[Dion]

In late April, Shelly Andrews-Buta was scheduled to undergo treatment for breast cancer that had spread to her brain, threatening her life.

But instead of having doctors working to remove her brain tumors on the day the surgery was scheduled, she sat in a San Francisco hotel room. Why? Because at the last minute, her insurance company, Blue Shield, decided it wasn't going to pay for the treatment her doctors at UCSF Medical Center had recommended.

Andrews-Buta was stunned. "I mean this is my life, this is my life, this isn't, gee, if we don't do it you're just going to have a cut that doesn't heal, this is you're going to die," she said.

Without treatment, her doctor told her she in fact would die: tumors had invaded 15 separate areas in her brain.

Just two weeks prior to the scheduled date for surgery, Andrews-Buta could still walk. Now she's almost paralyzed and unable to walk without assistance.

Dr. Sneed told her that her best chance of survival lay with a high-tech machine called a "gamma knife."

Blue Shields response

"Blue Shield makes medical necessity decisions based on what is the most appropriate safe and effective treatment. To do that, we rely on the best evidence-based medical research available and the clinical opinion of medical experts. While we approve of gamma knife surgery when appropriate, in this case, the most appropriate treatment is whole brain radiation therapy, which we would approve for medical necessity if requested."

http://cbs5.com/local/cancer.treatme...2.1007394.html

My heart goes out to this gal and her family