8-3-16 Time for EBUS

This was as horrible as it sounds. After a horrendous experience with the front desk women at the outpatient services desk at Holy Cross Hospital (detailed in this Yelp review -- the only recourse I had at 6:30 in the morning), I was taken into the prep room. The nurses there were wonderful, and I was soon over the stress of my first encounter of the day. They went over what this test involves, and I knew it wouldn't be pleasant. The first thing they had to do was numb my bronchial tubes. So, a syringe filled with a lidocaine [...]

By |August 5th, 2016|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on 8-3-16 Time for EBUS
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8-2-16 Nicole Sandler Show – Healthcare Fail and Politics as Unusual

Today, I shared my frustration with our broken healthcare system. The for-profit insurance industry is, itself, a cancer that needs to be eradicated. I've spent the past 24 hours trying to find a top-rated cancer hospital that actually takes the crappy insurance policy I bought at healthcare.gov. Perhaps someone can explain to me the value of health insurance if you can't use it to get treatment. This is why we need Medicare for All. Today on the show, I spoke with Portia Boulger, one of the founders of Women for Bernie, a Bernie Sanders delegate to the DNC and longtime [...]

By |August 2nd, 2016|Tags: , , , , , , , |Comments Off on 8-2-16 Nicole Sandler Show – Healthcare Fail and Politics as Unusual
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7-31-16 One More Test

  That's my brain. An MRI of my brain was performed on Wednesday to determine if my lung cancer has spread there. I took the disc home with me and spent an hour or so going through the images looking for any spot that looks slightly wrong. Thankfully, even in my paranoia, I couldn't find any. This Wednesday, I'll submit to the last in the battery of tests to determine the stage and the recommended treatment plan. The final test is EBUS, or Endobronchial Ultrasound Bronchoscopy. Although I have to be at the hospital at 6am for a 7:30 procedure, I'll take [...]

By |July 31st, 2016|Tags: , , |3 Comments
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Thursday, July 28, 2016 – Still Quoting Tom Petty

"The waiting is the hardest part" -- Tom Petty I just emerged from the MRI machine where my brain was scanned to determine if the cancer in my lung spread to my brain. At this point, I'm trying to remember to count my blessings whenever possible, so I was happy to see an open MRI machine like the one pictured above instead of the claustrophobia-inducing regular tunnel type. I'm killing some time in The Heart Healthy Cafe at the hospital, waiting for my 10:15 appointment with the surgeon who just might be removing the lower left lung lobe, and maybe [...]

By |July 28th, 2016|Tags: , |Comments Off on Thursday, July 28, 2016 – Still Quoting Tom Petty
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7-25-16 First Oncologist Meeting; First Denial of Benefits

  The crooks at UHC have now officially denied my first claim. Following the Angiogram, I was ordered to not move for six hours, making the time I was able to get off the bed 11:30PM Friday night, at which time there was no doctor around to discharge me. But UHC decided that was not "medically necessary." This is going to be a long, long treatment period ahead. I will not be on the air today, but will let you know later what the oncologist says when I have my first consult this afternoon. Watch this space...

By |July 25th, 2016|Tags: , |4 Comments
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7-8-16 About that X-Ray

  Friday July 8, 2016 I was awakened by the cardiologist, Dr. Mazhar Majid, who explained that my Triponin levels were elevated, the enzyme released into the blood stream after a heart attack or other heart trauma, signaling that I had experienced a heart attack. He explained little else, but did say that the chest x-ray was "clear." I guess he was referring to the fact that the x-ray showed no swelling or inflammation of the heart. (But he left out a vital piece of information, stay tuned!) The next step was to transfer me to another hospital to get [...]

By |July 25th, 2016|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on 7-8-16 About that X-Ray
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7-7-16 A Heart Attack… or Not

Thursday July 7, 2016 It was one of those days when anything that could go wrong did.  Technical problems at the new studios added to the stress I was already feeling. My show that day was rife with foreshadowing that something bad was going to happen. I believed that my lack of sleep on Wednesday night contributed to my overall lousy feeling that day, but I just pushed it to the back of my mind and got through the day. When I arrived home, all I wanted to do was sleep. After an hour or two, I awoke, bathed in my [...]

By |July 25th, 2016|Tags: , , |Comments Off on 7-7-16 A Heart Attack… or Not
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7-21-16 Nicole Sandler Show – Fuck Cancer

I wasn't here yesterday. I ran a Best Of show as I had a biopsy scheduled to find out what's going on with this mass on my lung. I wasn't expecting to hear anything until Monday, but the doctor called shortly after I arrived at the studio today to tell me he got the preliminary results. Cancer. I have fucking lung cancer. I'll get more details next week after the PET scan tomorrow, and an appointment with the oncologist Monday afternoon, and the surgeon on Thursday. The next few weeks will likely be a bit of a whirlwind, so I [...]

By |July 21st, 2016|Tags: , , , , , |3 Comments
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7-18-16 Nicole Sandler Show – Circus Maximus

  As the GOP circus gets underway in Cleveland and the world at large continues its descent into insanity, I've been dealing with my own personal hell. After a heart attack scare last Thursday, I've been on a roller coaster ride - and I HATE roller coasters. The heart scare, which turned out not to be a heart attack at all, was perhaps a blessing in disguise. The x-ray that was to see if my heart was swollen or enlarged instead showed a mass on my left lung. The pulmonologist wanted a PET-CT scan done, but United Healthcare had other ideas. [...]

By |July 18th, 2016|Tags: , , , , , , , , |Comments Off on 7-18-16 Nicole Sandler Show – Circus Maximus
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4-23-15 Nicole Sandler Show – Just Say Yes — and No!

Today, Nicole welcomes Howie Klein back to the show to talk about how 2016 is shaping up for Congressional races. Catherine Hiller, author of "Just Say Yes: A Marijuana Memoir" discusses her many decades of cannabis consumption. Plus, the latest on the TPP and more...

By |April 23rd, 2015|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |Comments Off on 4-23-15 Nicole Sandler Show – Just Say Yes — and No!
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