this post was submitted on 20 Sep 2024
85 points (100.0% liked)

Health - Resources and discussion for everything health-related

2227 readers
133 users here now

Health: physical and mental, individual and public.

Discussions, issues, resources, news, everything.

See the pinned post for a long list of other communities dedicated to health or specific diagnoses. The list is continuously updated.

Nothing here shall be taken as medical or any other kind of professional advice.

Commercial advertising is considered spam and not allowed. If you're not sure, contact mods to ask beforehand.

Linked videos without original description context by OP to initiate healthy, constructive discussions will be removed.

Regular rules of lemmy.world apply. Be civil.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Less than a week after NBC News detailed how the hospital system Atrium Health of North Carolina aggressively pursued former patients’ medical debts, placing liens on their homes to collect on hospital bills, the nonprofit company announced it would cancel those obligations and forgive the unpaid debts associated with them. Some 11,500 liens on people's homes in North Carolina and five other states will be released, Atrium’s parent company, Advocate Health, said with some dating back 20 years or more.

Advocate Health said it is changing its policy now as “the next logical step” following a 2022 decision to stop filing lawsuits and property liens to collect on patients’ medical debts. The company declined NBC News’ request for an interview about the shift.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] MapleEngineer@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

The lump I discovered in my neck was my left superclavicular lymph node (the lymph node just above my collar bone at the base of my neck.) After two months (two rounds of two chemo treatments) the lump in my neck is gone. I also had tumors in the lymph nodes in front of my heart. I'm feeling pretty good. I haven't had any nausea, though I'm feeling a bit queasy these days. I'm half way between chemo treatments. I get them every other Friday. I hadn't lost much hair but noticed a couple of days ago that half of my eyebrows were missing. They are shrinking from the outside in toward the bridge of my nose. I look like I have bushy Rotweiller eyebrows. I get another PET scan in two weeks to see how the tumors are reacting. When I'm done with chemo in January I will get radiation to mop up the last of the tumors if there is any evidence of active desease.

So, all in all I'm doing really well. Thanks for asking.

[–] Maeve@kbin.earth 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

You're welcome and thanks again for sharing. A lot of people wouldn't be comfortable doing that. I hope the lump being gone is indicative of great news!

Yeah, the chemicals can be pretty brutal. A friend who went through chemo said everything tasted like dirty socks smell, and oddly, dill. My nephew didn't complain about taste so much, but subsisted almost wholly on yogurt, since it was the only thing he could keep down, and was also really tired a lot. If the eyebrows bother you, there are fill -in kits, idk if that would work for you. Wishing you the best possible outcome.

[–] MapleEngineer@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Thanks.

I have a PICC line in which makes the infusions much easier. When the flush the line once a week and before the infusion it's just saline (water and sodium chloride) but it smells like whiteboard markers to me. I think it increases the conductivity in your nose and mouth and I can really smell hospital smell.

[–] Maeve@kbin.earth 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Very welcome. You mean the saline or chemicals? Saline would make sense, I guess.

Eta; quick search https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/you-asked/why-can-i-taste-saline-when-its-injected-my-iv

[–] MapleEngineer@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Very interesting article, thank you. I never taste anything but I smell a chemical smell that I liken to blackboard markers immediately. I guess it going to my lungs and me breathing it out would explain it. Thank you very much for the article.

[–] Maeve@kbin.earth 2 points 1 week ago