Ever wonder how much it costs to
survive Cancer? In dollars? Real
dollars. Well, because I’m a naturally curious individual and a “numbers
person” at heart, I have been keeping track.
Since mid-December 2016 (when I had
my first mammogram) through my four first chemotherapy treatments (that takes
us through the end of March 2017, if you are counting folks). So, that’s about four
months of doctor visits, scans, blood work, surgery to install my medi-port, and
four chemotherapy treatments (one every other week).
$87,630.44.
Yep. My chemotherapy treatments alone are over
$13,000 apiece.
Of that, we have paid out of
pocket a total of $690.55 (not including our monthly premium).
Over the course of my treatment
(the full 20 weeks of chemo, followed by the double mastectomy and possible
radiation therapy), I suspect we are looking at close to $300,000 to cure me of
Cancer.
Healthcare is complicated – and
expensive.
Access to good, reliable,
affordable healthcare is vital. If I didn’t see that before my diagnosis, I
know it now. If this very healthy, non-smoking, 53-year old with no family
history can come down with Cancer, it can happen to anyone of us. The
“insurance” of having good-quality, accessible, and attainable healthcare
should be a given in the “richest country in the world”. And my newly-found “pre-existing condition”
may haunt me for the rest of my life regarding how I get my healthcare, where I
get my healthcare, and how much more expensive my healthcare is, if some in Congress and this Administration gets their way (I refer you to the title of my blog). It’s truly frightening
– and real.
The discussion about healthcare
in this country will continue. So will the invoices. I will keep you posted.
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