'I feel like they signed my death certificate': Woman grapples with advanced cancer diagnosis after insurance denial
Rebecca Payette said she's learning to live with the cards she was dealt after being denied a critical scan by her insurance company in 2024. Almost a year later, she found out she had Stage 4 lung cancer. She now travels to the Triad weekly for treatment.
Rebecca Payette said she's learning to live with the cards she was dealt after being denied a critical scan by her insurance company in 2024. Almost a year later, she found out she had Stage 4 lung cancer. She now travels to the Triad weekly for treatment.
Rebecca Payette said she's learning to live with the cards she was dealt after being denied a critical scan by her insurance company in 2024. Almost a year later, she found out she had Stage 4 lung cancer. She now travels to the Triad weekly for treatment.
Rebecca Payette, a Virginia woman who drives weekly to North Carolina for cancer treatment, says her fight against Stage IV metastatic adenocarcinoma became more difficult after her insurance denied a critical PET scan.
"I feel like they signed my death certificate; I really did," Rebecca Payette said.
Rebecca Payette said her health began changing nearly two years ago, with constant fatigue that doctors initially thought was COVID-19, despite her never testing positive.
In 2024, during her annual checkup, a doctor found a spot on her lung that she figured was scar tissue from pneumonia.
"He said, 'No, I don't believe so. Let's get a scan.' I'm like, 'OK.' So, he fixed it up, put it at the end of the referral, got to my paperwork, and was supposed to go for the scan. The insurance company denied it," Rebecca Payette said.
At the time, Rebecca said nobody seemed to be worried about it. So, she let it go.
"They said that the lesion in my lung was not big enough, and so, I just kind of forgot about it," said Rebecca Payette.
Her husband, David Payette, said they were trusting the process.
"It's a new experience for her and me. We've never been through this before," he said.
A year later, another doctor approved the scan, and the results changed everything.
"That's when they told me, you know, after the PET scan, 'Well, you've got cancer,'" Rebecca Payette said.
She was diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic adenocarcinoma, an aggressive form of lung cancer. The diagnosis brought difficult questions.
"If I didn't take any treatment, how long would I have to live? He said maybe two years. That scared me. I wish I hadn't asked," said Rebecca Payette.
Sister station WXII reached out to experts not affiliated with this case about how this could happen. Dr. Vinay Gudena, a medical oncologist and director of cancer research at Cone Health, said this is probably one of the most frustrating things for doctors.
"For patients, I totally understand so much anxiety and stress of not only dealing with a diagnosis, but now figuring out this financial piece of, will it be covered? Will it not be covered? Why am I being delayed?" said Gudena. "From the physicians and the nurses and our standpoint, we are on the phone for hours at a time trying to get someone to approve a test."
The Payettes now make a nearly two-hour drive each week from Virginia to the Triad for treatment, relying on their faith to persevere.
"None of us are guaranteed a sunrise, despite our age, despite our circumstances. To me, again, it's faith, what I believe in," said David Payette.
"If I die, I win. If I live, I win. So, it's a win-win either way, but I don't want to leave my children, and I don't want to leave him," said Rebecca Payette.
Gudena emphasized that while every case is different, thorough documentation can make a significant difference in insurance approvals.
Rebecca Payette said she is focused on staying strong, taking each trip and each day one step at a time.
