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A VIRGINIA WOMAN WHO MAKES A WEEKLY DRIVE TO THE TRIAD FOR CANCER TREATMENT SAYS HER FIGHT BECAME EVEN HARDER AFTER HER INSURANCE DENIED A CRITICAL SCAN. SHE IS SHARING HER STORY WITH OUR BETHANY CATES NOW, AND BETHANY IS IN STUDIO TO TELL US MORE. REBECCA PAYETTE SAYS HER HEALTH STARTED CHANGING NEARLY TWO YEARS AGO WITH CONSTANT FATIGUE, IN WHICH DOCTORS FIRST THOUGHT WAS COVID, EVEN THOUGH SHE NEVER TESTED POSITIVE. BUT AFTER HER INSURANCE DENIED A PET SCAN, SHE SAYS EVERYTHING CHANGED. I FELT LIKE THEY SIGNED MY DEATH CERTIFICATE. I REALLY DID. IN 2024, REBECCA PAYETTE SAYS SHE WENT IN FOR HER ANNUAL CHECKUP, AND THAT’S WHEN THE DOCTOR FOUND A SPOT ON HER LUNG THAT SHE THOUGHT WAS SCAR TISSUE. HE SAID, NO, I DON’T BELIEVE SO. LET’S GET A SCAN. I’M LIKE, OKAY. SO HE FIXED IT UP, YOU KNOW, PUT IT IN THE REFERRAL. I GOT MY PAPERWORK AND WAS SUPPOSED TO GO FOR THE SCAN. THE INSURANCE COMPANY DENIED IT. SHE SAYS AT THE TIME, NOBODY SO SHE JUST LET IT GO. THEY SAID THAT THE LESION IN THE LUNG WAS NOT BIG ENOUGH, AND SO I JUST KIND OF FORGOT ABOUT IT. HER HUSBAND DAVID SAYS AT THE TIME, THEY WERE SIMPLY TRUSTING THE PROCESS. IT’S A NEW EXPERIENCE FOR HER AND ME. SO WE’VE NEVER BEEN THROUGH THIS BEFORE. A YEAR LATER, ANOTHER DOCTOR APPROVED THE SCAN AND INSTANTLY EVERYTHING CHANGED. THAT’S WHEN THEY TOLD ME, YOU KNOW, AFTER THE PET SCAN, YOU’VE GOT CANCER. STAGE FOUR, METASTATIC ADENOCARCINOMA, AN AGGRESSIVE FORM OF LUNG CANCER. AND THE DIAGNOSIS LED TO A LOT OF QUESTIONS. 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. I REACHED OUT TO EXPERTS NOT AFFILIATED WITH THIS CASE ABOUT HOW THIS COULD HAPPEN, AND DOCTOR VINAY GOODIN, A MEDICAL ONCOLOGIST AND DIRECTOR OF CANCER RESEARCH AT CONE HEALTH, SAYS THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST FRUSTRATING THINGS FOR DOCTORS, FOR OUR 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? AND FROM THE PHYSICIAN 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 PAYOUTS NOW MAKE A NEARLY TWO HOUR DRIVE EACH WEEK FROM VIRGINIA TO THE TRIAD FOR TREATMENT. LEANING ON THEIR FAITH TO GET THEM THROUGH. NONE OF US ARE GUARANTEED A SUNRISE DESPITE OUR AGE, DESPITE OUR CIRCUMSTANCES. IT’S TO ME, IT’S THE. THERE AGAIN. IT’S FAITH. IF I LIVE, I WIN. SO IT’S A WIN WIN EITHER WAY. BUT I DON’T WANT TO LEAVE MY CHILDREN. AND MOST OF ALL, I DON’T WANT TO LEAVE HIM. AND DOCTOR SAYS WHILE EVERY CASE
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‘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, 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.
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.
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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.
