Ray on the call he almost didn't make

"I put off the first call for three weeks because I assumed the answer would be no. It took eleven minutes and the answer was yes."

Ray was six weeks from a new job with benefits when the scan came back. The gap between two insurance cards turned into the loudest problem in his life — louder, for a while, than the diagnosis itself.

He had the assistance number written on a sticky note for three weeks. He didn't call it, he says, because he had already decided what the answer would be, and a maybe was easier to live with than a no.

When he finally called, the counselor didn't start with paperwork. She started by asking what his month looked like. The application took eleven minutes and covered his first two cycles.

Ray now talks to newly diagnosed patients at his clinic once a month. His entire pitch is: make the call earlier than I did.

A maybe was easier to live with than a no. That's the trap.