Thursday, September 20, 2012

Cervical Cancer Treatment Cost

Cervical Cancer Treatment Cost?
My mother is about to start cervical cancer treatment (stage II) in California. She doesn't live here, so she is a "self-pay" patient. The treatment, according to the hospital, will cost about $55,000, for six weekly Cisplatin infusions, 25 external and five internal radiation sessions. Can anyone give me a sense whether this number makes sense? It is extremely hard to determine real cost/price for a hospital...any help would be greatly appreciated!
Cancer - 2 Answers



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1 :
That sounds about right. Its difficult to explain costs. Depending if she has to have an IV that costs money then the meds cost money too having the nurse there too costs money just in case something goes wrong. Medicine isn't cheap. My tonsillectomy cost me well over $1,000 I have forgotten the exact price.
2 :
I went through this same regimen 2 1/2 years ago and I can tell you that $55,000 sounds like a bargain. I stopped counting at $100,000 - fortunately we have good insurance. Please, please, please have your mom get a second, third or fourth opinion on the internal radiation. I stopped them at two and demanded a hysterectomy instead. Those two caused permanent damage to my surrounding organs - I truly believe that if I had had the recommended five I would be dead by now. As it is I will never be the same. A year and a half after my cancer treatment ended I had 80 hyperbaric oxygen treatments to partially heal the radiation damage, then got severe cataracts from the oxygen, which then required lens implants. It's been a downward spiral since those treatments. The doctors warned me about possible damage, but brushed it off as unlikely and easily fixed. Not true! I'm not saying she shouldn't have them - just question, question, question, research, research, research and then make an informed choice. And she should never forget that she is ultimately the one in charge of her treatment decisions. It's easy to get caught up the medical machine and just let the Drs. call all the shots. After the first few weeks I told all of my Drs "You advise, I decide." On a positive note, I came through the chemo with no nausea even though it's a well-known side effect of cisplatin. The anti-nausea drugs they have now are very effective (Emend in particular). And I never lost my hair. My major problem during treatment was extreme fatigue and weakness; the problems relating to the radiation didn't show up for six months. Good luck and I wish you and your mom the best...



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