At the end of May last year, I applied for some additional life insurance. The company sent its nurse to my home and she took whatever samples were required and left. Approximately one month later, I received a letter from the insurance company denying any coverage, due to "Lab Findings." Upon receiving the letter, I promptly called the company to find out what was the problem. They told me that they could not release the information to me, but they would forward it on to my doctor. A month passed by and there was no information sent out. I made another call each and every month until November and still did not know any more than I did back in June. Finally, the company was threatened with legal action and the information was released to me in mid December. My doctor never received any lab results or letter from the company. At least six months had passed since the tests were done, before they felt inclined to tell me why I had been refused insurance! Unfortunately, after receiving the test results and having to go through all of the testing again and considerably more the second time, I have been diagnosed with prostate cancer. I have surgery later this month to remove the prostate and do biopsies of the adjacent organs to make sure that the cancer has not spread anywhere else. Although me and my family are upset and scared about the future, this whole situation brings a lot of serious questions to mind. If a person willingly gives samples and partakes in testing of their body, do they not have the right to receive the results of those tests and samples? Also, does the insurance company or the testing company not have a legal and moral obligation to inform the person tested that there is a potential problem that should be addressed before too much time passes? I understand business and understand that to the people processing the tests and the application, it's just another test and application out of thousands that they see everyday. But when does the human element kick in? Someone has to understand that behind every number on every test result and application, there is a person. And that person could possibly die as a result of their non-action or not giving a damn. What ever happened to people caring about other people? You read about people passing by someone getting beat up, without even slowing down; people passing by an accident on the highway without even stopping to make sure that everyone involved is OK; people watching someone being sick or passing out without even calling for help. When did this all change? Is it because we're too busy to take the time for someone we don't know? Are we afraid to get involved? Are we so wrapped up with our own little lives that we don't care about anyone outside of our own circle? If any of these answers are true, what a shame! The people we meet, the people we care about, the people we help and the people that help us, all contribute and complete each of our lives. How lonely and unfriendly will our societies become if we ignore and refuse to acknowledge the people around us? In my situation, I wish someone had cared about the person behind my application and then I wouldn't have lost 6 to 8 months of time getting treatment. Hopefully, at least one person who has the responsibility of processing health-related applications will read this and next time will think about the consequences of not passing the results to the person immediately!
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