By skyforbes 
by Kirsten Richardson-Pearce
Navigating the Medicaid system after my cancer diagnosis left me feeling exhausted and dehumanized.
Nearly two years ago I was diagnosed with a rare form of Acute Myeloid Leukemia — so rare, in fact, the doctors were not one-hundred percent certain with their diagnosis until it returned the second time. During most of my first rounds of treatment I had insurance through my place of employment — that is, until my six-month disability period expired, and I was fired.
My option was COBRA, an entirely overpriced insurance that would have left my husband and me with nothing on which to live. I was able to receive almost full financial assistance through the hospital where I was receiving treatment, and when I was declared in remission, we managed to squeeze in the tiny slot of the Affordable Care Act coverage that was actually affordable — mainly so my husband would have something “just in case.”
After a few months of remission, I learned that the disease had returned. My doctor gently informed me that I would have to undergo radiation, which was to prepare me for an allogeneic stem cell transplant, which is when the patient receives stem cells from a matched donor (as opposed to an autologous STC…