Welcome, Rochelle. How are you doing today?

Rochelle G Prosser RN, CLNC:
0:03

I’m great. Thank you, Stoy. It’s great to be

Stoy Hall, CFP®:
0:05

here. It is. And I am moved by your story. I’m so excited to have your story on the podcast, but ultimately not just your story and how deep it’s going to touch everyone, but ultimately what you’re doing to hopefully have less people have your story. And that takes work, that takes passion, and that’s what today’s all about. So why don’t you lay it on us, give us your story and what you’re doing right now to hopefully make sure that others don’t have to go down that route as much.

Rochelle G Prosser RN, CLNC:
0:39

Oh, great. Thank you for this opportunity, Stoyte, to use your platform to share my message. I am a Neurotrauma ICU nurse of 30 years, and I have two family members that survived cancer. One was a two time survivor, and then one was very early in the dawn of her life, and she was diagnosed at four. It took nine years to find a solution that meant survival for her. And I don’t know about you, it was tough. But it was even worse. Being on the other side of health care and so there is that mantra of, too much. I don’t think so. I think that my knowing actually made sure she survived and so it is a paradigm shift that I’m trying to do, providing knowledge to those that don’t have it proximity of services to those that are in vulnerable and rural or even urban centers, And there’s no access to advanced oncology care, and the only way that I could do that is to provide and be that resource. So I created a cancer treatment library that houses all cancer treatment, and all. All exhaustive lists of what is available, and it’s not snake oil. It’s very scientific, evidence based between adjunctive therapy and the, and traditional methods. What’s important is knowing what’s out there and what’s going to work for you. Also having that knowledge means that you can have a conversation with your physician going forward to find the answers collaboratively together, meaning you are an active participant in your own health care. I think that fosters the transition from patient to knowledge seeker and collaborative person within your health care.

Stoy Hall, CFP®:
2:43

So for those that haven’t gone through either a family member or themselves cancer treatment and maybe those that are sitting there listening to this going, I’m going through that, but I don’t know what’s going on. Can you talk us through like the process of like when you’re diagnosed and what goes on for those that are, mere mortals to your intelligence, right? Like for us that we don’t know what you know can you talk us through that route? And then where. Where what you’re doing because of your experience has kicked in and has created this database.

