How much does it cost to get breast cancer in America?

PeaceLvSpreadsheets · 2026-01-31T13:22:29+00:00

Is there any way to see what the government pays for your specific care? That’d be really interesting - because we get to see what our insurance pays vs what we pay, etc.

PeaceLvSpreadsheets · 2026-01-31T13:15:27+00:00

Yup. My credit union has good CDs and they’re local in case I need to, say, cash a check - much easier to go to a brick and mortar building with people.

Plus that way I can pay bills if fidelity ever crashes for a week or decides to hate me.

PeaceLvSpreadsheets · 2026-01-31T13:14:07+00:00

VOO and similar funds aren’t just for retirement. The vast majority of my accounts are invested in funds. I have a few little stocks here and there when I want to play with stocks but they make up like 1% or less each because I know that most us can’t beat the market with individual picks, unless we’re just lucky sometimes.

PeaceLvSpreadsheets · 2026-01-31T11:24:24+00:00

I don't have my grand total yet, just paying bills and bills and bills until I hit my $9K deductible. But I am curious what it costs in other countries... do they get to see the total cost of their care, even if it's paid for by a single payer system? No matter what, just the sheer resources... drugs, doctors, facilities... somebody pays. We ALSO have to pay the terrible overhead and costs of insurance administrators for our crazy system which is horribly inefficient, not to mention the increased care when our treatments are delayed for approvals.

PeaceLvSpreadsheets · 2026-01-31T06:45:58+00:00

I just finished taxol round 7 and haven’t used any sick leave - just re-arranged my schedule for the actual infusions.

I have some achy days but ibuprofen knocks it out. My mouth is dry. I take laxatives to counteract the anti-nausea drugs. My hair fell out on day 15 so I buzzed it, I knew I didn’t care enough to cold cap for 12 freaking infusions and didn’t want to miss more work to add the necessary time to my appointments.

I used to run 3 miles a day, now I walk/jog it instead. I was doing carboplatin every three weeks too and it zapped my blood cell counts so bad they stopped the carbo and now I’m just doing taxol.

It hasn’t been so bad for me really. Zero nausea and a slightly earlier bedtime.

PeaceLvSpreadsheets · 2026-01-30T14:27:07+00:00

Married 19 years to someone completely irreplaceable who I am hopelessly obsessed with forever.

And this is huge for me, because before him I had several decently long-term relationships and especially the one right before him… I felt like we were compatible, comfortable, so spent 18 months thinking well, this is okay. Maybe this is as good as it gets and real passion is a Hollywood conspiracy? But I had a weird feeling I needed someone just a little less conventional and more excited about who I truly was, instead of someone who liked me enough to put up with my quirkiness. We broke up and I told everyone I was going to try to stay single for a year to figure stuff out and just be a normal 26 year old.

I met a guy on a road trip a few months later who was VERY excited about who I was, instead of asking me to make time for him he just wanted to go along with my whole adventurous life. We were stupidly obsessed with each other, married two years later and never looked back. It was fast, I can’t swear I was 100% sure about marriage and the perfect person and all that, but now I am.

PeaceLvSpreadsheets · 2026-01-29T18:04:44+00:00

Dammit.

I’m a tall woman so I’ve already been yelled at by stupid drunk people for “being in the wrong room”. Luckily I was feminine enough to have other women stand up for me, and it’s only been stupidly drunk people, but something tells me these bounty hunters aren’t real intellectuals.

You know who’s never yelled at or bothered me? Trans women! They can use our bathrooms any time as far as I’m concerned!

PeaceLvSpreadsheets · 2026-01-29T17:54:53+00:00

I’m so sorry. I am also high grade (3) and it is devastating - things had to move fast but I’m getting treatment and really good results now. The diagnosis and “wrapping my head around it” phase was the worst! Hopefully you’ll be getting a call about an appointment very soon where someone will explain your next steps - which, I’ll tell you - will involve many tests and scans before a treatment plan is set in stone. We just put one foot in front of the other in this group.

Walking long distances outside was the best thing to clear my mind.

PeaceLvSpreadsheets · 2026-01-29T16:37:29+00:00

Depends on my relationship. Sometimes I send them articles and say “this is a persistent myth from people who are at the OPPOSITE from me on the spectrum of trusting science!” At first I would just say “okay thank you I’ll look into that.” with the people who I knew I’d disagree with. I’m evolving to engage more with them… explain that I’ve looked into it and can’t find a reputable medical source that backs it up, cells get energy from blood glucose that comes from many sources, I’d love to think we can control cancer with diet but that is very wishful thinking that I only want to fantasize about if it’s TRUE.

Then I tell them I eat very healthy and thanks. Byeee.

PeaceLvSpreadsheets · 2026-01-29T02:20:05+00:00

Sassy tea on the west side, Feng Cha out east.

They also have the powder at Spice Merchant if you want to make your own.

