouble since that time.

All the doctors and dentists told me that there was a strong possibility the bone would never heal if I had the tooth removed. Fortunately I didn't have to have it done. My life is so much better without that aching tooth.