Rochelle G Prosser RN, CLNC:
3:14

So even as a participant and an active professional in the healthcare realm, we don’t have all the answers and we definitely don’t know everything. And that was one of the takeaways coming through this process. I deal with brain, I deal with the brain every day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. But when it came to oncology, even though I was taking care of my patients in the acute, Since that they are just diagnosed, but they’re very sick. They’re in the intensive care. What happens next? What happens in that? recovery phase or in the treatment phase or When treatment doesn’t work and so these are some of the questions that patients just don’t know even to just begin the journey Okay, I have been diagnosed. What next? What’s the next step? We don’t get a choice. Oncology is very special in that way. We don’t get a choice On who our oncologist is, and when I say oncologist, that is the name of the specialist that you’re going to be sent to. Most people don’t even know that is a term. And it’s just finding that entry point, wherever you are. If you are knowledgeable about it because your family member has gone through it. Great. What happens when you are the patient? It’s one thing to be looking out and looking in, but when you’re in the realm, you don’t even know what questions to form to begin. That’s what I offer to you. I will catch you wherever you are. In that spectrum, so some of the things that you’d need to do, and I’ll give 3 because, it’s usually 10 way more. So you don’t know the physician you’re being sent to that oncologist. It’s usually you need a referral. Oncology is the only 1 still to this day that you need a referral to be seen by that specialty. of cancer care. So that usually comes from your primary care physician. How did you get there? You’ve been diagnosed at a hospital, urgent care, you don’t feel well, you go to the hospital, and now somebody that you’ve never met, don’t trust, have no idea who they are, walks in the room and says, you have Enter diagnosis of cancer and you’re sitting there and the room begins to spin because you’re thinking about your finances. You’re thinking about your family, your children, a legacy insurance policies is everything paid up and you stop listening to what’s being said to you if they even say it to you in the way that you need to be said, which is. What are the next steps? When do you see your health care specialist? What ends up happening is they stabilize you. You go home and you are then followed up with your primary care physician. You go in to see your primary care physician and they have a deeper conversation with you to find out what you want to do. In terms of your health care. And believe me, you’re already overwhelmed. That is not the place to be making life’s decisions. But that’s what happens. And then finally, that physician, your primary care physician, is the gatekeeper to who you go to. And usually it’s their friend that they went to resident school with. If they are able to do some research they are sending you to a specialist called a hematology oncology. group, the person that you are sent to is the one that has the open booking, but that is not necessarily the person that’s going to treat you. It is someone with else within the group. So you literally are throwing a dart at a dart board, and if you’re lucky to find a provider that has seen this specialist and specialty of your diagnosis within that group, great. Most often, That’s not the case. You’re at your community hospital where they’re looking at conventional treatments, meaning it’s a stage 3. It’s a phase 3 or 4 treat clinical trial if you’re offered a clinical trial, but at a stage 3 and 4, you’re not going to get hurt. They know it works. predominantly amount of the time, but that doesn’t mean that’s the best treatment for you. And conventional treatment of chemotherapy does not necessarily work based on your diagnosis. So you really need to have the full gamut of the toolbox and to make sure that you are in the right place for the right care. Just like you go to a heart specialty hospital or a surgical specialty hospital, HHS. Hospital for a surgical specialty. It’s the same thing in cancer. They actually have cancer hospitals, but are they close to you? Can you travel there? Do you have the financial means to go there? And who do you leave behind in, in doing so? And so that it, all of those questions are what bubble up to the surface that you don’t even get a chance to ask. While you’re going through it. So these are some of the things that I give to you to help you find that journey finances. Where’s the next step? How do you even know what the health grades of those providers are? And you’re usually working, after the fact, and you’re already connected to these people and you’re not sure. If this is the right place to be, but you’re so desperate because of the diagnosis, you’ll do whatever it takes and you won’t question. And I’m not saying that you need to question. I think you need to work collaboratively. And the only way to work in collaboration with your health care team is to know what it is you’re walking into. Be

Stoy Hall, CFP®:
8:56

your own advocate, right? Obviously you as a nurse my mother in law is a nurse. A lot of my family members are nurses and that’s your job is you’re the patient advocate, but you need to be your own self advocate as well. Everything you said is very overwhelming. Like I know I’ve spoken to you. I know your story, obviously I know finances and just trying to put yourself in that mode. Everything is overwhelming. Every decision feels like life or death. And that’s just hearing a little bit about it. How talk us through, and I know different cancers have different time frames. I’m not trying to get to that, but, you just said, I get diagnosed, I then get sent off. Like, when these decisions are being made, how quickly is that usually happening? On average, right? Some of it’s really fast. Someone’s probably slower, but what does that time frame of decision making look like with these people that you’ve never met

Rochelle G Prosser RN, CLNC:
9:49

before? Okay, so when And of course it depends the timeline and the timing depends on your diagnosis your stage If it’s spread anywhere and how ill you are at the point of entry into the healthcare realm so if you’re stable and thing. It hasn’t spread much and you’re at the early stages. Even then, there are some time frame stages that will preclude you from having access to treatment or latest greatest treatment. If you take too long to make a decision, if it takes too long to get referred to a provider depending on where you are, it could take anywhere from immediate to months. Sometimes it just depends on where you are. It also depends on if you’ve had prior treatments before, and they need to clean the body and wash the body out of whatever you’ve done. That takes time. What you don’t want to do is reintroduce something new while you still have the residual of whatever you have. So it could be immediate or it could be up to two months later,

