Mesothelioma Treatment Costs and What to Expect

Mesothelioma treatment costs are high; there is no denying that. Estimates range from $150,000 to over $1,000,000. But there is also no denying the importance of making sure to get the treatments you need in order to achieve the best quality of life you can during this time. In addition to major treatments like surgery and chemotherapy, mesothelioma requires many tests and checkups to ensure the best life expectancy possible. 









Sources of Mesothelioma Treatment Costs

    Diagnostic Tests
    Lab Tests
    Drug Costs
    Check-ups
    Surgery
    Chemo and Radiation
    Caregiver Costs
    Transportation Costs

Cost of Drugs for Mesothelioma

The most widely used anti-cancer drugs for mesothelioma treatment are Alimta and Cisplatin. The combined cost of these drugs for one treatment cycle is approximately $4,100. Be aware that several treatment cycles may be needed and optimal for you.

Mesothelioma Surgery Costs

A typical hospital admission for mesothelioma surgery costs $150,000 or more. And that’s when it goes well without any complications that extend the hospital stay or require additional operations. We have seen total bills of around $1,000,000 in some cases. Also keep in mind that surgery for mesothelioma is often a controversial subject among mesothelioma medical experts and there are complex issues when weighing benefits versus risks.  Be sure to discuss this option very thoroughly with your surgeon, oncologist and other members of your medical team, and ask for their frank opinion.

Mesothelioma Chemotherapy Treatment Costs

Mesothelioma treatment costs for chemotherapy can vary, with some costing as much as $30,000 over an eight-week period. The average cost for an initial mesothelioma treatment is approximately $7,000. Actual costs will vary with individuals depending on the drugs they are taking, their stage of mesothelioma and other factors for each patient.

Mesothelioma Radiation Treatment Costs

Radiation treatment for mesothelioma can be expensive because of the high priced high-tech equipment required. The total expense will depend on how many treatments, the type of radiation you receive and your health coverage. Some estimates suggest that the patient cost for radiation therapy is about $2,000 a month. Analysis of data on costs to insurance companies and Medicare show the cost per patient ranges from $10,000 and $50,000.

Paying For Mesothelioma Treatment Costs

Some mesothelioma treatment costs may be covered by health insurance, Medicare or Medicaid. Financial assistance to help pay for the rest may sometimes be obtained through the social services units of hospitals, the Cancer Information Network, the American Cancer Society and the Veteran’s Administration, if you are a vet.

How a Health Care Lien on Your Settlement Can Help

One of the main reasons for bringing a mesothelioma lawsuit is to obtain funds to cover the best possible medical treatment, even when your insurance isn’t as good as you’d like. Almost all insurance plans stipulate that you have to reimburse them from your lawsuit recovery for treatments provided. It is important that your mesothelioma lawyer have the experience, skill and willingness to thoroughly review all claims and bills to eliminate inappropriate or excessive charges, and negotiate the lowest possible reimbursement amount for you. This can help you can keep as much of your settlement money as possible. We do that routinely for our clients, and never charge for these services.

Your health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid or the Veteran’s Administration if you are a vet, will likely help pay for your mesothelioma treatment costs. However when you receive a settlement from your mesothelioma lawsuit, the insurer or agency that paid your bill will expect to be reimbursed.

A healthcare provider – such as a doctor or hospital where you were treated – may also put a lien on your settlement if your medical bills haven’t been paid.  Those liens will be for the specific costs of the treatment you received, and may help resolve any pending payment issues you may have for your mesothelioma treatments.

source: mesotheliomacircle.org

Oncologists call for industry-led global fund to fight cancer

AMSTERDAM - The world faces a rapidly growing burden of cancer which will overwhelm governments unless the medical and pharma industry takes the lead on a multi-billion dollar private-public fund, oncologists said on Monday.

In a report on how rates of cancer diagnosis and death are rising across the world while access to diagnosis and treatment is extremely patchy, experts described the economics of the problem as daunting and current financing models as broken.

"It is bad to have cancer, and worse to have cancer if you are poor," said Professor Peter Boyle of France's International Prevention Research Institute, a lead author on the "State of Oncology 2013" report.

"Many parts of the world are already unable to cope with the current situation and are totally unprepared for the future growth of the cancer problem," he told a briefing during the European Cancer Congress in Amsterdam.

Boyle, who is also director of the Institute of Global Public Health at Strathclyde University, cited 2009 estimates by the Economist Intelligence Unit that it would cost $217 billion a year to bring cancer diagnosis, care and treatment in poor countries up to the standards of wealthy nations.

"There's no single source of philanthropy, there's no government, there's no company, there's no single institution that can afford that sort of investment," he said.

"The current model of financing is broke. We need to fix it. We need radical solutions."

According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the disease will kill more than 13.2 million people a year by 2030, almost double the number in 2008—and the vast majority of deaths will be in low- and middle-income countries.

In poorer countries, Boyle said, where equipment, expertise and medicines for cancer are scarce and sometimes non-existent, the increasing burden of the disease threatens to cause "devastating damage to entire families".

Boyle's report projected that with growing and ageing populations in some of the world's most populous countries, such as India, China and Nigeria, as well as changing diets and lifestyles, the number of cases of cancer worldwide would reach 26.4 million a year by 2030 and the annual death toll would head towards 17 million.

"It is impossible to avoid the conclusion that there is a need for a major public-private partnership, involving a number of sources from different areas, to make the necessary progress with the briefest delay," he said.

He said such a partnership needed the commitment of the drug companies, as well as industries involved in diagnostic and treatment technology such as scanning and radiotherapy equipment.

Asked how he envisaged such a fund working, Boyle pointed to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a public-private partnership set up in 2002 which has made impressive progress in tackling epidemics of those three deadly infectious diseases.

The Global Fund, which gets most of its money from OECD governments, this month said it needed another $15 billion to support its next three years' work.

Yet the funds and commitment needed to tackle cancer would far outstrip the Global Fund's size, Boyle said, advocating a new industry-led approach committed not only to giving funds, but donating knowledge, medicines, equipment and training. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com