CANDYE KANE "SUPERHERO" Source: BluesWax Date: 08/2011 Writer: Stacy Jeffress

Oh, No, Not Again
Candye Kane Faces New Health Issues Upon Release of New CD

In 2008, Delta Groove recording artist Candye Kane endured a grueling but successful eleven-hour abdominal surgery for pancreatic cancer. Three years later, it appears that the cancer has returned and the performer will need shots that cost $30,000 per month to fight the recurrence. The good news is that Kane has qualified for the California Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP), a program made possible by health care reform for medically-uninsurable individuals. The bad news is that Kane's health coverage will not be effective until September 1, which means the tests she needs to confirm that the neuroendocrine cancer is back cannot be run for another month.

What she does know is that her doctors spotted something on her pancreas that had not been there on prior post-surgery checks and a valve is dilated which could be scar tissue or a blockage. Although there is a chance that this is not cancer, oncologists operate on the assumption that it is until they can prove otherwise. Kane describes the enforced wait for follow-up tests as "very frustrating."

Kane says that the insurance hassles are the last thing she needs in addition to the stress that the cancer is back, so she has even considered marrying someone in The Netherlands where she believes the health care system is humanitarian. She has been suffering from attacks of pancreatitis every two weeks which plagued her while she was on an extended European tour. "I was in Amsterdam last month," she explains, "and all they cared about was treating the pain. Never did I see a financial person; no one asked me how I was going to pay."

She contrasts that with her experiences in American emergency rooms where "you don't see a doctor until they have your insurance information." The extreme cost of the Sandostatin injections also raises her ire: "This is why insurance rates are out of control." 

BluesWax will provide further updates as they become available. Meanwhile, we send our very best wishes to Candye Kane for a complete return to good health.