Nancy Braus, a retired independent bookseller, is a longtime activist. Her surgery took place on May 4, and she reports that her care at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital “was wonderful.”
GUILFORD-I have now very reluctantly and angrily joined the club of women (and a few men) with treatable breast cancer.
It’s treatable. But it’s terrifying.
I am fortunate that my local hospital has moved very quickly from ultrasound to surgery, as I very much look forward to the unwelcome intruder leaving my body, although I know the process will be pretty unpleasant.
There is still much to learn, but my diagnosis seems to be about the same as 51% of others. My lesion is very small, caught early, and will be surgically removed. So of course, I feel nervous, as most people would. I’m also worried, as I am culturally Jewish to my core. (If there are Jews who don’t worry, I haven’t met one.)
Although I am at the early stage of this process, the experience has already prompted many thoughts.
* * *
First, I am angry. Why? While I ate a lot of junk growing up, I have been a healthy eater for years. I’ve done all the right stuff: I’ve not smoked, I’ve not taken recreational drugs, I’ve exercised — pretty much all the lifestyle advice.
But even if we can be careful about our food, nothing shields us from the ravages of the industrial capitalism, where few if any regulations exist about what enters our air and water. This is a time to be working for change, and I have to focus on getting well.
Second, I am fortunate to have my initial treatment at my local hospital, knowing that it is in danger from so many people losing their health insurance subsidies and from other major deficiencies in the crappy U.S. system of healthcare funding.
What should be a stable institution — one focusing only on helping local people get and stay healthy — is constantly needing to tighten the belt, causing hours-long waits in the emergency department and far more stress on hardworking medical professionals.
Third, I am grateful beyond measure that I am enrolled in Medicare and have a backup insurance plan, even knowing full well that there will be unexpected bills.
Who knows what kind of stupidity will ensue related to our complex and ridiculous system of for-profit insurance companies cleaning up with every illness and injury?
* * *
A recent New York Times story described the millions of people who are dropping their previously subsidized and almost-affordable health insurance, thanks to the Republicans whose only interest is in subsidizing billionaires.
“When Joyce Rena Bumbray-Graves, a 63-year-old home care worker from Woodbridge, Va., saw premiums for her husband and herself more than double, from $544 a month to over $1,300, she had to give up her insurance,” the Times reported.
Sorry, but no income tax on tips and lies about affordable gas and groceries will not pay the monthly health premiums that have risen to epic numbers.
The stories are heartbreaking, and the people who are being charged the most, and have the most to lose, are people who are 60 or older, who have one to five years before they can receive Medicare — if the Trump cartel has not used all the funds to build the Arch de Trash, to fund the disaster in the Middle East, and to fully steal everything that is not nailed down.
When I am getting quality care, I think about these people — and the choices they would have to make.
I am getting this poisonous lump out of my body as soon as it was able to be scheduled. I can’t imagine having to choose whether to get this thing out or whether to pay the rent.
This country is not No. 1 in much these days, but we do top the charts in medical bankruptcies. Forbes magazine told us on April 5 that the U.S. has more than double the rate of medical debt of any other developed nation. And this statistic was true before the Republicans wiped out the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) subsidies with no replacement.
According to the Times, many who are not dropping coverage altogether are enrolling in garbage plans with high deductibles, so medical debt will only pile on.
The stupidity of Donald Trump is on display yet again, claiming that his sorry TrumpRx plan will do anything to fix the system. Note: Don Jr. will benefit from every transaction by being a partner in a company, BlinkRx, that “helps” drug companies set up direct-to-consumer sales. The grift is endless.
And TrumpRx does nothing for most users. It sells only name brands, which are far more expensive in almost every case than generics, sometimes 10 times as much. (And a little tip, fellas: pharma is not healthcare!)
* * *
Ten states are stepping up to try to fill the gap. Surprise! All are Democratic-leaning states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Vermont, and Washington, as of February. New Mexico is fully filling the gap.
But, of course, this will be yet another hardship for state taxpayers, while Washington, D.C., accrues debt with the very expensive Trump Gestapo, concentration camps, stupid building projects, and — of course — the even-stupider war on Iran.
We know where the money is, and it is not in a state like Vermont, where one billionaire lives (as of early 2026).
The super rich need to pay their fair share. That is the first, second, and third reason to demand that every candidate running for Congress pledges to tax the wealthy — and to field primary contests against those who support the current tax structure.
Universal healthcare is a basic foundation for a functional society — and we had better get together to make this demand, or we will continue to fall fast and hard.
This Voices Viewpoint was submitted to The Commons.
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