Met with the oncologist this afternoon. He's hitting the ground running, scheduling a brain MRI, thyroid ultrasound, kidney ultrasound, a visit to a dermatologist and confirming my upcoming colonoscopy. All stuff my ailment can cause trouble with. I knew it was coming, but still a gut punch.

Oh, and the oncologist wants me to take a brand new (within the past two years) blood test that can finds signs of the cancers I'm more vulnerable to with 88% accuracy. The issue: the American healthcare system. The test has a $949 price tag and insurance won't touch it. Making a patient's life easier? The horror!

The oncologist did say he would advocate for me in getting the test and securing funding if need be. It's definitely appreciated, but there's a lot to mull over. A thousand dollars isn't chump change, especially in my part of America. Also, a 12% margin of error is not insignificant. Spending a grand is one thing. Spending it on a test that has a 10% chance of error makes one take stock.

I see the usefulness of the test, especially given my situation. I just need a financial buy-in to be able to realistically access it.

The next few months are going to be fun.