Stoy Hall, CFP®:
11:00

which is still. It’s a tight window like that’s not a,

Rochelle G Prosser RN, CLNC:
11:04

no, so when you look at the grand scheme of things financially and in any other industry, I think that waiting 2 months in, if you’re waiting for an airline flight, great, you get the cheap seats. But it doesn’t translate. When it comes to your own health and looking at the, when you’re being told your terminal and, And we need to do something. It really does affect your mental health. It affects your relationships going on with the rest of your family and how you navigate that going forward. Because now. You need to shift resources. You need to shift financial planning in preparation for this. And sometimes 2 months is a good time, but often 2 months is too short. You don’t have enough time to make those transitions. You could sell. Certain set what I did, I used to stock market to be able to fund me because I needed to make decisions right away. I needed to pay for MRIs. I needed to pay for CT scans and the deductibles that go with that. And if your insurance plan actually includes them. Great. But what we’re finding now in healthcare, and as we move to third party insurers, they are carving out diagnostic tests. So where you think you, you have met your maximum medical deductible, all of a sudden you have a large bill that you have to pay, and now you have to make negotiations with the hospital while being sick. And that’s a horrible place to be, and any way that we can find that is helpful, because it doesn’t matter if it’s going to take two months, if you can’t pay for that MRI or diagnostic treatment today, you don’t get it, you don’t receive it. And that is the dilemma of where people really struggle. In oncology services, because you need that definitive diagnosis with a look at this is a term called pharmacoeconomics of finding a definitive diagnosis versus not and proceeding with care. When you actually invest in infrastructure financial resources and skilled labor to help find that definitive diagnosis, it actually works out cheaper than when financial institutions and Medical groups don’t do this because now you’re if you’re flying in the blind, it’s again, going back to the airline or nuclear industry, if you don’t know what’s flashing in front of you, you cannot go around the mountain, you can’t navigate the services. And when you don’t have a diagnosis, it’s really hard to pick the best medical plan and strategy going forward to find your care. For

Stoy Hall, CFP®:
14:15

How does someone overcome that and how does your database and what you do help because yes, financially, it’s a huge burden. This time when this comes out, it’s going to be enrollment season, usually for your health benefits. And I see it all the time, help all my clients every year. You need to know what’s in it. You need to know what it’s about. And it’s not just about choosing the cheapest plan. Because that’s not usually the best and it’s not also about choosing the best either. You need to know what’s in it. So speaking to those people that are in that situation right now, right? They don’t have a lot of money or not. They don’t know anything about their medical plan and they have these decisions to make. How can they

Rochelle G Prosser RN, CLNC:
14:54

do? I coming from this place of being actually living that I thought I had a great medical plan. I’ve had several employer sponsored plans that were wonderful. I thought. until I actually had to use it. And so there, here are some of the barriers. You have to have a prior authorization. Prior authorizations can be very problematic if they are used, if they are structured and utilized to prevent services. I always think oncology and cancer, your terminal. Who wants to run a hurdler’s race when you know you are dying? That is not the time to be negotiating rates, to figuring out whether we’re on Medicare or Medicaid platform, or staying with an employer in individual space. That’s not the time for third party players to come in and be barriers to your treatment because they figure it’s experimental and they want proof of concept. You’re dying. Nobody wants to be in that place. So reading the plans, and I find that the plans are structured now where they don’t tell you whether diagnostic services are included in the plan plans are very up front. If it’s not written, it’s not there, plain and simple. It’s just like the law. You didn’t write it down, it didn’t happen. In looking at the services that you want, if it’s not written up front, and I’m not talking about fine print either, it’s going to say, this is what we include. If it’s not there, you don’t have it. It doesn’t mean you don’t, you can’t access it, but you’re going to have to pay a fee, or you’re going to have to pay a separate copay, or you’re going to have to pay on the portion where it’s considered out of network and any of those places are not helpful because now you’re having to find additional resources to pay for that. Picking a plan that’s the middle of the road is usually the best. Pick three. Just pick three, because you want to grind and drink everything that’s written in that. Pick three, and then find the one that’s in the middle. And you usually will be okay. But I will say to you, look for plans that pay for diagnostic. Testing.

