Health
Woman Cut In Half In Order to Remove Cancer
- Posted on September 23, 2010 at 8:50am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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If only Humpty Dumpty could have had Janis Ollson’s doctors.
Ollson, a 31-year-old Canadian, survived a surgery that forced doctors to cut her in half in order to remove a cancerous tumor in her pelvis. That meant removing her leg, lower spine, and half of her pelvis during a surgery that had never been done on a live human being.
After removing the tumor, which doctors at the Mayo Clinic said was the size of a calzone, successfully, all the king‘s horses and all the king’s men put Janis Ollson back together again. However she now has one leg fused to her body and one prosthetic leg, along with a prosthetic pelvis — all expected outcomes from the live-saving surgery.
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Comments (67)
dazyann010501
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 8:43pmThat shows how good our Health Care System is…and now the Liberals put in obamacare just so that we could have socialized medicine. HA what a joke.
Report Post »tommee
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 8:07pmIt was the SOCIALIZES HEALTH CARE SYSTEM of Canada that payed for Janis Ollson’s operation and she is just an average Canadian citizen. I wonder how many Americans could get the same operation? Definitely those without insurance wouldn’t get it, and probably most with private insurance also wouldn’t qualify.
Report Post »Zorro6821
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 8:31pmI am self employed and pay $1200.00 per month for Healthcare for my wife and myself. What do I get for my $1200.oo per month. I get generic meds that I have to pay a copay of $15,00, I get to see a PA “Physicians Assistant” when I go to the clinic and pay another $25.00 per visit. I have no choice in Doctors or Hospitals. I cannot move out of my coverage area or I lose my coverage. I have to pay $250.00 a day copay for Hospital stays, $500 for ambulance and Copay for any surgeries etc. Elective surgery is out of the question. Every year my premiums rise between 10 and 15%. I really cannot see how that is the greatest healthcare on earth. What am I missing?
Zorro
Report Post »Zorro6821
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 7:50pmI don’t hear any stories about patients being dumped on skid row because they cannot pay in Canada. Nor do I hear of families going bankrupt to pay hospital bills, or having an insurance company dump you in the middle of Chemo,,,on and on.. Why do we always look at the negative when it comes to other countries that provide a viatal service for their people. What do we get for our taxes, War and Bailouts for the rich. Welfare for the corporations and capitalism for the middle class. Now that is what I call FREEDOM.
Report Post »SwizzleThis
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 4:53pmShe was pregnant. Did she have the baby first?
Report Post »ammon_arms
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 3:12pmWait… she’s from Canada, why would she travel all the way to the USA, where we obviously have a sub-par medical system to have such a crucial procedure?
Just a side note: I am a doctor, and am afraid I’ll be hanging out at the local Home Depot looking for work after Obamacare takes effect. I just hope people are willing to pay cash…
Report Post »Zorro6821
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 7:59pmAmmon….If you are a Doctor and your claim that the Canadian system is “Subpar”, I really think you need to quit medicine. If you look at the stats, I believe Canada ranks #2 and the USA ranks 11th place in overall healthcare delivery and performance. I think your understanding of international medicine is Subpar.
Zorro
Report Post »tommee
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 8:14pmYou miss the point AMMON_ARMS. The U.S. has some of the best health care facilities in the world. It’s the for profit American HEALTH INSURANCE that sucks. Most Americans couldn‘t afford the operation that was given to an average Canadian citizen who was backed by the country’s Socialized Health Insurance.
Report Post »Silo13
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 12:09pmWell God love her for real.
Report Post »Talk about courage.
No thank you for ruining calzones for the rest of my life though.
peace
Jack007
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 12:00pmGod Bless American medicine!
Report Post »Bobdre
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 11:37amThis is a Canadian women that came to the Mayo clinic in Minnesota for this surgery three years ago; what are the Canadians going to now that we have Obamacare? Hey, what are we going to do, never mind the Canadians?
PS They don’t mention who paid for this astonishing surgery. (You get one guess)
Report Post »moriarty70
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 1:28pmFrom the source article that every other article is citing “Family and friends held a social and raised $20,000 to cover the family’s travel and living expenses for the 52 days she spent at the Mayo Clinic.”
From my understanding, and given the situation that it was the only place willing to do the treatment, her provincial coverage took care of the actual cost of the procedures. So, no, your tax dollars didn’t pay for her treatment.
Report Post »cranberry
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 11:35amyea, stay healthy! I’m eating sliced Kohlrabi as we speak. Look it up!
