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Location: Finally the house is done and we are in Port St. Lucie!
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Immunotherapy is becoming more acceptable but there is danger with that type of treatment. Healthy cells may start attacking other healthy cells.
There are also different chemo meds. A person with breast cancer will get a combination that will more than likely lose all their hair. I have a combination that will not make me go bald. My hair is thinning but I won't lose enough for anyone to notice.
Chemo has come a long way. There are many combinations and treatments depending on the type of cancer one has. Also, there are blood tests that can help pinpoint what therapy is better suited for a particular person's case.
Since mine is stage 4, we've decided to be as aggressive as possible. I'm also using other things to help (hopefully) keep the side effects to a more reasonable level. Such as CBD oil and extra vitamins. It seems to be working.
I don't trust a completely alternative way nor holistic approach to treat my cancer. I do believe that a combination of chemo, alternative therapies and the main one....state of mind are what will put me into NEDville. I refuse to even consider that this cancer will kill me.
Location: Finally the house is done and we are in Port St. Lucie!
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And as far as the stage 4 terminal. There are those that were given only months to live, that have found trials (such as when they were working on Keytruda as an option) that have prolonged their life and are still NED years later.
New therapies are being worked on constantly. I'm a member of a colon cancer forum and there are some absolutely remarkable progresses made all the time.
It is super important to get to those hospitals that are actively working on these new ways. Sloan Kettering in NY is one of many that are giving those that have been told to get their affairs in order a new chance on life. And they are winning!
Not all cancers nor treatments are the same. Some cancers are much worse than others. Such as pancreatic cancer. As far as lung cancer, some are operable, some are not. It is a case by case thing.
Wow. I am not one of those anti-chemo freaks. I am opposed to it when it just adds a few weeks or months of misery to patients who have Stage 4 fatal cancer.
I wonder if chemo treatments would decline if oncologists weren't paid for each chemo treatment they provide (the only specialty that profits from prescribing a drug). Something to ponder.
The method of payment is changing. I have a family member who just retired a few years ago and he was helping to develop algorithms for insurance payment based on the standard of care assuming a set of variables. This was precisely to combat the problem you mention above of doctors either recommending treatment when it was essentially futile (e.g. The person will likely die in 7 months without treatment but die in 9 with treatment), recommending much more expensive treatments that didn't have much better outcome rates, and recommending experimental treatments without a proven track record of success. If it is determined that a course of treatment typically costs $100K, then the hospital will get $100K. The patient can decline the treatment and the hospital will get $100K. The oncologist can recommend a super duper experimental $500K treatment and the hospital will still get $100K.
The reality of this is that an 85-year-old patient with stage IV cancer might be allowed something that looks much more like palliative care, while a 25-year-old patient would probably be give much more money for aggressive treatments, as those treatments are less likely to kill him/her than the elderly patient.
Location: Finally the house is done and we are in Port St. Lucie!
3,488 posts, read 3,335,073 times
Reputation: 9913
Quote:
Originally Posted by RamenAddict
The method of payment is changing. I have a family member who just retired a few years ago and he was helping to develop algorithms for insurance payment based on the standard of care assuming a set of variables. This was precisely to combat the problem you mention above of doctors either recommending treatment when it was essentially futile (e.g. The person will likely die in 7 months without treatment but die in 9 with treatment), recommending much more expensive treatments that didn't have much better outcome rates, and recommending experimental treatments without a proven track record of success. If it is determined that a course of treatment typically costs $100K, then the hospital will get $100K. The patient can decline the treatment and the hospital will get $100K. The oncologist can recommend a super duper experimental $500K treatment and the hospital will still get $100K.
The reality of this is that an 85-year-old patient with stage IV cancer might be allowed something that looks much more like palliative care, while a 25-year-old patient would probably be give much more money for aggressive treatments, as those treatments are less likely to kill him/her than the elderly patient.
O.M.G. I don't think I agree with this!
Experimental treatments and trials are the backbone of finding cures! If insurances wont pay, how the hell does anyone expect new treatments to actually get people to the NED stage?!?
Who will decide the age cutoff? This will open up a whole new set of problems. Insurance companies already hold all the cards in what they will or will not cover.
Mine refused to cover genetic testing on my cancer. I need those tests so my cancer team can figure out the best treatment to fight this disease!
My Life is on the line! Right now I'm on a very aggressive treatment based on just having my colon cancer spread to other places. If we could pinpoint what my cancer genes are, we can then go with what works best on that type based on genetic markers.
Ugh! I really dislike insurance companies but at the same time, they are a necessary evil. They do play God with people's lives. Now they are even doing wellness checks. Be of pure eating and exercise habits, you get rewarded with your insurance Not going up.
Experimental treatments and trials are the backbone of finding cures! If insurances wont pay, how the hell does anyone expect new treatments to actually get people to the NED stage?!?
!
Pts involved in clinical trials don't pay for the treatment or care. Pharmaceutical Co. costs and research grants cover it.
RamenAddict's comments about diagnosis related payments are what put 1/3rd of American hospitals out of business in the early 90s thanks to Clinton Admin. tampering with the Medicare payment scheme. Hospitals were paid according to average length of stay & utilization of services according to diagnosis.
A hospital could "profit" by getting a pt in and out in less time than average, but that length of stay could only reasonably be cut down by a day or two when the average was, say, 5 days. BUT- a complicated case might take 20 days and no extra payment would be forthcoming. Not only were extra materials, drugs, cost of personell etc incurred without remuneration, but the bed was tied up for extra days and new pts and income denied.
Dumb system. It put many rural and small, inner city hospitals out of business. If you don't know history, you're doomed to repeat it.
I've been recently diagnosed with cancer. I'm refusing all treatment. My doctor told me he's never, ever seen treatment work other than to prolong life for a very short time and make the patient miserable.
I'm sure some cancers are different and respond well to treatment.
Bottom line: It's all about the money.
Let me suggest a second opinion. Something is wrong with a Dr who lies to patients, discouraging them from getting life extending treatment or a cure. I was diagnosed with endometrial cancer in early 2010 and I am still here. Treatment never made me or anyone I know "miserable" because they have medication for all the side effects should you suffer them. Fortunately I did not. Not everyone does. Many cancers respond well to treatment and some people are cured. Why take a chance with your life? When the pain is bad enough and no pills are helping you cope with it, it may well be too late to save yourself.
Let me add that I have met others at the cancer center who are still alive after 10 to 21 years. They're there for a checkup or scan. Many die of other causes, the cancer never returning in their lifetime, as most of us are seniors or older people who develop cancer.
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