Medical Costs for Rich Kostner
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Help with Medical Costs: Rich Kostner (son, brother, husband, father of four, Veteran, and an amazing guy!) was diagnosed at age 43 with colorectal cancer. He endured chemo, radiation, and surgery to remove the tumor in 2014. Now, just a year and a half later, the cancer is back.
Rich had to have another surgery in February 2016 that took out everything below his colon...including the new tumor. He was in the hospital for 10 days and will have to follow it with 6 months of more chemo. As I write this, Rich is back in the hospital for a possible post-surgery infection so it hasn’t been smooth sailing. He will fight this. He will win. If you know him, then you know how stubborn and strong he can be!
If he can make it through this surgery and all the complications and the chemo, the doctors say that he should be able to fight the cancer and survive to a long life. It hasn’t been easy. He’s tired. He’s in pain. But he has a great attitude, a wonderful sense of humor, and a great spirit. Most of all, Rich needs your prayers and hope and *laughter*, but if you are willing and able, then he could use some help with the medical costs, too.
Here’s the long story:
In June 2014, after some not-so-pleasant symptoms, Rich went for a colonoscopy and the doctor found a tumor. It was malignant and he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. We caught it early at Stage II. Rich endured chemo and radiation followed by a surgery to remove the tumor in October of 2014 that left him with an ileostomy. He got an infection. He endured that and the infection finally cleared up after about a month, but left a hole in his colon that would take months to a year to heal. Then from January to April of 2015 he tolerated more chemo. He did it like a champ!
A year later, Rich went to the surgeon in Melbourne to have the hole in his colon assessed and possibly have a surgery to reverse the ileostomy. After several scopes and pokes and switching from one surgeon to the next, he had another colonoscopy in January of 2016.
They found another tumor. Malignant neoplasm: *Cancer*.
Another major surgery. 6 months of chemo to follow-up. All manner of complications and now a possible infection.
We were not expecting a recurrence...especially so soon. We thought the cancer was gone. Now it seems we have to start all over again. But we WILL do it. He will survive.
Rich had a great surgeon in Orlando and is seeing an oncologist, urologist, etc... and getting the best care he can. As you can imagine, this is all very expensive. Not only do we have to meet our insurance deductibles and co-pays, but Rich can’t work during this time and may not be able to when he starts (or during some part) of his chemo, not to mention the myriad of other small things that all add up (and it's adding up quickly!).
It’s hard to ask for help, but sometimes you have to put aside your pride. There’s so much to think about; so much to focus on; so much that runs through your head. It can be overwhelming. This is one reason why cancer sucks. At a time when you should be focusing on fighting the disease and healing with the best possible care and other important things like family, you’re overwhelmed with medical bills and insurance red-tape.
Having the help with the costs gives such an enormous peace of mind! Everytime Rich has a scan or a medication, he feels guilty for the cost. Every time he has another appointment in Orlando and we pay the highway tolls, he cringes. I wish I could take that stress away from him. I tell him to focus on getting better and not worry about the costs, that his health is more important than any amount of money, but we all know that's easier said than done. It's such a part of who he is to take care of others so it's very difficult to just ignore the burden of every penny spent. But he needs to. He needs to remove as much stress as possible and focus all his energy on fighting and healing!
As his wife, I just want him to win this fight and live a long and happy life. His kids want him to see them graduate high school and college, be at their wedding someday, maybe see him bounce a grandbaby or two in the air. We are cheering for Rich with everything we have and hoping that you will join us in supporting him in his fight. Thank you for any support you can give!
Rich had to have another surgery in February 2016 that took out everything below his colon...including the new tumor. He was in the hospital for 10 days and will have to follow it with 6 months of more chemo. As I write this, Rich is back in the hospital for a possible post-surgery infection so it hasn’t been smooth sailing. He will fight this. He will win. If you know him, then you know how stubborn and strong he can be!
If he can make it through this surgery and all the complications and the chemo, the doctors say that he should be able to fight the cancer and survive to a long life. It hasn’t been easy. He’s tired. He’s in pain. But he has a great attitude, a wonderful sense of humor, and a great spirit. Most of all, Rich needs your prayers and hope and *laughter*, but if you are willing and able, then he could use some help with the medical costs, too.
Here’s the long story:
In June 2014, after some not-so-pleasant symptoms, Rich went for a colonoscopy and the doctor found a tumor. It was malignant and he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. We caught it early at Stage II. Rich endured chemo and radiation followed by a surgery to remove the tumor in October of 2014 that left him with an ileostomy. He got an infection. He endured that and the infection finally cleared up after about a month, but left a hole in his colon that would take months to a year to heal. Then from January to April of 2015 he tolerated more chemo. He did it like a champ!
A year later, Rich went to the surgeon in Melbourne to have the hole in his colon assessed and possibly have a surgery to reverse the ileostomy. After several scopes and pokes and switching from one surgeon to the next, he had another colonoscopy in January of 2016.
They found another tumor. Malignant neoplasm: *Cancer*.
Another major surgery. 6 months of chemo to follow-up. All manner of complications and now a possible infection.
We were not expecting a recurrence...especially so soon. We thought the cancer was gone. Now it seems we have to start all over again. But we WILL do it. He will survive.
Rich had a great surgeon in Orlando and is seeing an oncologist, urologist, etc... and getting the best care he can. As you can imagine, this is all very expensive. Not only do we have to meet our insurance deductibles and co-pays, but Rich can’t work during this time and may not be able to when he starts (or during some part) of his chemo, not to mention the myriad of other small things that all add up (and it's adding up quickly!).
It’s hard to ask for help, but sometimes you have to put aside your pride. There’s so much to think about; so much to focus on; so much that runs through your head. It can be overwhelming. This is one reason why cancer sucks. At a time when you should be focusing on fighting the disease and healing with the best possible care and other important things like family, you’re overwhelmed with medical bills and insurance red-tape.
Having the help with the costs gives such an enormous peace of mind! Everytime Rich has a scan or a medication, he feels guilty for the cost. Every time he has another appointment in Orlando and we pay the highway tolls, he cringes. I wish I could take that stress away from him. I tell him to focus on getting better and not worry about the costs, that his health is more important than any amount of money, but we all know that's easier said than done. It's such a part of who he is to take care of others so it's very difficult to just ignore the burden of every penny spent. But he needs to. He needs to remove as much stress as possible and focus all his energy on fighting and healing!
As his wife, I just want him to win this fight and live a long and happy life. His kids want him to see them graduate high school and college, be at their wedding someday, maybe see him bounce a grandbaby or two in the air. We are cheering for Rich with everything we have and hoping that you will join us in supporting him in his fight. Thank you for any support you can give!
Organizer
Katrina Kostner
Organizer
Palm Bay, FL
