The Cost of Cancer

[Jeremiah]

How much has your total medical cost come to so far?

This is the amount that has been totally billed to my insurance and not what I have paid....

13 Months having cancer and totalled:

$674,851.22

This is not a competition but merely to help raise more awareness to the cost of this illness and the need for healthcare reform. From the payout total it gives us a feel for how much people have been burdoned by the disease but doesn't reveal anyone's personal information.

[Molly]

Jeremiah, great question and great topic! I honestly don't know what my bills amounted to. 2 surgeries, PICC Line, chemo...3 day hospital stay...and I never saw a bill. No idea what it cost.

[DAVE1_INDYDAD]

My son is 24, has been stage 4 since 7/04. 2 major surgerys, 41 chemos(4 different regiments), port, pain pump, 14 radiations. Just married last month, working part time and finishing college. Total cost billed to insurance so far, $1.7 million. It is no wonder that so many become "medically bankrupt". We have been fortunate. Good luck and best wishes.

[Edward]

As Stage II survivor with surgery, hospital stay and chemo my insurance was billed somewhere in the neighborhood of 350K. There are a few components to the insurance equation:

- Amount billed by provider.
- Amount covered and accepted.
- Amount the doctors actually see.

Along time ago, the basics of insurance is to spread risk amount a large cross section of people. It has eventually evolved into a huge industry that lobbies politicians and billions are made by a few.(See Warren Buffett). This is where we get in the business of denying claims.

As my group fights for screening legislation in Pennsylvania (www.coalregionvoice.blogspot.com), health coverage overhauls will have to be done in a few steps. Googe "The Sentinel Effect" by RJ Eskow. He frequently blogs about the heathcare coverage issue and has great perspective on what needs to be done.

[missjv]

im just thankful i have excellent health insurance that has covered chemo, liver resection, more chemo. i just feel horrible for those folks who can't get good care because their insurance sucks or they don't have any. it is a shame. i was shocked when i first found out how much chemo cost i couldn't believe it.


missjv

[Joy]

Canadian! Cost of treatment, stage III rectal cancer. Prescriptions for medications, hospital stay, chemo, radiation, home nurse care etc = $0 to me. I can't complain I have received excellent treatment with a first class oncologist and surgeon taking care of me.

Downside: Avistan has been "approved" by Province of Ontario but the Ontario Health Plan will not pay for this drug because it is deemed too expensive. I pray that I continue to be NED and don't need this drug because I will have to go to the US to buy it and pay for it myself.

[Loopy369]

Crikey! That's an awful lot of money, I knew chemo was expensive and surgery but had no idea (even with exchange rates) how much your average colon cancer would cost.

I've got private health insurance through my employer, which for them means you're back at work quicker so I guess it pays off. So far my biopsy, CT and MRI scan I've seen the bills for, but not the surgeons time and that came to about £1500. The chemo and radiation were on the NHS and I just had to pay £6.65 for each prescription of pain relief (managed to get it all on one, they liked me ).

I don't think the surgeons bills will come through me, he seems to send his direct.

[klryder02]

I have no idea how much my grand total is right now, but I just got a bill in the mail today with these numbers:

Oxaliplatin $4,620

Avastin $3,625

GEEZ!!

Luckily, my insurance is paying for the majority of this...thank God!

[bossan]

I have no idea how much my grand total is right now, but I just got a bill in the mail today with these numbers:

Oxaliplatin $4,620

Avastin $3,625

GEEZ!!

Luckily, my insurance is paying for the majority of this...thank God!

Is this for one treatment? I'm curious since I have no idea what my costs are (Kaiser P) other than my two week dose of Xeloda pills we $1500.

[Discoclub]

I have only seen a few of my bills so far..

colonoscopy/ biopsy/ facility 1200
First surgical visit
transanal US, biopsy, 900
Second Surgical Visit
Anal surgery (Biopsy) facility 13,000 (in hospital for only 5hours!)
Surgeon/ lab fees $6000

Onco Fees:

CT scan (facility) $700
Radiology to read scan ????

MRI (Facility) $900
Radiologist???

