Trying to figure out a plan

Looking for some advice after my doctor visit yesterday. Had a scan this week and doctor said that there are several spots in the lungs that showed considerable growth since the last scan (boo), so he said that the combo does not seem to be working. Am now going to try targeted therapy, but – as I already knew – he said that that is generally not a long-term thing. He mentioned palliative care, and when I asked him a bit more about that, he said that: “Well, I am still thinking more than a year at this point”

I guess that’s better than “less than a year”, but made me think that I’ve really got to think about how I’m spending the time I have. So, looking for advice.

For context, I’m still feeling quite good and am still working full-time. The only people at work that are “in the know” are HR and immediate supervisors. I generally like my work, but nothing more than that. If I had the financial means to quit tomorrow (illness aside), I would. I’m unmarried, so no insurance through a spouse. I’m 56 years old, so too young for Medicare. I think a lot of what I can and can’t do depends on insurance, and I feel woefully uninformed here. I had saved some money for retirement, which I guess now has been “freed up”, but it’s not enough to last long, if the co-insurance bills (I think that’s what they are called) are large, given the size of my melanoma-related bills. My last insurance claim was for $163K … for one bill. Yikes. I imagine that all the plans on ACA have large co-insurance components.

I know that “more than a year”-“less than a year” doesn’t mean much, but if time were limited and I had the option, I’d quit and spend time more time at my niece’s dance recital or reading a book at Starbucks, and I’d rather start before I get too sick to enjoy it. I don’t think I can realistically quit though, because even though someone posted earlier about melonama IV being a “fast track” to disability, I’m pretty sure I would not qualify for that now, because (fortunately? unfortunately?), I can still work.

On the insurance front (which I think is the key to my options), I thought I read in an earlier post that it’s possible to get Medicare before 65 in case of grave illness, but I imagine that it would require me to first be on disability, so I’ve basically got to be sick to the point when I can’t drag myself to work. Then I could apply for Medicare also, but then also have to wait for 2 years I believe, at which point it could be moot.

Anyway, I think I’m rambling a bit here, but if anyone has any insights based on the situation described above, I’d love to hear it. It SEEMS to me, like I’m stuck at work for now (which isn’t horrible; it’s a decent job, but it’s just a job), because – although I have enough money to “live” for a few years and pay some for insurance – even a fraction of this bills I’m getting now would quickly dry that up.

Long and short of it is that – before melanoma hit – I thought I’d have maybe 10 or 15 years of good retirement. I can see that’s not going to happen now, and I’m trying to find out if I can somehow salvage 6 months or a year before my health goes to hell. Thanks in advance for any insights.