Report Post »rfycom
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 10:59amOk so I listened to the piece. I never heard anything about the failure of the Canadian healthcare system. For those of you who do not know, the Mayo is one of the top 2 best hospital IN THE WORLD. You don’t get this kind of surgery done at a local hospital people. Who paid for it? Me and Jesus are glad for our tax dollars to give this woman her life back. I hope she lives a long life.
Report Post »ConservativeFeminist
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 10:51amThe Democrat’s “public option” would not cover this type of surgery – disappointed by Meredith Viera not pointing that out to viewers.
Report Post »Polwatcher
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 10:30amThe Canadian doctors had a scheduling problem so they sent her to the Mayo Clinic. Isn’t that nice of them. Seriously, I’m very happy for her and her family that she survived and no thanks to the Canadian health care system. She and her family must have used their savings to get her proper care here in the USA.
Report Post »adifftake
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 9:36amSo let me get this straight: A Canadian citizen not having the ability to use thier universal healthcare to save her life, comes to the U.S. and gets a new lease on life. So did her insurance from Canada pay for the operation?
Report Post »If not who picked up the tab? U.S. Taxpayers?
2nd question: If Obamacare were in effect today with all it’s wonderful deciders of who gets what procedure, would she have been allowed to come here to save her life?
moriarty70
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 9:35amConsidering that Canada has 1/10th the population of the States and most live near the boarder, we don’t warrant a cutting edge research/pioneering facility on the level of the Mayo Clinic. Besides, most of us who live here realized when Michael Moore put out his movie that he had no idea about the Canadian system.
Tracking the story back to the source gives a little more info. First this was 3 years ago it happened, they did the profile on her because of the Terry Fox Run which is an annual marathon to raise money for cancer research up here. Also the reason it got so bad was because it was never suspected for someone her age, not due to wait times. FInally, her provincial coverage (that socialized care) covered the cost of her treatment, she just had to raise travel costs.
And yes, this was something Mayo was looking into, they’d only tired it on cadavers and if you ask me, I’d rather the doctors, not the patient have the home court advantage.
Report Post »zippy
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 10:00amNo offense directed at you personally. The Canadan Government governs 100% of the people in Canada. My point is, the population relative to America is not relevant. If Canada and other countries,
Report Post »according to Mr. moore (small case intended due to lack of respect) then they need to tax accordingly so that those in Canada can boast something like the Mayo Clinic. And note that the Mayo Clinic is not
the only hospital in the US that could have done that operation. There are many that could have. We in America are getting sick and tired of people giving us the thumbs down when we are the ones that, fund more aid to countires, accept more people, give disaster relief, give medical and technical information to more countries than ANY other country in the world. Can someone tell me just how much ANY MUSLIM COUNTRY GAVE to ANY RELIEF for anyone??? Yeah I thought so. Not a damn dime. Muslim countries spend all of their money trying to make bombs to kill everyone else.
How did it get on that from this story. Well, its true anyway.
moriarty70
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 10:30amFair enough, and we do have some high end research hospitals. I was actually at one (part of a group actually) Tuesday to take my mother to an apointment. In fact, this woman went from Winnipeg to Toronto, which is about the same as Minneapolis to Philly, to see a specialist and get diagnosed. They knew what had to be done, but they had no idea how to reassemble her, so he consulted with the Mayo.
Turns out at the time they had researched how to do this but only tried it on cadavers, never on a live person. That says to me that they really were the only place to get this done with any chance at success, otherwise they probably would have done it in Toronto. Believe me, I will never downplay the ability of our doctors, I’m quite proud of my country and what we produce ourselves.
Pretty much all the details that tell the actual story are from the source article in a Canadian paper. Every U.S. source has been presenting it with just enough to say “Look, they came to us.” And I don’t blame them for that, if any of the delagates had gotten sick during the G-20 we’d have been highlighting Canadian health care too.
As for how our healthcare works, it’s mandated from a federal level, but each province handles their own program.
Report Post »zippy
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 9:18amAmazing indeed but, as many others here have said, HEY MR PRESIDENT AND FAT BOY MIKE MOORE, SHE CAME TO AMERICA!!! AMERICA!!!! AMERICA!!! FOR THE MEDICAL WORK. Did you notice that you bunch of limp wristed liberals. I think liberals should have to go to Cuba for medical treatment. Oh and then stay…
rfycom
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 11:05amZippy chill take a pill masturbate or something. Oh, but don‘t let the O’Donnel woman catch you.
shadowpatriot.64
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 9:12amThanks to the Marxist president in the White House lifesaving surgery in the U.S. will be a thing of the past. Thanks Obama voters! Youbetcha…….
Report Post »megansmom
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 9:10amDo you think if she could have gotten in to see her primary in under the normal 30 days and the 6 to 9 mos to see the specialist that it could have been less traumatic?
