IN THIS EPISODE
How do our healthcare and health insurance systems respond to patients with rare diseases? What about diseases that are stereotypically considered a “woman’s disease?” Do all breast cancer patients – even men – receive the full range of care they need? Join guest Nilton Fonseca, husband and father of three, with three decades of domestic and international construction engineering experience, as he details his journey after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020. In this first of two podcasts, Fonseca and host Brenda Gazzar discuss the unexpected and unacceptable hassles he faced.
SHOW NOTES
WE DISCUSS
What was happening in your life when you were diagnosed?
“…when I look back…I was very busy with work back then, life was going at a hundred-plus miles an hour…it never really occurred to me to pay more attention to my body, to what my body was saying.” – Nilton Fonseca
What was the first problem you had with your health insurer?
“…they only approved one breast [for imaging]. What the imaging center later told me is that typically these are done on two breasts and I think by default, the insurance company only approved one side. So that was a challenge in itself. The mammogram took a bit longer than necessary because when you go through an HMO, everything has to be pre-approved and because this is out of the routine, it’s not a system-approved procedure.” – Nilton Fonseca
Did you experience any other hassles?
“…there is a genetic test, which is typically done. It’s called the Oncotype DX. Those typically are routinely approved, you know, so that the oncologist can then sort of plan out the chemotherapy drug cocktails that you end up taking. But in my case, it was rejected on the basis that there’s not enough data on men to justify this test being approved. So we appealed that and they rejected it.” – Nilton Fonseca
Helpful Links
Men With Breast Cancer Need More Treatment Options and Access to Genetic Counseling, U.S. Food & Drug Administration
The Blue in the Pink: Busting Myths About Male Breast Cancer
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Men With a “Woman’s Disease”: Stigmatization of Male Breast Cancer Patients—A Mixed Methods Analysis, American Journal of Men’s Health
How Does Breast Cancer Affect Black Men?, Very Well Health
Episode Transcript
Read the full episode transcript.
Guest Biography
Nilton Fonseca, a husband, and father of three, is a professional with over three decades of construction project experience domestically and internationally. He holds a degree in engineering and loves reading, traveling to new places and spending time with family and friends. He currently resides in the South Bay of the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
Get Involved / Take Action
Subscribe to HEAL California for health policy news with a California focus
Join Healthy California Now – a coalition working toward a California single-payer system. Individual and organizational membership available.
Join Health Care for All California to keep up with local actions to support California single-payer health care.
Join Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) to support the national campaign to improve and expand Medicare to all residents of the U.S.
Find more Code WACK! episodes on ProgressiveVoices.com, on the PV App and on NurseTalk Media. You can also subscribe to Code WACK! wherever you find your podcasts. This podcast is powered by HEAL California, uplifting the voices of those fighting for health care reform around the country. I’m Brenda Gazzar.
_________________________________________________________________________________
HEAL California is an independent news and information hub focused on the Medicare for All movement.
With non-partisan news, views, podcasts and videos, we highlight the on-going injustices of our broken healthcare system and amplify the voices of those who are most impacted by it.
Our Podcasts shine a light on the failures of America’s healthcare system, while explaining how Medicare for All could help.
Our Media page offers connections to experts and additional resources including links to legislation and studies.
Keep up with the Medicare for All movement!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Subscribe for email updates.