Things to know before going through a major operation

In the last 30 days or so I have a) gone to 6 hospitals (New Era General Hospital, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, FEU-NRMF, Medical City, Philippine Heart Center and St. Luke's Hospital); b) seen seven (7) doctors either for consultations or clearance; and c) wasted almost 24 hours waiting for doctors to see me, yet spending an average of 15 minutes for each visit/consultation. This is not to include the hours alloted for all my laboratory tests and the actual amount I had to spend to get all these accomplished. Thankfully, I have medical insurance from the office, but in the end, these preliminary expenses have eaten into my allotment when I will finally go through my surgery scheduled for Tuesday. By then, I estimate I will have less than one hundred thousand pesos to cover even bigger expenses. I don't know if I am to believe my primary doctor that this will be sufficient to cover the hospitalization.

It is no joke to be sick, and in my case, contract a dreaded disease such as cancer. The hysterectomy will determine at what stage the cancer is at, and I am praying that it will either be Stage I-A or I-B so I don't have to undergo further treatment. It goes without saying I am anxious about all this -- not only the procedure itself and the eventual outcome, but the money that must be coughed up for everything.

Through all this initial/preparatory journey, I've picked up quite a few things that could be helpful in the future:

1. The insurance company (at least ours) will not pick up the tab even if the procedure or confinement is at an accredited hospital if the attending physician is not accredited with them. (this really sucks...)
2. The average professional fee charged by gynecologist-oncologists for the kind of procedure I require is between 60 to 80 thousand pesos.
3. Doctors base their fees on the kind of room a patient will occupy for the duration of the confinement. So if you want to save on costs, but suffer inconvenience, enter using a private room, then transfer to a ward before checking out.
4. That a boutique hospital like Medical City that charges an arm and a leg for their services is not necessarily the best.
5. That there are many women afflicted with cancer of some part of the reproductive system and the survival rate when detected at its early stages is quite high.
6. That Medical Arts Buildings, where doctor's clinics are housed, are not created equal. They range from the most swanky to the almost hole-in-the-wall types, but in the end, it is still the competence and integrity of the attending physician that spells the difference.
7. That OB-Gynes and Gyne-Oncos are basically friendly, jovial and do take the time to explain the procedure and what to expect before, during and after the operation.
8. That doctors, especially OB-Gynes/oncos and cardios) are notorious for being late because they can always be called for emergencies and they usually do hospital rounds before coming to the clinic... and that 9 a.m. usually means 11 or 12 noon.

I'm not quite sure what all these discoveries and realizations will amount to, but if it should enlighten someone who will be in a similar situation as mine, then it would have served its purpose.