Recently Diagnosed or Relapsed? Stop Looking For a Miracle Cure, and Use Evidence-Based Therapies To Enhance Your Treatment and Prolong Your Remission
Multiple Myeloma an incurable disease, but I have spent the last 25 years in remission using a blend of conventional oncology and evidence-based nutrition, supplementation, and lifestyle therapies from peer-reviewed studies that your oncologist probably hasn't told you about.
Click the orange button to the right to learn more about what you can start doing today.
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Financial Toxicity- Myeloma
“The staggering cost of cancer care forces many patients to file for bankruptcy, and that financial toxicity may play a role in cutting their lives short, new research suggests
When I was first diagnosed with multiple myeloma in early 1994 all I could think about was how best to treat my cancer. As the months passed the pile of envelopes from my health insurance company slowly piled up. I knew the envelopes contained “E.O.B.’s” that clinically explained what therapies were being paid for by my insurance and what therapies were not being paid for (covered) by my insurance. But ignorance is bliss as they say- financial toxicity of cancer care was killing me but I ignored it.
I was fighting an incurable cancer and I was angry, depressed, you name it. I simply ignored what my insurance company was telling me- positive or negative.
Big mistake…
I am both a multiple myeloma survivor and MM cancer coach. Research and experience have taught me:
- Conventional cancer care is expensive and works only some of the time…
- Non-Conventional Cancer care can be inexpensive-
- Ignoring the financial toxicity of cancer care is a mistake
The need for developing a plan to pay for your cancer is the same as developing a therapy plan for your cancer in general.
Learn about both conventional therapies as well as evidence-based, non-conventional therapies. Combining the best of both may afford the highest quality of life with the most cost effective therapies.
To Learn More About Financial Toxicity- click now
Scroll down the page, ask me a question or post a comment. I will reply to you ASAP.
thank you,
David Emerson
- Cancer Survivor
- Cancer Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
Recommended Reading:
- Multiple Myeloma Survival- Financial Assistance-
- Financial Toxicity- Cancer Survivors Getting Medical Care
- Multiple Myeloma Side Effects- Financial Toxicity Work Arounds!
Patients Paid $21 Billion for Their Cancer Care in 2019
“The financial burden on patients receiving cancer care in the United States came to $21.1 billion in 2019, according to an analysis published October 26 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Patients’ out-of-pocket medical and pharmaceutical costs represented an estimated $16.2 billion of the $21.1 total (77%) and time costs represented the remaining $4.9 billion (23%).
The analysis — the second part of the US National Cancer Institute’s annual report to the nation on cancer — provides a more comprehensive look at the economic impact of cancer on patients than many previous reports. The researchers not only explored patients’ out-of-pocket costs but also broke down the data by time costs associated with cancer care — including round-trip travel and hours waiting for and receiving treatment — as well as by cancer site, stage of diagnosis, and age.
For instance, when it comes to the cost of care, age at diagnosis matters. In the first year after being diagnosed, the average out-of-pocket treatment and time costs for people 65 and older was approximately $2700 — about $2440 for medical services and drugs and $279 for time. But for patients younger than 65, those costs were more than twice as high — almost $5900 ($5556 for treatment and $304 for time).
Study compares cancer drug cost, benefit
“A new study from Queen’s University professor Christopher Booth has revealed the pricing of cancer drugs appears to have no relationship to their effectiveness…
Through the review it was revealed that the most expensive drugs were not the most beneficial…”
Cancer’s Financial Burden Tied to Poorer Survival, Study Finds
“The staggering cost of cancer care forces many patients to file for bankruptcy, and that financial stress may play a role in cutting their lives short, new research suggests.
In fact, patients suffering from colon, prostate or thyroid cancers who went broke had almost 80 percent higher odds of dying during the study period compared with similar patients who remained financially sound, the researchers said…”
‘I Am Drowning.’ The Voices of People With Medical Debt.
“Our article on Americans’ struggles with medical debt generated thousands of reader comments. More than 1,200 readers wrote us to answer our question: “How have medical bills changed your life?”
New Adverse Event in Cancer Treatment: ‘Financial Toxicity’
“”Out-of-pocket expenses related to treatment are akin to physical toxicity, in that costs can diminish quality of life and impede delivery of the highest quality care..Cancer treatments are more expensivethan in the past, and they are being overused; importantly, rising costs are being passed on to the patient, the essayists write.
Indebtedness is common and can be severe. In a recent study of colorectal cancer patients, researchers found that about 25% were in debt because of treatment, and that the average debt was $26,860 (J Clin Oncol. 2011;29:954-956)…
What to Do? The first step in discussing cancer costs is actually knowing the cost of treatment…But other research suggests a “conundrum”: patients want to talk about cost, but they don’t want their physicians making treatment decisions based on cost.
Prices Soaring for Specialty Drugs, Researchers Find
“…In 2013, Ms. Pearson said, 23 percent of employer-sponsored health plans placed specialty drugs in their own group, or tier, in which consumers are asked to pay a percentage of the drug cost, rather than a set co-payment. In 2006, just 5 percent of employer plans had a specialty tier. The trend is likely to continue: In the new plans offered to individuals through the health insurance marketplaces, Ms. Pearson said, specialty tiers are “ubiquitous.”
NCCN Reimbursement Resource App now available for patients and caregivers
“”By making the NCCN Reimbursement Resource App available free of charge, NCCN seeks to assist
patients, caregivers, and providers in identifying resources that may ease that burden by providing easy access to payment assistance and reimbursement programs, respectively.”
Possible Solutions:
- How to Appeal a Health Insurance Denial– yes, insurance companies can and do refuse to pay for meds, scans, etc. prescribed by your oncologist.
- What if my insurance does not cover my cancer medications? What do I do when this happens???
- 23 Web Sites to Help You Figure Out Health Care Prices
- Working the System: One Cancer Patient’s Story
- For cancer patients, new tool predicts financial pain