Report Post »triper57
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 9:32amShe probably waited longer than that to get it diagnosed, which is why the tumor was the size of a calzone. Unfortunately the story did not cover the reason why the tumor grew that large.
Report Post »moriarty70
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 9:56amIt took a lot longer than it normally would have since it was a rare cancer, rarer for her age group and the major symptom was somewhat normal with pregnancy and died down after her first child was delivered. It had nothing to do with wait times and was just an oddball situation, not unlike an episode of House.
Report Post »NickDeringer
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 9:09amLet me add my amazemenet that this Canadian woman had to come to the US to save her life. Why??? because Canadian Crap Care is inferior to our evil, capitalistic system.
Report Post »TexasGranny
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 9:08amGee! Once again, american medicine saves the day! This from our less than first class medical system that needs to be controlled by the government? NOT!
Report Post »loriann12
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 1:04pmIt‘s a good thing she’s not on Tricare Prime. I’m a Cancer survivor and thought I had a reoccurance and they denied a DIGITAL MRI because they said it was experimental. That’s the face of Obamacare….and rationing. If the government thinks a digital MRI is experimental, what the heck is this?
Report Post »tjdavid21444
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 9:06amIt’s a good thing she had it done now. In 4 years, under Obamacare, they would just give her a Rx for pain meds and nausea meds and send her home.
Report Post »MsCamelot
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 9:00amExactly… the Mayo Clinic last I knew was in Minnesota….yep the United States. So I guess that Canadian Health Care system isn‘t what it’s cracked up to be ….huh?
Report Post »Chad79
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 10:47amThis article sums it all up about the Canadian Helthcare System.
CNN Aims to Discredit Canadian Mayo Clinic Patient, Flops …
Report Post »dressseller
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 8:59amShe is canadian.. .where was this surgery performed.. Canada..?..the US? ……the miracles of modern day medicine. God bless her and her family. An amazing story here. I just hope stories like these aren’t going to become extinct under Obamacare.
Report Post »dressseller
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 9:03amOoops.. I’m reading too fast.. ..I see Mayo Clinic now. ….Speaks volumes for the Canadian GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTHCARE SYSTEM. :[
Report Post »tommee
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 8:23pmDRESSSELLER.. You are mistaken. Canada does not have ‘government run health care’. Rather, Canada has a government run HEALTH INSURANCE SYSTEM. They are very different. Janis Ollson‘s operation was payed in full by Canada’s National Health Insurance System. Canadian doctors often send their patients to the best doctors in the world. In my book that is a good thing.
Report Post »Freelancer
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 8:59amThe surgery was done at the Mayo Clinic HERE. I guess that fantastic health care system in Canada is not so great so it had to be done in the U.S. Where will they go when we end up like Canada?
Report Post »printdesignchicago.com
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 9:03ammexico? cuba? IRAN?
Report Post »Chad79
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 10:43amTo a cruise ship/Hospital off the coast of India.
Report Post »Zorro6821
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 7:35pmHow naive can you be. Lets get the facts straight. First off, here in the USA your HMO, PPO, Blue Cross etc would never consider covering this procedure, as it for starters it would be deemed “experimental”. But I guess if you were a multi millionaire it really does not matter where you live, the Mayo Clinic will accept anyone with Money. The big difference here, is that Canada in many cases covers procedures out of country if it cannot be done in Canada. Judging by the woman’s home, it is quite obvious that she is not wealthy. So some entity had to pay?
Secondly..Obamacare is the furthest thing from socialized medicine. In fact it is a patchwork of wealth distribution where people are forced to purchase costly plans that provide very little. Japan, Israel,Germany, France, Britian, Australia, Canada,Netherlands, New Zealand,Austria, Swiss, etc all have “Socialized Medicine” or as I call it Humane Care that serves all citizens and does not favor one class over another. What is wrong with that model.
Zorro
Report Post »iheartgeorgewashington
Posted on September 24, 2010 at 10:23amZorro: Let’s assume you are correct, that Canada did pay for the operation. That does not change the superiority of the U.S. health care. We have the best and are the best in health care. The best Doctors, the best Hospitals, the best research. But how is it that we became the best? Simple answer; The FREE MARKET and good ol’ fashion American moxie.
Report Post »Knight Templar
Posted on September 24, 2010 at 11:18amZorro says, “Secondly..Obamacare is the furthest thing from socialized medicine. In fact it is a patchwork of wealth distribution where people are forced to purchase costly plans that provide very little.”
What a stupid, stupid, contradictory statement.