Stoy Hall, CFP®:
17:36

Absolutely. See, nice little tidbit there. We’re talking about benefits, everybody. Go ahead. Go ahead. And the one that has diagnosis care, right? Correct. Yes. Now we’ve gotten right, we basically went on this journey of we’ve gotten diagnosed dealing with all these issues and things that can come up. Let’s get into the treatment side slightly. I’ve obviously again. Everybody, this is cancer that is above my pay grade in terms of how many are out there and how many different treatments and things are, but we want to get you at least some base knowledge, right? And so talk us through what a treatment plan would look like or how you decide on it, where it’s at, like what all goes into the treatment side. Let alone all the other shit that we went through. What about the

Rochelle G Prosser RN, CLNC:
18:21

treatment side? Yes. So in the last 10 years the procurement and delivery of oncology has just exploded exponentially. We have moved the gamut from just a traditional IV and they’re giving you Medicine through a blood act and access through your veins. Now we have moved the needle into activating your own internal immune response to recognize that you have cancer cells growing in a place that it has no business growing. That takes time, but it does. It does work. We also have now where we could take a biopsy, meaning they remove the tumor or a portion of the tumor and they send it to the lab and they look at the cells and check based on the DNA profile of what that tumor is and we can create targeted therapies just for that cancer. Then we can use something called nanotechnology, which works with radiation and because it’s a device that only releases medicine and cancer treatments in a liquid form or a pellet form, once it is beside or in proximity of cancer cells. It will migrate there, either through an infusion, they put it in your bloodstream, or there’s a little surgical process that they plant to see is very small. But then it only works when a radiation being of some sort. It hits it, whether it’s proton therapy, whether it’s a gantry stereotactic radiation, I’m giving you a few names, a gamma beam, or I think the other one is. Photon and so each 1 of these have a unique and structured way of delivering a radiation beam. It’s all part of an x ray. How it’s delivered is through a scan and MRI scan or any, or just a plain x ray beam and When you’re using a nanoparticle, There’s a lot out there, but what it does is once it really receives, or is it the radiation beam hits it, it releases that medicine and that medicine only works on the cells, the cancer cells, it leaves everything else alone. So as we look towards the future of what oncology is and isn’t, you wanna know that you. have all the options out there, not only knowing what they are, but having the ability to receive it or getting to where it’s being delivered. And right now, in the realm of cancer, nationally, we have a problem. It’s really a barn fire, because People live in communities, but the communities don’t have the access to these terminology and technology and care. And in order to access them, you’re going more than 200 miles. In my case, with my daughter, I had to go nine states away. I don’t know about you, but there’s, you have separation anxiety, you have isolation you have disruption to your family. I had other children, so I wasn’t there. I missed big events while trying to take care and work on the survival of one. And that’s disruptive. To the relationships and interrelationships within marriages within the family unit and we were there for 2 years so that not everybody can tolerate that having to deal with 2 different health holds, households and financially being responsible for that. Where I live, it’s always sunny. Where I went, I had to deal with the four seasons. So I was not prepared for that at all. And so there are some issues in terms of surviving cancer treatment. It’s not just getting there. It’s, can you remain there so that you can receive the full benefit? And these are the things that need to change. And I really am a disruptor. In oncology care it’s one thing to provide care, it’s a whole other thing to experience the delivery of care, where it works and where it doesn’t work, and your providers are the gatekeepers, so if you upset them by challenging them, if you, if there’s nothing wrong with disagreeing without being disagreeable because at the end of the day, as health care providers, we want to do the best thing, the right thing. But most importantly, we don’t want to harm you. And there is a lot of harm that happens during cancer treatment. It’s not intended. It is part and parcel of the treatment journey. And so we need to be able to speak up to that and say, hey I’m having a difficult time. It could be. Gastric issues. It could be nausea and vomiting. It could be pain. But if you don’t speak about it, if you don’t tell them what’s going on, we can’t mitigate those things. And as we look at access to care and remedies. If we’re not all of us trying to access these clinical trials, none of us will survive. We’re all part of the human genome, whether we have a lot of melanation or very little. We still are part of the human gene and humanity would look at globally, we should provide access and care wherever possible. If we are changing the fabric of how oncology is delivered, looking at how we will connect under DNA and looking at the gene expression, if we’re not there to be active participants to provide our genes to that pool, we don’t know how effective these genes, these treatments will work. We don’t know how they will express. Between you, between myself, between someone less melanated, and therefore treatments get shelved unnecessarily. That might actually work. And proximity and being open to join these things, and historically, I’m talking about something very, that we all struggle with historically. Treatments have been withheld from certain sectors of society, vulnerable populations don’t have access because they don’t have the transportation services or the holistic approach of maintaining the services once they access them. This has been, has plagued us. In the United States, so I’m standing here saying, I understand that I’ve walked through that. I’ve been one to say no, and I said, no, as a participant in clinical trials or donation of cells, because the person speaking to me. It doesn’t look like me doesn’t understand the history of what has happened to those that look like me and I don’t feel that there’s a trust that they will judiciously guard my DNA. They will judiciously guard my family members. Genetic profile. And so looking forward, I am pleading with all of us to change the hearts and minds and values. I understand what has happened before. I’m well aware of that. But if we don’t become active participants in this realm of looking at the human genome, we’re going to be left behind. But not just for a moment. Us in general, I’m saying all of humanity will be left behind because America is the place where innovation and cures are made. People come to America to access for cancer tourism. And if we are not making innovative products that will help move survivorship forward. Today, there will be no tomorrow in oncology, so we must come together. We must trust the system and find those that look like you so that you can find comfort in asking those tough questions. Am I getting informed consent? How are you going to use my cells? And do I have the right to get them back and say, no more? Those are the three things that you need to take away. And if you, if they can answer that effectively for you, move forward. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be fearless. Because at the end of the day, it’s about saving lives. A hundred

