Musings by OZ

Shortly after arriving in Warsaw I visited a local doctor and was told that he is 80 to 90% convinced that my cancer has returned and I am no longer in remission. At his suggestion I headed to a private Hospital, translated to Szpital in Polish, where I proceeded to make arrangements to see a specialist and schedule surgery.

The first thing that I noticed when we arrived at the Szpital was that they  have a special American Office where they help folks like myself navigate everything, among the things they help with is setting  up appointments as well as translating everything including test results.

The second thing that I noticed that some of you may consider to be silly but I consider to be  pretty cool is that in most of the waiting rooms in the hospital they had a nice large basket of fresh apples, I have never seen such a thing in a US hospital, you can get an apple in a hospital but you have to pay for it, at this particular Szpital in Warsaw they are offered for free. I found it to be a simple yet very thoughtful healthy and welcoming offering to hospital guests. And yes people were eating the apples!

While sitting in the waiting room at the American Clinic we were offered complimentary beverages, I had a wonderful cappuccino and Ginny a cup of tea, best cappuccino I have ever had in a hospital! I don’t know of any hospitals in the US that offer tea or coffee while you wait for a doctor.

Over the last couple of weeks I have visited this Szpital for a number of appointments, I received an Ultrasound, Blood work a CT scan and finally a couple of days ago I had surgery to remove a swollen lymph node under my arm so they can biopsy it and hopefully offer me a diagnosis.

The difference between hospitals in the US and the one I visited in Warsaw is amazing. Even with health insurance in the US it is sometimes difficult to get an appointment especially with a specialist, it sometimes takes weeks or longer to get an appointment with a doctor.  Even with insurance the co-payments can add up to thousands of dollars for a serious medical issue. The doctors at the hospital that I went to In Los Angeles California saved my life, seriously, and I love them for it especially the nurses, they were all amazing. Having said this I will also say that the health system in the US is totally unorganized, its a mess, I had some major issues with the lack of organization at my hospital in CA, it felt like the left hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing. I actually had my insurance cancelled a week before I was to receive radiation treatment for the thyroid cancer. After everything I had gone through the previous year this was one of the most stressful times for me, for us. I have never missed a payment and at no fault of my own I received a letter stating that my insurance had been canceled a week before I was to receive a major radiation treatment, this freaked both Ginny and I the fuck out. After a week on the phone and multiple visits to the hospital I finally got it worked out the day that my treatment started.

On that day I was to report to the ER for a pre-radiation injection, they couldn’t find the shot. They searched for it for 8 hours and almost cancelled my treatment. The whole time they were searching the hospital the shot was 3 feet away from me sitting in a refrigerator, I could have reached out and grabbed it but it took the hospital more than 8 hours to find the damn thing.  Anyway, I digress, that is a story in and unto itself, a story for a later date or perhaps not.

Now where was I, when someone has a potentially deadly disease they have enough going on in their life that the last thing they need to worry about is the logistics of the health care system, a patient should be able to trust the professionals that carry their life in their hands. Whether it be the folks behind the desks dealing with paperwork or nurses or surgeons I expect them all to do their jobs properly and not fuck stuff up, seriously. Being a cancer patient and constantly looking over your shoulder for the grim reaper to appear is stressful enough, now consider being in another country where you don’t speak the language and you suddenly find that you require a Szpital , yep you guessed it, not a fun situation.

From the first visit to Medicover Szpital it was obvious that I was no longer dealing with the US health care system. Aside from the fresh free apples, from the reception desk to the surgery room everything was so organized and simple with very little waiting. The system that they have in place makes so much sense, I required a cancer doctor so they sent me to a cancer doctor, back home I would have had to see a family doctor who would then refer me to a specialist, weeks or months later I just might get in to see a specialist. I Showed up at the hospital unannounced and within a couple of hours I had a visit with a specialist as well as receiving an ultrasound and blood work.Following this I visited the American Office where they set up multiple appointments for the next week as well as translating everything that I needed to know into English.

Within just over a week of my first visit I had an appointment to have a very important surgery, the steps to have surgery were so simple. First I visited the Ultra sound specialist, not just a technician but an actual doctor that can explain exactly what he is seeing, can actually share his opinion as to what he thinks is wrong, we actually received a small ray of hope from this guy, he told us that the shape of the nodes in question were not consistent with the re-emergence of lymphoma, that it is still possible that I may have some kind of viral episode that needs to be addressed and that we should remain hopeful that my cancer has not in fact returned.

My next appointment was with the surgeon that was to operate on me and have a conversation, a very un rushed conversation I might add, he answered all of our questions concerning the surgery and even answered questions that we didn’t think to ask leaving me with absolutely no questions or concerns about the upcoming procedure. Next I visited my anesthesiologist to discuss the general anesthesia that was required for this procedure. After visiting the anesthesiologist I had a quick visit to the phlebotomist for blood work. Before each of these visits I had to pay in advance an exact amount of money, in the US I would receive a 3 page bill for an ultra sound which was undecipherable. In Poland I received a bill that said Ultra Sound 180 PLN which is the equivalent of $53, simple, to the point and comparatively inexpensive. The initial visit to see a specialist cost me about $53, in the US this is the cost of a co-payment but here in Poland this is all it cost even without any insurance.

After these visits I then met with the business coordinator, this is where you actually schedule and pay for the up coming surgery, everything regarding costs was explained precisely. I could choose a private room or a double room, a price is given for a 6 hour stay, a 12 hour stay and a 24 hour stay. Any unanswered questions or concerns were answered. At each of these appointments I felt as if I was having a conversation with a concerned friend who happened to be a medical professional. Each and every meeting was un rushed and if my wife or I didn’t ask the right questions they were asked and answered for us, considering the circumstances it was almost a pleasant experience.

A huge part of the potential issue for me with visiting a Szpital in Poland is that I do not have any kind of health insurance, I still pay a lot of money each month for insurance in the US because I can’t afford to have it lapse now that I have pre existing conditions, with the way the health care system is in the US these days and being a cancer patient if I lose my insurance one would assume that I would indeed be totally screwed.

My initial thought about going to a Szpital in Warsaw was that I would be better off in the US and it would be too expensive to have the tests done here in Warsaw or maybe the quality of care would not be as good or there would be a lack of knowledge in the field of cancer. I was happy to learn that I was wrong in my preconceptions of the medical system in Poland.

My private hospital room in Warsaw

Ginny attempting to relax at the foot of my bed.

Post surgery

Pre Surgery

The surgery was a success, they removed one of the nodes in question and I should receive the results in a couple of weeks. For the surgery including the anesthesiologist and a private room for less than 12 hours I paid a total of 2900 PLN or $854. As we were checking out of the hospital I was informed that I actually had a refund coming to me because I payed for a 24 hour stay and stayed less than 12 and that I would be refunded  the difference. After the refund the total amount that I paid for my surgery was $700! WTF, I mean really WTF!

How is it even possible that I would receive such amazing care, stay in a hospital room that looked like a 4 star hotel, receive a pretty decent meal and even a nice soft bath robe and slippers to wear while I was there and only pay $700!

I don’t know the results of the biopsy but I do know that my first experience in a Szpital in Poland superb!

My private hospital room in Warsaw