Report Post »Kinnison
Posted on September 24, 2010 at 1:53pmLast year the Premier of Newfoundland came south to Miami for heart surgery. Hundreds of thousands of Canadians come down to the U.S. every year for health care. If you want to know how great national health care is, read the Canadian newspapers—the stories and complaints of long waits for life-saving surgery and the rationing of care are never reported here by the MSM of course… The same for the UK. My daughter lives and works there. She was taken to the local emergency clinic in the Lake District with a serious urinary infection and the “doctor” on duty gave her heavy-duty pain killers and told her, “It may be stone of kidney, but tummy is magic place”. The horrible conditions in British hospitals reported in the British press doesn’t get reported here either.
Report Post »Zorro6821
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 8:57amWould this story have made headlines if the patient died? Of course not. The Mayo is without a doubt one if the best Hospitals in the world, however there are many Renowned Hospitals around the world that have done cutting edge surgery and research. The first heart Transplant was done in South Africa, the first face Transplant was done in France and so on. You don’t hear about all the chest beating that they have the best healthcare system. One of the top heart Hospitals in the world is the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal in conjunction with Mcgill University. There are so many miracles that are performed around the world…we just never hear about them. A great analogy is the perception that Canada has the greatest hockey teams, however the truth of the matter is that the USA has more teams and has won more Stanely Cups than Canada. The last time Canada won a Stanely cup was 20 years ago.
Zorro
Report Post »tommee
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 8:35pmFREELANCER.. you are wrong, just like many other people posting on this story. You are confusing the ‘Health Care System’ with the ‘Health Insurance System’. Health Insurance Organizations, be they private or public, do not practice medicine. They just pay the bills. The Canadian Health Insurance System is far superior to the for profit American Private Insurance System. The fact that an average Canadian citizen can get, free of charge, groundbreaking treatment in the United States, when many American can’t, is proof of the superiority of Canada’s Health Insurance System.
Report Post »icesk8rgirl96
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 8:59amWow, God bless her! Really, God bless her. Going through all that and not dying of panick first….
By the way…first to comment!!!
Report Post »dressseller
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 9:04amLOL.. ..why do we all try to be FIRST? :) ….I do it too :):)
Report Post »Deb C
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 10:38amHow did she get the “calzone” in the first place ?
Report Post »LOUDandCLEAR
Posted on September 24, 2010 at 11:36amI agree, I believe that God DID bless her, but the sad part is that ‘They’ have the cure for cancer, and it wasn’t necessary for her to loose her leg. Big money and power, there is a man in a Florida prison for creating a salve that cures topical cancers. (look up cancema) The FDA raided his shop and put him in prison because THEY DON’T WANT CANCER CURED!
Report Post »Psychosis
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 8:56amMAYO CLINIC? isnt that in the U.S.? what happened to that great government health care?………..dont answer that im Canadian i know what happened to it……..government.
Report Post »Marylou7
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 9:02amI was going to ask the very same question. Your answer is even the same as mine. After Obamacare this will probably never be available again. Stay healthy people.
Report Post »ME
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 9:21amIt will be available to our ruling class, remember they are not on obamacare. Now sit down and shut up those people deserve and earned there scepters and you must know your place.
Report Post »Bids
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 9:58amI highly doubt your average already existing health plan would cover this type of operation right now. Like the one I pay $880 a month for myself, being that I’m not a public working eating at the public trough. Relief can’t come soon enough!
Report Post »broon
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 10:17amYeah, Minnesota.
But only because our health care system sucks.
AND… GOOD NEWS !!!
It’s about to get even better ?!?
That’s ok… Look at the future of US Medicine HERE !!!
Report Post »http://www.the-salvare.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f497bElgklI
Chad79
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 10:29amIts because the Surgery wasn’t a normal surgery. It was a “Ground Breaking” surgery. If had been routine she never would have gotten it. The doctors are just as crooked as the politicians in this country. Anything to get there names in record books, and recieve awards.
Report Post »Prospero
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 2:49pmChad79 writes: “doctors are just as crooked as the politicians”
Yes, those dirty rotten bastiges. How dare they save someone’s life and then take any credit for it? Sheesh….
Report Post »Venom
Posted on September 24, 2010 at 4:00amYeah Chad you talk tough until you get cancer and they want to do a “Ground Breaking Procedure” You would beg them to do it.
Report Post »tommee
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 8:00pmYes the operation was in the U.S. But, Canada’s National Health Care System payed for it, and it didn’t cost Janis Ollson a dime. Many millions of American’s could not afford the same procedure in their own country, yet an average Canadian citizen gets the procedure done. There’s something wrong here.
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