Stoy Hall, CFP®:
27:47

percent all about saving lives. So how do I get access to this database? As me as a consumer I’m like, hello, I need, I trust you now. Now help me. How do I get access to it?

Rochelle G Prosser RN, CLNC:
27:58

Yeah. So you could go to my website, orchidhealthcaresolutions. com. And look under the tab that says cancer treatment library, actually, I just posted the cancer treatment analytics side for you to see what the treatments are out there. It will give you the number and portion that I have available to tell you, or what’s available globally for you to look at and where the region is, but at least gives you a framework of saying. That is my diagnosis, and there are treatments available. At the end of the day, it’s about access. And I think the worst thing is having knowledge and not knowing how to judiciously utilize it. I give you a list. These are the treatments that are best for you. What I don’t want is for you to take that list and say, I have hope. I demand you give this to me. Because guess what? There could be things within that particular drug that your provider is going to say, no, you cannot have it. And they’re saying, no, for now. They’re not saying, no, forever. At the end of the day, we have a Hippocratic Oath as physicians. I’m not a physician, but I do have an oath not to do harm. And. If the outcome of the treatment is more harmful than the cure or the cancer disease itself, we’re not going to give it to you because we don’t want to harm you. So the idea of after you get your list, come back and sit with me, create a consult with me, and we can go through it. Because at the end of the day, you want to know what treatment is actually out there. If you go to clinicaltrials. gov, I’m sure you can throw a dart and they’ll give you over a thousand different treatments that are there just based on the diagnosis. But that doesn’t mean that it’s right for you. Which is why, under these government profiles, They don’t work. We’re not advancing the needle. We need to have consolidation of public and private information, the information that’s available in the pharma, the pharmaceutical companies themselves, because they do have cures based on DNA based on cellular behavior. But if no one knows that they’re out there, how do you keep things going? So there, there really needs to be a consolidation of all this information in one place. So that is. OrchidHealthcareSolutions. com. Orchid, like the flower, and solutions with an S. All the words together. Yes, it’s long, but you gotta put it all in. And that’ll get ya.

Stoy Hall, CFP®:
30:36

Awesome. Alright, so that’s how we can get to it, and get our database, and get going, and then get a consult with you. Yes. Why isn’t this bigger? Why isn’t this, why isn’t Orchid known more? Why isn’t this why aren’t you speaking at TED Talks and traveling the world getting all of our human genome to improve? What’s the, what’s keeping you back? What’s holding you back

