Drew Wohl

I owe replies on my last post. All the comments mean a lot to me. That being said, a bit of an update. The new rehabilitation facility is good. One of the docs here specializes in pain and PT/OT. His first visit was over an hour. He did a complete physical on me. My right is a spot of incredible pain. I have tumors in my hip, back, and spine. He began checking my right hip. He started pressing. No reaction. He pressed another spot and said “This hurts here, right? “ I yelped “Yes”. He kept checking and knew which press would hurt or not. He told me he had a pretty good idea the pain was from the bursa and related damage, and not the cancer itself. Between falls and other things it was a possibility. He recommended a cortisone shot. So this Friday I got the cortisone shot. My pain is basically gone. My brother said the difference in my pain before and after the shot is obvious. Anyway, I have been doing my best with PT/OT. In order for me to get back on cancer treatmen...

   There was never a solid date of when I knew I had cancer.  There was the warning signs in December, 2014.  The colonoscopy in January, 2015 where it was clear before the biopsy results were returned.  Then there was January 28, 2015 when the results were returned.  So I guess that is one official day. The second confirmation was February 10, 2015 when I had my first major surgery.  Was scary to say the least.  I had to stop myself from running out of the door, in the gowns they give you, and out into the street in the cold.  Figured if worse came to worse, the police would pick me up and bring me in for a psych evaluation 😉 I figured I would celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the first surgery with a special trip to the proton therapy center.   My back had began hurting in December.  So did my chest.  Turns out two big tumors popped up since the beginning of November.  The pain fluctuated a bit over the time leading ...

  I am a day late for #WorldCancerDay But since I just got further details about what is on deck for me, this is the up-to date information (and I need to backfill from October at some point 😀) Just got done with the telehealth with the proton center. They are calling a prescription in for steroids now. On the new tumors - these two grew real fast from nothing and he wants me in ASAP. (He went back to look at the August 2024 scan and confirmed neither one was on that scan.). I had two of these blooms before. Once in 2017 or 2018, and the other was when the back and lungs went nutzso before the back surgery/drug trial. The quick overview of what is coming - 5 days of treatment and both tumors will be treated at the same time. Now a bit more details. Next week for the CT visit/measurements, then about another week to plan it. The rib is touching my heart, so the treatment will to make sure it does not go through the tumor into my heart. (Erring on the side of falling short of...

 I have been dealing with cancer for 10 years.  I am perfectly aware of my condition.  In fact I have been putting together things for the last couple of weeks for some things I need to file, and have been down memory lane. The surgeries, the biopsies, the pain, the various drug combinations and the damage caused to my body.   But during this time I have been doing a ton of things.  Triathlon. Photography. Even saved a life as a member of the South Orangetown Ambulance Corps. Most of my cancer is now controlled in my on-going game of whack-a-mole.   But a few tumors need the special attention due to their location.   Obviously this will not cure my of my cancer.  That ship sailed a long time ago.   It has been palliative treatment for years.   The proton therapy will check these tumors, prevent damage to the surrounding organs, will have less side effects (I have had effects from standard radiation, which is why I had my walking ability ...

    Back in 2000 I was close to getting my black belt in karate.  One of the requirements was being able to do a  a sub 10 minute mile.  That was something I knew I could never do.  I never was a good runner.   I did not finish my training due to other circumstances. Fast forward ahead to October 13, 2017.  I opened up a CT scan report which showed the cancer had spread and was basically incurable.  Happy birthday. So when one last scan happened in December, 2017 showing no mistake I started triathlon training. By August, 2018 it was clear I would have to get radiation then go back on chemo due to the tumors in my lungs an spine.   Did a half-marathon, followed by a 70.3 then had radiation.  I was really happy when they did those treatments.  The pain in my spine was pretty bad.  This was the beginning of October.  The pain started to subside and on October 13, 2018, one year after my cancer was pretty clear...

 Finally received the letter from the insurance company as to why my claim was denied.  I am not sure if their opinion changed after a peer-to-peer review.  But I think it may not.  Regardless of that outcome, the fact that this is happening is just ..ummm… messed up.   I am fortunate that I am being treated at Memorial Sloan Kettering, which is one of the leading cancer hospitals in the U.S. My radiation oncologist has been treating me for 6 years.  He does not administer proton therapy. He said it is the best thing for me due to the location of the tumors and the potential damage which would be caused by other forms of radiation treatment. Here is an excerpt from https://www.gmlawyers.com/proton-beam-therapy-insurance-denial/  "Proton beam therapy has become increasingly popular as a form of cancer treatment, but because it costs more than standard radiation, insurance companies routinely refuse to cover it. Often, insurance companies have policies i...