Onco visits $60 $20 copay x 3

I will have more scans, but not likely more biopsies.

I am being treated in Mexico and so far it seems true that the only fee is $5000 which covers up to a year of treatment.

For those that have no insurance (& those that do) investigate a different possibility that there may be other cures.

I have nearly perfect insurance which likely will cover the huge fees, I choose to pay for my health vs. what ins will pay for.

[northern lights]

Like Joyce, I live in Canada too and everything was covered for me. I was also military, so the cost of all the little things were covered.

Joyce, you mentioned Avastin not covered in Ontario. You may want to contact Barry Stien of the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada. http://www.ccac-accc.ca He is at the forefront of Colon Cancer resources and a strong advocate for cost coverage. He spoke at one of our screening meetings and he went to the states for care and then successfully sued the Ontario government to have all his expenses covered. If you want to know the future for Avastin in Ontario...he's your man.

Sharon

[klryder02]

Bossan-

Yes, those two numbers are per treatment.

With all the other little things added in, my cost per treatment is around $10,000.

[Susan]

Hello Everyone from Beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska,

On June 1, 2004, I was diagnosed with stage iv colon cancer. My employer did not provide health insurance benefits, so I have been taking care of the bills on my own.

The hospital charged roughly $25,000 for the surgery and forgave about $21,000 of the amount. That was a huge help. While I was self-pay, my doctor here in Fairbanks charged me at Medicare rates for office visits and infusion. This made an incredible difference. An office visit, labs, and chemo infustion cost me about $400 each time. I did part of my FOLFOX treatment in Indiana and was charged a highly inflated price (not even one nickel discount). Many hospitals will charge their private pay patients significantly more than they charge insurance providers for the same service. If you have no insurance and are flexible about where you can live, it pays to shop around. Be forewarned that many hospitals won't give you any kind of price quote.

The big expenses were and still are the chemotherapy agents. Fortunately, these had been supplied to me by the drug companies at no charge while I had no insurance. I am now on Medicare through Social Security Disability. Medicare Part B pays for only 80% of the cost of the chemo drugs, so my annual copays now total about $11,000. Medicare is great when it comes to surgery, doctors' fees, lab tests, and scans, but when it comes to chemo, Medicare is far worse than no insurance whatsoever. The drug companies that provided free drugs while I was uninsured referred me to a private charity for assistance with copays. The grant covers about 60% of the copay amount which would be very helpful, except they have not made any payments to my doctor's office, so I am still paying out of my own pocket. Avastin can be purchased more cheaply through Medicare Part D, but if you buy the Avastin at a drug store, Medicare will not pay the doctor to infuse it. So much for saving money with a Part D prescription plan. Who makes up these laws anyway?

By my own calculations, the total cost of this disease has been roughly $550,000. I have paid about $62,000 of that. I have worked as much as possible to pay for all this, but I don't know if I can ever catch up.

I am done venting for now. Have a great day. As for me, I will be out enjoying the midnight sun. Susan

[Guest]

My husband's lifetime maximum with his insurance is $2,000,000. So far he has accumulated $224,585.11. How much of this is cancer related, I don't know but of course the bulk of if is. This is the amount that insurance has paid out - not what was billed. It also does not include a $300.00 deductible, $2,000.00 out of pocket cap, nor any co-pays/co-insurance. Each year since 2004, he has met his $300.00 deductible, and his $2,000.00 out of pocket. What this is is that once he pays $2,000.00 for co-insurance (20%) then his insurance picks up and pay 100%.

My husband has had (not including scans, etc.):

colon resection - 9 days in the hospital
port placement
Folfox 6 months
port removal
surgery for pre-sacral recurrence (laporascopic overnight)
7 weeks of radiation treatments w/Xeloda
Pelvic recurrence - 3 mets
Port Placement
Xeliri w/Avastin indefinitely (but getting a chemo break)

For his CPT11 and Avastin (and premeds - Aloxi, Decadron, Ativan) they bill the insurance company $13,747.00 per treatment every other week. Insurance pays about $7,680.00 of that.

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