srowndedbyh2o

You are too funny.

At your suggestion I went to see Dr. Anna Jaruwarn at BKK Hospital Pattaya where she did a full-body visual checkup, and punch biopsy of a suspect site on my forehead. She is very knowledgeable, and speaks excellent English. (I think she worked in the U.S. for many years) I am very confident in the service she provided and will be doing annual checkups with her. While BKK Hospital Pattaya is relatively expensive (BHT 15,260), I submitted a claim with my U.S. based insurance and they paid for all but a small copay of about BHT 1,200.

At the begging of April of this year I had a skin cancer checkup at Bangkok Hospital Pattaya. I had only one spot of real concern to the Doctor and she did a punch biopsy of the site on my forehead. Total cost 15,260 Baht. Luckily when I did my followup check she said there was no sign of cancer. She removed the stitches, cleaned and bandaged the site, said “No charge”, and sent me on my way.

Thank you. I forgot there was a hospital over there. Is it as busy as the Sisaket Gov. hospital?

My Bangkok Bank statements show “TAX WITHHELD”. I’ve never gone to a tax office to get a tax ID. Where does the “TAX WITHHELD” go to? Did BKK bank generate a tax ID for me when I opened the account? I also have a (joint) Kasikorn bank account and their statements have never shown “TAX WITHHELD”. My (Thai/U.S) wife has both BKK Bank & Kasikorn Bank accounts, but neither of her bank statements have ever shown “TAX WITHHELD”.

Which hospital?

I frequently say hello to people I’ve never seen before. Why not say hello to someone I recognized? YouTuber or not.

Skippy Super Chunk peanut butter

If there is a chance you will need medical care in the U.S., you may want to reconsider getting Medicare part B. As Sheryl mentioned there is a (10% per year) penalty for signing up late. From the medicare.gov website: “Late enrollment penalties: Are added to your monthly premium. Are not a one-time late fee. Are usually charged for as long as you have that type of coverage (for most people, that’s a lifetime penalty). The Part A penalty is different. Go up the longer you wait to sign up – they’re based on how long you go without coverage similar to Medicare. Find out when you should sign up to avoid penalties." The out-of-pocket costs for not having Part b will quickly surpass what you would have paid for the base premium.

This photo is a scan of an old 35mm slide I took. Must have been around 1985 as I believe this was the first McDonalds to open in Thailand. It was (is?) located in Bangkok, just down the street (up the street?) from the Erawan shrine. It was packed with ‘Hi-So’ school children.

Thank you very much everyone!

If you were able to go to any Doctor/Hospital anywhere in Thailand for a skin cancer check up and possible treatment, who/which Doctor(s)/Hospital(s) would you recommend?

I have very fair skin and burn easily. I use ‘NIVEA SUN Extra Protection Daily Glow Essence Serum, 50 SPF PA+++’ for every day use. I don’t think it’s a dedicated sun screen like Banana Boat, but it works for me, and is less expensive than a dedicated sun screen. If I’m on the beach or going in the water (ocean or pool) I wear a long-sleeve rash guard. Also have a ‘Patagonia Surf Brimmer Hat’ that I sometimes use when in or around the water.

Where have you found avocado oil? I've looked in many stores but have yet to find any.

Thank you. I'll give it a try. The movies are important to me not just because of my family history, but they contain footage of areas in Southern California that do not exist anymore, so some history value there.