It’s been a few months since my last article about my prostate cancer treatment. That’s the thing about active surveillance, or watchful waiting; there’s a lot of waiting. During the past months I’ve continued to get PSA tests. My doctor said that if the number stayed low, I could wait until the one-year anniversary of my initial biopsy to have a second one performed.

My most recent PSA result was 3.7, and the time before that it was 4.19, so no red flags there, thankfully. My next biopsy has been scheduled for June 12th. I’ve been told if the results are the same as the first biopsy, and my Gleason score stays at 6, this indicates the cancer hasn’t spread or gotten worse, and I won’t need to have surgery yet. While I must still have PSA tests every few months I won’t need to have another biopsy for two years.

That positive news aside, the last few months have not been without excitement. It seems that when our government decided to pass a law that requires us all to purchase health insurance they didn’t think to also make a law stating that insurance companies had to sell health insurance. So, as of January 1st, 2018, the insurance company I was using decided to stop selling individual policies in my county of residence. In fact, all but one of the insurance companies that were doing business here decided to pull out.

Now I had no choice but to get my insurance from the only company that was selling it in my area. Don’t get me wrong, they aren’t a bad insurance company, but the problem is that none of my current doctors, including the doctor I chose to monitor my cancer and do my eventual surgery, are in their plan. Even the primary doctor I have been seeing for 22 years wasn’t in the network. So, I had to find all new doctors.

First, though, I decided to talk to the insurance company and see if I could continue to see my oncologist, but they said no. I pointed out that this doctor was referred to me by a doctor who is in their plan and that he was one of the best at treating my particular problem. They didn’t care, and said they have plenty of doctors in their network that could do this type of surgery. I agreed that this was most likely true but pointed out that I wasn’t interested in just any doctor who could do the surgery, I wanted one that was great at doing it. They weren’t impressed with my argument but they did agree to let me see my oncologist one last time to transition my care.

I then asked them if he could transition my care back to the original urologist who found the cancer and referred me to this doctor in the first place. They said that would be OK but only if I got a referral from my primary care doctor. My response was “What?” This is the doctor who referred me to the doctor you just said I could see to transition my care. Why do I need yet another doctor to refer me back to the original doctor? I also pointed out that my primary care doctor wasn’t in their plan and they’d told me I’d have to find a new one. I repeated that I was already seeing this urologist and that having to see a new doctor just to get a referral to continue to see her seemed like a waste of time and money for both the insurance company and me. The person I talked to agreed that it was stupid but said I had to do it anyway.

So, I looked for a new doctor. The problem was that because this was a new insurance provider in my county and now they were the only one, only a few doctors were signed up with them and those few were quickly becoming overwhelmed. The first doctor I called said they were booking out six months. I told them I just needed a referral but they said they couldn’t give me a referral without seeing me. I continued to look and finally I found a doctor who could see me in a month and so I made the appointment.

When I arrived at the doctor’s office, I was asked the reason for my visit and I said I needed a referral to my urologist. They said they had to know what my complaint was, the reason for my visit. I repeated that the reason for my visit was to get a referral, and if they needed a complaint it was that I haven’t gotten it yet. The doctor said she would have to examine me before she could give a referral. I pointed out that I have prostate cancer and I didn’t think she’d be able to confirm it with an exam. The doctor said she was required to do it anyway. So, she looked in my ears, down my throat, and up my nose. After that she listened to my heart. She said everything seemed to be fine and asked if I needed any of my prescriptions refilled. I told her no, but a prescription to see the urologist would be nice, and she agreed to give me one. She said it would have to be approved by the insurance company, however. And so, with props to Yogi Berra, it was déjà vu all over again.

So, after more fun than anyone deserves to have, I had made an appointment with my original urologist and my biopsy is scheduled. I’ll let you know how it goes next month.

My advice:

  1. Follow the rules, no matter how stupid they may be.
  2. Stay focused on your goal and try not to get frustrated.
  3. Look for the humor whenever you can find it.
  4. Remember, there’s always a workaround.

George A. Santino helps people who want to break down barriers, including self-imposed barriers, to success. Check out his Amazon bestselling book, Get Back Up: From the Streets to Microsoft Suites.