" Cancer-Stricken Vietnam Veteran DENIED Cancer Treatment by VA
1/3/2022
Picture "At this point in my life I just do not give a DAMN and am considering simply to live and eventually die of the cancer as I am sick and tired of government BS.
Eventually if my health gets worse to the point the pain is excruciating I plan on grabbing my bottle of single malt scotch, one of my good cigars and go out in the woods and either get drunk or die....
I am seriously considering abandoning the VA health care system and just live or die with the cancer as I am fed up with the Biden Democrat sticking it to us veterans with so many ridiculous new regulations and cherry picking what it will authorize."
~ Gregory Bruce US Navy 3 Tour Vietnam Combat Veteran US Coast Guard Peacetime Veteran
Our men and women in uniform deserve our best. Best respect, best gratitude, best medical care yet this heart-breaking letter written by my friend, Gregory Bruce, to Senator Kramer (R-ND) reveals, yet again, that they often receive our worst.
Wounded in Vietnam, Mr. Bruce lost a lung and a kidney to his combat injuries and is now fighting metastasizing cancer. Yet he's still fighting for our country and the casualties of August 26th Kabul via his website, americaalloveragain.com and YouTube channel.
Reprinted by permission, here is Mr. Bruce's recent letter to his Senator. I don't know how we can help him other than through prayer but if you know of a way, Mr. Bruce's email address is at the bottom of this article. The Honorable Kevin Cramer 330 Hart Office Building Washington, DC 20510
Senator Cramer,
After much thought and calming down I will put the issues I am once again having with the Veterans Administration into perspective.
In early 2018 I was diagnosed with stage 3 prostate cancer and since I began a two and a half year travel throughout the country filming and photographing for the National Parks and National Geographic as well as myself it was going to be a struggle to find a cancer center that could start the radiation treatments.
I finally settled on the Cancer Center at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, OR where I went through 39 radiation treatments. Having finished the treatments there I went back on the road living in my RV. During this time the VA had temporarily transferred me to the Portland, OR VA hospital for administrative purposes. This was such a nightmare as the Fargo VA was refusing to help me through the process and the Portland VA simply took over the transfer and completed it. Then when I was finished with traveling I returned to [North Dakota] to live. I contacted the Fargo VA to have my health care needs taken care of through Fargo. Fargo VA then advised me that Portland VA had to initiate the transfer process. This in contradiction when Fargo VA would not help once again. I ask what the heck is wrong with the Fargo VA. I have never had any problems with the VA until it came to my cancer care and now it has mushroomed into a nightmare. Since I live more than 40 miles from the nearest VA facility I am eligible to take part in the Community Care Act and am able to use civilian services. After the Portland, OR VA was able to transfer me back to the Fargo VA system I was able to get a primary care physician assigned to me and after consulting with him in the Bismarck VA clinic he recommended I see a urologist for continued treatment of cancer care. The urologist I chose is at Sanford Medical Center in Bismarck and since my PSA had risen to an unacceptable level of 26 he prescribed a PET scan.
After reviewing the PET scan the urologist recommended an injection of Leuprolide Acetate (Lupron Depot). This appointment was September 10, 2021 and when I arrived at Sanford Medical Center I was informed the VA no longer authorizes the use of Leuprolide Acetate (Lupron Depot) so I was informed by the nurse that the urologist (he was in emergency surgery) would have to consider another drug. I had just driven 200 miles roundtrip, was not able to see the urologist and was not going to get cancer care treatment.
The next chapter in this VA debacle is hard to believe.
My next appointment hopefully to get cancer care was December 29, 2021 with my urologist at Sanford Medical Center in Bismarck. When I arrived I sat down with him while he discussed the results of the PET scan. He informed me the prostate cancer had spread to the bones in my shoulder, throughout my back, my ribs and the pelvis as well as the liver. He then prescribed a new drug degarelix (FIRMAGON) on a monthly basis until the PSA has dropped to an acceptable level. He then said he could have it upgraded to once every 4 months and then every 6 months providing the PSA continues to drop. He informed me the nurse would come in and give me the injection and that was the last I saw of him that day.
When the nurse returned to administer the injection she informed me the VA does not authorize this drug unless there is a special request from the doctor so I did not get the injection. The initial authorization for this treatment is valid until March 9, 2022 and one would think it should cover any medication the doctor recommends. This is the 2nd time I showed up traveling 200 miles roundtrip for an appointment to get the injection and left without getting it. However, the 1st time was due to the doctor being unavailable because he was in emergency surgery, however it would not have mattered anyway since the VA no longer authorized that drug.