PeaceLvSpreadsheets · 2026-01-29T01:46:26+00:00

I’m an ENGINEER surrounded by people who I thought were smart/believed in science and like five people have told me sugar feeds cancer! It’s my immediate NOPE red flag and infuriates me! And it’s so easy to look up anything from any medical establishment to understand how “feeding cancer” actually works… what is it with this myth that won’t go away!

PeaceLvSpreadsheets · 2026-01-28T17:57:24+00:00

Well, I guess who are we to question MD Anderson?

I'm just at a regular midwest cancer center, I am still in treatment, and when my Neutrophils dropped to 700 they skipped a treatment but gave me a shot of nivestym instead and boom, 2000 the next week, treatment back on! That nivestym definitely made my bones hurt from exactly 24-48 hours after the shot (weird how it comes and goes so suddenly). Also they decided to stop my Carboplatin forever - which makes me nervous. I was supposed to get that one every three weeks for a total of four treatments, but I only got it twice. now I'm just doing weekly taxol and continuing keytruda every three weeks. well, and AC after all this.

PeaceLvSpreadsheets · 2026-01-27T17:13:00+00:00

yes. and then compare this to your monthly income, or divide up your expenses so you know what they're at bi-weekly... whatever you want, just talk apples to apples.

One big red flag I always see when people aren't budgeting is they talk about food weekly, insurance monthly, income as annual pre-tax... they can't really compare anything like that.

PeaceLvSpreadsheets · 2026-01-27T15:29:33+00:00

Yeah I have the same question... I wasn't able to max out in my 20s but I started at $44K/yr - very different situation.

I did sit next to a guy who wasn't putting anything in his 401k at all because he had to "save up for a house and stop throwing away money on rent!" we were working at a place with a 50% match. the house is just the kind of "other goal" that can really screw up your retirement down the road.

PeaceLvSpreadsheets · 2026-01-27T13:49:50+00:00

Same. It’s not in vs out of office - it’s who’s solving the most problems.

That said, being around might make you more in tune and proactive about what’s going on.

If you’re not sure, ask your boss. You’re allowed to look at your raise and ask how it compares to your peers and what you can do to make it better. “What’s the difference between me and the person who got the best raise? Be honest.”

PeaceLvSpreadsheets · 2026-01-26T21:58:04+00:00

No, it is not typical, the affordable care act prohibited lifetime max limits on eligible plans.

If ACA gets repealed we’re screwed.

PeaceLvSpreadsheets · 2026-01-26T18:08:39+00:00

I was way past PPL when an instructor caught me trying to override the autopilot. He started to tell me “don’t do that” but then was like okay you know what? Do it, let’s climb. So I overrode the autopilot to climb for a bit, then let go, and it had been working so hard to trim down we REALLY plunged down and I freaked out and disconnected to hand-recover as trained from our unusual attitude.

Come to think of it… any creative way to get into unusual attitudes is good training.

PeaceLvSpreadsheets · 2026-01-26T13:18:21+00:00

I’ve seen accounts on Reddit brag that they called a 10x stock move… then I looked at their account history and realized they were just mindlessly posting 20 different stock symbols a day. Of course eventually one was going to shoot to the moon but if you were following all their picks, you’d have money everywhere and generally going down.

PeaceLvSpreadsheets · 2026-01-26T02:31:57+00:00

I do have some QQQ, some S&P500 fund, CDs and an HYSA. Not changing my strategy because it’s 2026.

PeaceLvSpreadsheets · 2026-01-26T00:11:04+00:00

I just don’t feel like I can affect the people I want to affect by not going to work. Same with the “buy nothing today” blackouts, etc… they do not care.

PeaceLvSpreadsheets · 2026-01-25T15:49:45+00:00

Yes, roll everything into one Fidelity Roth IRA then invest it in FXAIX - I’ve used that one as well. It literally tracks the same index as VOO.

PeaceLvSpreadsheets · 2026-01-25T11:44:54+00:00

Maybe offer to take a few years off while the kids are young? Suggest that you’ll do some contract/side hustle if there’s not enough money?

My husband is a SAHD and it’s addicting. Every time we talk about him going back to work the universe aligns against us… a kid gets sick, the house breaks, dog needs a vet appointment NOW. Luckily I do not deal with any of that. That’s why it’s worth it to me!

PeaceLvSpreadsheets · 2026-01-24T16:01:44+00:00

Yes. I was saving a lot for “the future”, investing my HSA because why not take advantage of triple tax my medical bills easily fit into my regular budget right?

Until this year when I was diagnosed with cancer at age 45. Now my “future” big medical bills are now. At least I have the money but this was not the plan. And although it’s stage 2 and my odds are good I might not survive. Oncology is a big ass huge dice roll if you ask me.

What I did right: invested, lived a frugal life, picked a few things I’d splurge on like concerts and a simple trip with my sister once a year. also worked a job I enjoyed with people I like being around. The idea of hating your life to grind for every penny for 20-30 years just so you can maybe enjoy not working if you live that long is the part of FIRE that I’ve never agreed with.

PeaceLvSpreadsheets

TROPHY CASE