I haven't made time to post here lately, but I just became acquainted with your story, and wanted to share one of mine with you. My father-in-law was diagnosed with CUP (carcinoma, unknown primary) about 18 months ago. The first few doctors and oncologists gave him just a few months to live, basically saying that, when you can't find the "primary" (e.g. the source) of the cancer, it's untreatable. His wife started doing research and found a group in Nashville doing research on this type of cancer. He got accepted into the study (he was only accepted because he had not yet undergone ANY chemo, due to the fact that he wasn't having any symptoms, and that he didn't want to feel like crap in what looked liked the final weeks of his life), and just found out that he is FARKIN' CANCER FREE, as of last week.
A year ago, before his wife had done the research, he told me that his only hope was "divine intervention." I call bull on that. His 'saving grace' was a wife who refused to accept the gospel according to the medical community.
The take-away: Respect your doctors, but do your own research. Refuse to accept bad news as the final word. Be prepared to mortgage your life. You can fight, and win, against your insurance company. Never underestimate the power of Google.
