Skip to main content

Cancer by the Numbers 4 of 4: The cost of cancer treatment

This will be my last "Cancer by the Numbers" post. The first three are here:
Cancer by the Numbers 3 of 4: Risk
Cancer by the Numbers 2 of 4: That grocery bill
Cancer by the Numbers 1 of 4: Those blood counts

I don't recall seeing the financial cost of cancer anywhere so I thought I'd just share what I know from my own experience on the quantifiable cost of cancer., since it is practically impossible to judge all the other costs of cancer (the emotional toll, the ongoing physical and psychological, the opportunity cost etc.).

I thought I'd throw some data at you, like I like to do. But first a few notes:
  • The numbers are based on what was billed to the insurance. 
  • The % represents the % that the insurance actually paid based on their negotiated rates with the providers.
  • These amounts excludes our deductible (we had a high-deductible plan), so once we paid up, everything was covered at 100%.
  • Without insurance this is bankruptcy for sure.
 

ForBLog
.
Billed to InsPaid by InsNegotiated Price as % of billedNote
.
Total cost$216,000$95,19044%Biopsy, Chemo, surgery, radiation. Excl.physical therapy & counselling.
.
Approximate cost of Chemo combo 1$3,400$1,30038%Represents 1 treatment. Adriamycin, Cytoxan. Excl. Neulasta. I had 4 treatments.
.
Approximate cost of Chemo 2$2,400$1,40058%Represents 1 treatment. Taxol. Excl. Aranesp. I had 10 treatments.
.
Single Neulasta shot$8,692$2,98434%This is what you get to boost your while blood counts. I had 3-mind-boggling.
.
Single Aranesp shot$6,500$2,74542%This is what you get to boost your red blood counts. I had 2? or 3?
.
Cost of surgery$41,365$12,87931%Incl. hospital stay, surgery, anaesthesia, pathology and supplies
.
Cost of hospital stay alone$28,874$7,81327%This was for only one night, includes supplies
.
Lowest % negotiated for a serviceN/AN/A16%Radiation - this was for some of the later radiation treatments (there are different kinds for the different treatment areas)
.
Highest % negotiated for a serviceN/AN/A91%Radiation - this was for the initial radiation rounds. Most negotiated prices were about 30% -50% of billed
.



The time lost for treatment ? Nullified by time gained.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is your 'bread & butter' conversation?

I am anxious to get back to the playgroups with my Moms group, and talk with some of the other moms because I want to know what they talk to their husbands about at the end of the day. If I were to truly tell my husband what goes on with my day? Well, the conversation would be inane and irrelevant. Gunnar: "How was your day honey?" Big smile. Me: "You know the usual. Lucas got up late this morning and was crabby because he didn't have enough time to play before breakfast and Liam pulled off my tiny earring, you know, the one I was so excited about getting because I thought he wouldn't notice it, and I could wear earrings again? Anyways, he pulled it off, and I grabbed it from him and set it down so I could deal with him appropriately, and I forgot about it, but when I went back to look for it I couldn't find it. It might have gotten wiped off the table when I was cleaning, so I spent part of the day sifting through the garbage looking for it, then I looked ...
3 comments
Read more

Week 5

This week is recovery week in preparation for cycle 3 next week.  So what has the week been like? Fear factor increasing. You know, now that I'm over the diagnosis and the optimism of actively working on treatment, I start wondering, "If I don't have horrible side effects, does it mean that the drugs aren't working?" What about, "I don't feel anything changing, is it making a difference?" and most recently, "I've been infection free this past month, can I make it through the remaining 4 months?"  Naturally paranoia is also on the rise.Must. Keep. It. In. Check. Generally felt ok, and I know because I don't fall asleep sitting up at 8:00pm at night - that's my gauge.  Went in to work a couple of days, and those are usually long days, but I am very happy to go in when I am able to. I get a chance to have a conversation with my colleagues about...work and not other things. That's good for me, because that's what it's ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fitness Photo Shoot

Fitness after stage III breast cancer Plank on ball in silhouette Why a fitness shoot? I am not a fitness model, nor am I ripped like one, but I wanted to do a fitness shoot for a few different reasons: 1. As a reminder of how far I have come At the 5-year anniversary of my diagnosis of stage III breast cancer, it seemed a good time to remind myself how far I have come since I went through the trauma of diagnosis and treatment. That no matter how low I felt at the time, I came through it. Not all my sisters made it and many are still struggling today (shout out to my IV-leagers - those living with stage IV,  EVERY DAY). 2. As a reminder of how much the body can do It is a moment for me to acknowledge that while there are things I still cannot do, there are things I could not do when I first started lifting weights, that I can do now and THAT is amazing to me. When I first started weight lifting maybe I could do shoulder presses with 7.5 lbs, now I can do more t...
16 comments
Read more