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1 Chemo treatment costs a whopping $17,862 Dollars…WOW! Part II of a Series on Health Care Costs.
What’s the Cost of getting your health back?
This is part II of an ongoing series about an actual Cancer patient, a friend, who has agreed to share his experience with us. The cost of healthcare, what’s covered by Health Insurance and what is not, and how it could affect any of us. If you would like to read Part I to catch up, you can read it HERE.
It’s now December and it’s been almost two months since the Cancer diagnosis. Up to now, he’s been through several Scans, X-Rays, Biopsies, Blood Tests, and Heart Tests. This is all prior to any treatment.
For those that don’t really know what Chemo is, it is a series of drugs that are injected directly into your blood, in my friends case administered every 3 weeks, for six treatments. The drugs that are given depends on the kind of Cancer that you have. Chemo is extremely hard on the immune system, so blood tests are taken every week after the treatment to check on blood counts. If the blood test show that your blood counts are not too low, and your immune system is not too bad, then on the third week another treatment is given.
Since my last post a few weeks ago he has had a Port put in his chest so that the Chemo treatments can be administered through the port instead of the veins in his arm. His Chemo treatments started 2 weeks ago. So far the side effects have not hit him too hard. The first week some nausea and headache. But part of the Chemo treatment, he has to take a steroid for 5 days after treatment and withdrawl from that gave him really bad migraines. Second week was better, although acid reflux, acting up. Hair already falling out, he decided to shave his head. Next Tuesday, if blood test come back OK, the on to the second treatment.
Shocker: The bill for the chemo came in. One Chemo treatment costs a whopping $17862 dollars…WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So Far Billed: $50,701.21
Here are the costs so far:
| Description | Billed | Ins. Pays | Ded | Co- Pay | Month | SubTotal | Total |
| Regular Checkup 7/10 | 120.00 | 66.06 | 25.00 | 736.00 | 827.06 | 827.06 | |
| Appt w/ Specialist 8/15 | 175.00 | 81.03 | 45.00 | 126.03 | 953.09 | ||
| Blodd Tests 7/10 | 145.00 | 12.03 | 12.03 | 965.12 | |||
| Colonoscopy 9/21 | 1080.00 | 0.00 | 505.63 | 505.63 | 1470.75 | ||
| Colonoscopy/Facility 9/21 | 2157.32 | 0.00 | 377.10 | 377.10 | 1847.85 | ||
| Blood Tests 10/11 | 403.31 | 61.75 | 61.75 | 1909.60 | |||
| Colonoscopy/Surg 9/21 | 197.50 | 93.37 | 93.37 | 2002.97 | |||
| Colo Anasthesia 9/21 | 665.00 | 0.00 | 406.00 | 406.00 | 2408.97 | ||
| CAT Scan 9/28 | 1932.00 | 0.00 | 504.89 | 504.89 | 2913.86 | ||
| Oncologist Visit 10/11 | 346.00 | 251.19 | 251.19 | 3165.05 | |||
| Onc Visit/Facility 10/11 | 202.00 | 135.34 | 135.34 | 3300.39 | |||
| PET Scan 10/15 | 3300.00 | 2032.23 | 206.38 | 2238.61 | 5539.00 | ||
| Bone Marrow Biopsy 10/18 | 297.00 | 272.94 | 272.94 | 5811.94 | |||
| Lab for Bone Marrow 10/18 | 3422.00 | 1591.12 | 1591.12 | 7403.06 | |||
| Bone Marrow Facility 10/18 | 931.00 | 618.10 | 618.10 | 8021.16 | |||
| Oncologist Visit 10/25 | 125.00 | 100.94 | 100.94 | 8122.10 | |||
| Onc Visit/Facility 10/25 | 146.00 | 97.82 | 97.82 | 8219.92 | |||
| Lymph Biopsy/Facility 10/30 | 3827.29 | 964.08 | 736.00 | 1700.08 | 9920.00 | ||
| Lymph Biopsy/Doctor 10/30 | 550.00 | 265.54 | 265.54 | 10185.54 | |||
| Ultrasound 10/30 | 93.00 | 37.02 | 37.02 | 10222.56 | |||
| Lymph Pathology 10/30 | 2375.00 | 593.79 | 593.79 | 10816.35 | |||
| Oncologist Visit 11/6 | 176.00 | 136.92 | 136.92 | 10953.27 | |||
| Blood Tests 11/9 | 118.00 | Pending | 0.00 | 10953.27 | |||
| Mugga Test (heart) 11/9 | 552.00 | Pending | 0.00 | 10953.27 | |||
| Prescription/Prednisone | 8.78 | 3.21 | 11.99 | 10965.26 | |||
| Prescription/ Allopurinol | 12.59 | 12.59 | 10977.85 | ||||
| Chest Xray/11/13 | 23.00 | 10.74 | 10.74 | 10988.59 | |||
| Port Implant/doc/11/13 | 783.00 | Pending | 0.00 | 10988.59 | |||
| Oncologist Visit 11/15 | 176.00 | Pending | 0.00 | 10988.59 | |||
| Port Implant Fac 11/13 | 8327.29 | Pending | 0.00 | 10988.59 | |||
| Blood Tests 11/26 | 48.50 | Pending | 0.00 | 10988.59 | |||
| Fac Charge 11/15 | 146.00 | Pending | 0.00 | 10988.59 | |||
| Chemo 11/19 | 13292.00 | Pending | 0.00 | 10988.59 | |||
| Chemo 11/20 | 4570.00 | Pending | 0.00 | 10988.59 |
| Running Totals | 50701.21 | 7430.79 | 2000 | 85.80 | 1472.00 | 10988.59 |
chemo treatment cost of healthcare healthcare insurance
on December 11th, 2007 at 1:49 am
It’s sickening & sad, isn’t it? Recently a family member of mine got a $40,000 bill for blood work & a biopsy. Your post is really eye-opening. I hope your friend remains strong and beats this.
on December 12th, 2007 at 12:05 am
Yes, it is sickening. I can only imagine what happens to people without insurance.
Thanks for the kind words, I will pass it on.