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Sis: ?A Petition to your reps?. I don?t know. If I need to go that way there are some local organizations that need to be contacted also, but I don?t know if that?s the route that should be taking, just yet.
Seatjerker: ?Did you receive prior notification?. YES. From the VA - Personal Hearings. ?You can request a personal hearing?? ?If we receive a request for a hearing within 30 days we will continue payments at the present rate until the hearing is held and we review the hearing testimony.? In a letter from the VA dated June 11, 02 they say, sorry for the delay we are still processing your application.
This is a one on one situation, however it?s odd that several others I know are also getting cut at the same time and in the same manor.
?Embarrass them?. Chemotherapy is in fact poison. Every time you do a chemo treatment it?s supposed to take 5 years off your life span. After each treatment my hand
(where the needle is for 4 or 5 hours), turns black, blue, yellow brown. I was thinking of a picture of my hand to go with the news paper article.
?Is it a paper snafu.? NO, The VA?s letter to me from back in March, in part says: ?Dr. R. S., dated Feb. 2002 indicates that the veteran has been through many cycles of chemotherapy. In 12/99 he received CHOP chemotherapy and Rytuxan, which resulted in a remission of his NHL. Veteran has residual disease, however, and his infectious complications are related to his altered immune system.?
They sort of forgot to say the remission did not begin until July of 2000. They also use the term ?residual disease? as though I had a cold. My doctor refers to residual effect of an incurable disease. But I guess those are just details.
Keith: (Start over re: the paperwork). I?m thinking about doing that. The DAV and VA keep telling me how busy they are. I?ve contacted the Military Order of the Purple Heart. They say they are not too busy for me. However, being an experiment; this time the doctors are pumping all the drugs into me once a week for 8 weeks, as opposed to the usual 5 to 7 months. By the time the MOPH gets going I may be finished with this round of treatments and be told I only have ?residuals? again.
Gimpy: Thanks, I would never have thought to tell the reporter that Kennedy, Kerry and others have been notified. This is an election year for all the Reps of course and Kerry wants to run for Prez in ?04. I wouldn?t mind being someone?s poster boy. Also contacted my Rep, John Olver who?s secretary said she?d contact the VA today and get back to me by Friday with answers.
I will also call the DAV and MOPH as well as politicians asking for names of people who have been through this. Don?t want to sound morbid but I wonder how many Agent Orange guys are dead? Wonder how many of them are too sick to fight?
Don?t know if contacting local TV is that good an idea. This area can be a little cold and not just the weather. If you don?t have tubes sticking out of you, most people don?t get sympathy. I look fairly healthy, it?s hard to see cancer cells.
Pho127: Thank you. I?ve never hear anything but good stuff about Max. (Except that he?s a democrat. Oops, sorry that was the old me.)
Lt.: You got it right, St. Chris, the Big Guy and J.C. What a team!
The address for the Daily Hampshire Gazette is PO: Box 277, Northampton, Ma. 01061.
Did an interview with them today, the reporter said this matter made no sense at all. (I agreed.)
The Springfield Union is PO: Box 2350 Springfield, Ma. 01102
I?ll contact the Union After the Gazette article runs, a sustained attack seems like a good idea.
Stay healthy, please,
Andy
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