Rochelle G Prosser RN, CLNC:
30:58

from that next step? I am actually out there. I am part Moonshot community. I’m a founding member of it for the new initiative. I’m also sit on the board of the St. Jude Research St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Committee here in Miami, Florida. And I am doing and participating in multiple oncology organizations. And have a few webinars coming up for both the Society of Neuro Oncology on December 13th and also with Gilda’s Club locally for South Florida and that’s a hybrid in person and online. However. I’m a party of one. I needed to wait until whatever that process of survivorship looked like for my daughter. Again, it was nine years. I was working individually, one by one. I needed to wait until she was okay. That she had survived cancer, because there’s a survivor period, but then there’s a transition that occurs from the ill and sick individual to the healthy individual or as healthy as can be individual. And what does that look like? And what does that mean when you no longer are tethered to the sick care and sick aspects of health care? There is also a mental health transition that you go through that is unexpected. And you don’t realize, and a lot of times it’s your family members that tell you’re having some mental health issues, right? And because you’re just so thankful of surviving, but then once you survive, you look left and right and everybody’s gone because you survived. And that’s a lonely place to be. And so I needed to make sure that my family members were okay with that. And If that meant transitioning to, you’re no longer here, walking this earth, there’s a survivorship for the rest of the family that needs to happen. In, in dealing with this, raise your hand if you know anyone with cancer that is in proximity, whether it’s your family member, your grandmother, your father, your children your neighbor or a friend once removed. Everybody is touched by cancer. And so you have to make sure that you, the individual, are mentally ready to go forward and start talking about it. And I had to make that transition. So I really, as a business, only put my toe into this space on March 27th of this year. However, I’ve been talking about this and working in this space for decades. I feel like sometimes I’m drinking from a water hose, but instead of it being a water hose, it’s a fire hose, and so I have to preserve me. And make sure that the spaces that I’m in are the, if most effective spaces where I can share my message. And so now as you’re saying, I have now started a podcast and it is called talking from the margins and it’s You know, the original one was Cancer Connections and I realized that most of healthcare, most of the real information, most of the real innovation is in the margins and that’s where most people are. So that’s what I’m doing now to share my voice because I can’t be everywhere.

Stoy Hall, CFP®:
34:43

Oh, you can. I love it. I love the hell out of that name. That’s phenomenal. That is phenomenal. Let’s end this with one ask that I want you to ask everyone, right? The question is going to be, how can we help you? How can we further this message in this passion project, let alone the business in itself? How can we do that? Give us your

Rochelle G Prosser RN, CLNC:
35:02

ask. My ask is actually twofold. One is to make sure you speak up and ask where you need the help. Get into clinical trials. Insist on being part of a clinical trial. If they don’t have it near you, ask your provider to look for one so that you can get in. That’s where the cures are. That’s where we need to be. Second is, donate your DNA. It might not be for you, unfortunately. And to have some semblance of closure, different organizations could a gift from a child, or tumor donation to bank that tumor, will help the person coming after you. And, It’s a hard ask, but you know what, people want closure. They want to know that their treatments are not in vain. So to help me is to share my message of tissue donation, of finding the supports and resources that we are, and go to my website and connect with me. Please, your survivorship depends on who your advocate is. Honestly, in every other industry, you always have mentorship to guide you through. Why should you be alone walking this gauntlet of oncology care? Nothing is promised, but also, we do not have an expiration on what is called life. There’s no expiration date. Anybody who tells you that, run. Find me, I’m out there. It’s Rochelle Prosser at Orchid Healthcare Solutions, and I look forward to hearing from you soon. The proceeding program was sponsored by Black Mammoth. Any awards, rankings, or recognition by unaffiliated third parties or publications are in no way indicative of the advisor’s future performance or any individual client’s investment success. No award ranking or recognition should be construed as a current or past endorsement of black mammoth. Information regarding specific awards, rankings, or recognitions is available on the Black Mammoth website, www.blackmammoth.com. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. Investment strategies such as asset allocation, diversification, or rebalancing do not assure or guarantee better performance and cannot eliminate the risk of investment losses. There are no guarantees that a portfolio employing these or any other strategy will outperform a portfolio that does not engage in such strategies. This broadcast should not be construed by any client or prospective client as a solicitation to affect or attempt to affect transactions and securities or the rendering of personalized investment advice due to various factors including changing market conditions. The information discussed in this broadcast may no longer be reflective of current positions or recommendations. While information presented is believed to be factual and up to date, Black Mammoth do not guarantee its accuracy, and it should not be regarded as a complete analysis of the subjects discussed. The tax and estate planning information discussed is general in nature, and is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal or tax advice. Listeners should consult an attorney or tax professional regarding their specific legal or tax situation. Past performance is not indicative of future results.