This second time it is due to the VA's utterly ridiculous bureaucratic red tape and preposterous regulations denying a drug for my cancer treatment. If the doctor recommends it what the HE** is wrong with the VA denying it and so I told the nurse I am tired of being denied services by the VA and having to appeal the process over and over. I am not going to go through another round of appointments traveling 200 miles roundtrip each time only to be turned away without getting the cancer treatment the doctor prescribed.
At this point in my life I just do not give a DA** and am considering simply to live and eventually die of the cancer as I am sick and tired of government BS. Eventually if my health gets worse to the point the pain is excruciating I plan on grabbing my bottle of single malt scotch, one of my good cigars and go out in the woods and either get drunk or die.
One VA Fargo, ND department for example (and I do not blame the employees) is the travel section that is 9 weeks behind in processing claims. I now have 4 claims in the queue for payment amounting to about $280, which is just wrong.
Much of the information in this letter has already been forwarded through the VA's MyHealthevet messaging system to the Fargo VA Travel Section, my VA primary care physician in Bismarck, ND, my urologist at Sanford Health in Bismarck, ND, my oncologist at St. Charles Cancer Center in Bend, OR, the patient advocate in the Fargo, ND VA system, the health administration service in the Fargo, ND VA system, health eligibility in the Fargo, ND VA system and PC social workers in the Fargo, ND VA system.
Since it was sent on New Years Eve I do not expect an answer any time soon. I am seriously considering abandoning the VA health care system and just live or die with the cancer as I am fed up with the Biden Democrat sticking it to us veterans with so many ridiculously new regulations and cherry picking what it will authorize.
I know you are busy Senator so I will leave this in your hands or your staff's hands to decide if my life is worth fighting the VA for. I really have had enough.
I will send you all of the VA paperwork if you ask me for it.
Gregory Bruce US Navy 3 Tour Vietnam Combat Veteran US Coast Guard Peacetime Veteran stryker5@stryker5.com
More from the Lenora Thompson article:
“Footnote:
I have been spending most all of my time since the Afghanistan withdrawal debacle memorializing and honoring the 13 service members who were killed and the 18 who were wounded by producing 14 videos and writing multiple stories and posting all of it on my website, YouTube and Rumble. The videos have been viewed over 10 million times around the world and the comments have been supportively almost unbelievable. I have done all of this, as I personally knew one of the young “Hellcat” Marine women as a child. It hit me so hard I could not stop crying for weeks and could barely edit and produce the videos. The Navy and the Coast Guard made me the man I am today and I will never forget what Biden did to these young people.
Go to my website and see what I have done to bring awareness to these 31 heroes and decide if my life is worth it as I am wondering if it is.
https://americaalloveragain.com/“
How sad. Embarrassing as a citizen. We have plenty of money to conduct stand-downs for sensitivity training and enough energy to track down right-wing subversives, but we can’t provide care for our veterans?
That should be top shelf above everything.
If they could make their genocidal Nuremberg Code crimes more egregious they would.
https://rwmalonemd.substack.com/p/what-if-the-largest-experiment-on
Meanwhile Congress gets top of the line healthcare for life just for being elected.
Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.
The VA has no money for the vet with cancer, but plenty of money to change Charles into Charlotte.
No mention of veteran having a VSO behind him. Veterans Service Organization. Mileage will vary amongst the various VSOs, but it is better than nothing.
A guy in this position should take someone deserving, with him.
VA - Veteran Assassins
“The next chapter in this VA debacle is hard to believe.”
No, it’s not. You should read my “VA” diary and then you would ask yourself how has their rating gone up. They were a 3 out of 5 and that wasn’t believable. I’ll tell you how. They use all their doctors and nurses positive reviews on Facebook to determine their rating. You think their veteran surveys were anonymous, then how did they know you didn’t send it in and sent you a reminder. It’s a rigged rating system, simple as that.
Those who served active duty in the military should have THE SAME healthcare that Senators and Congressmen receive..!!
Certainly a pleasant surprise to see this article from
Ms. Thompson, continuing to help her fellow citizens.
The headline gave reason to think veteran Blaze was being
disqualified as he had not been vaccinated. Incorrect assumption on my part. Found, after reading further, the denial of treatment is the continuation of government continuing to flex its muscles, their normal daily routine.
FR has crossed paths with Ms. Thompson before, at the time of *Biden’s inauguration*. It’s good to see her name on the
board once again. Always encouraging to meet a fellow patriot, even more so, greeting him once again.
LENORA THOMPSON:
https://freerepublic.com/tag/by:lenorathompson/index?brevity=full;tab=comments