LIVING WITH MCL

I find it truly amazing that it was my primary care physician that had the foresight to send me to the ophthalmologist for evaluation for cataracts, rather than the optometrist I saw for evaluation of my rapidly changing eyesight and prevalence for infections. It's like I've always said, it's not the health care system that determines your quality of care, but rather the doctors. The only problem being there are good doctors and bad doctors, and it's not always so easy to determine which are which. Anyways, as a result of the visit to the ophthalmologist I've been approved for cataract surgery. It's just not going to happen as soon as I would hope. (I'm looking at early March.) Apparently there are few other people seeking cataract surgery as well. (And here I thought I was the only one with such a problem.) I find it hard to believe that many people are in need of cataract surgery, but I was also told there is a possibility I could get in sooner, as patient...

So Edie's free lights are continuing their upward trend, and her doctor has recommended adding Vorinostat (Zolinza) to the mix (4 - 100 mg tablets per day for two weeks, then off a week). A recently completed clinical trial  has shown it to be efficacious when combined with Velcade, and since the Velcade alone hasn't been doing the trick, this seemed like the logical alternative. The only problem with Vorinostat is it's given in pill form. That means it comes under the Medicare Part D Prescription drug plan, and this drug is not cheap. $4,945 for a 14 day supply. Fortunately we were only on the hook for about $2,300, but it could have been a lot worse. We would have been on the hook for the entire amount, if it weren't for the Affordable Care Act [AKA ObamaCare], which mandated a 50% discount once you enter the donut hole. In addition, thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the amount of the discount provided by the manufacturer is also counted towards the Out-of-Po...