My son has dealt with Hodgkin's Lymphoma twice.
Bob has it down pretty good. I can't comment on your insurance covering your wife being tested, as my son had an autologous stem cell transplant....in which, the patient's own stem cells are harvested. Your brother in law will most likely be having an allogeneic stem cell transplant....where the stem cells come from a donor. Rather than trying to explain it in my own, limited terms, you might be better off checking out a website such as this one.....
http://www.cancercenter.com...-cell-allogeneic.cfmThis will give you a better idea of what all is involved with your BIL's treatment. This is only one website...there are many out there.
As far as the problem of no insurance....there are many things you can do. My son had the same problem with his first round of treatment. We tried Medicare, which basically told us he didn't qualify as he wasn't an unwed mother under 21, or a senior citizen. We contacted the financial aid department at the University of Nebraska Med Center, where he went for treatment. They were more than willing to help us, and in the end, they ended up footing the bill for the complete procedure, along with one year of followup visits. I'm sure that he happened on a one in a million chance, but the first thing to do is to contact financial aid at the hospital your BIL is being admitted to, and see what you can do. Most hospitals will work with you, if you sit down with them and explain what is going on. Be prepared to provide just about everything but the kitchen sink to prove he needs the help, but it's always worth the shot. We were also lucky in that some of the girls that work with my wife put together a benefit for my son. They put together a spaghetti dinner, which they got donated, held a silent auction, again all donated items, and they raised more than $11,000 for him, which took care of all of his monthly bills while he was unable to work. If you have family down in that area, maybe they can put together something like that for him. There are a lot of possibilities...you just have to think outside the box on some of them.
I wish you luck. My son has been in remission now for 2.5 years. Just when I start to feel he's finally out of the woods, I hear of another story like your BIL's, and it makes me realize that he will never be "cured"...just in remission. It makes you appreciate every day and every chance you get to spend with him. We were extremely lucky....Dr. James Armitage, who is one of the best lymphoma doctors in the country, if not the world, is right in Omaha at the Med Center...and he took a personal interest in my son's case. It is definitely comforting when you have someone with those credentials in your corner.
