The cost of care
- Should paying for treatment cause unnecessary pain?
I’m sitting here at the IU Simon Cancer Center to get a second opinion – well actually my third – from Dr. George Sledge, one of the premier breast cancer oncologists in the country. He is the keynote speaker at next month’s Living Beyond Breast Cancer conference in Philadelphia and president of the American Association of Clinical oncologists. Are you impressed? I am.
I’m here, not because I don’t trust my doctor, but to make sure I know every medical option available to me. This place is really beautiful! They just built it this year, and I can tell there is money pouring into this place. They even have a dock of PCs in the waiting room, where I’m typing now as I wait to see the doctor. I’m glad I came.
Yesterday I spoke to a group of women at a Section 8 senior housing complex on breast cancer awareness. One of the things I stressed is to not be afraid to question doctors and to get second opinions. I thought this was important since older adults are often intimidated and awed by doctors in their authoritative positions. Most of all, I pointed out the importance of getting a mammogram and taking care of themselves. I shared information about a center in town that provides free screenings.
We had an interesting discussion about high mortality rates from breast cancer in African American women. I was curious to see their opinion, since everyone in the group was African America. Why was this the case, especially since there is a lower incidence of breast cancer in this population? A wonderful woman in the audience, who does breast cancer outreach at her church, told us access to care was definitely an issue, but also that speaking of cancer was kind of taboo in this community. After the meeting, this woman hugged me and told me that I am doing God’s work by sharing my experience and helping others. It felt good.
Sitting in this beautiful cancer center with my insurance card in hand, I think of the ladies from yesterday and others who do not have access to such great care. One woman told me that her daughter is in treatment, but just lost her job and coverage. It costs more than $1,000 for chemo treatments. It just doesn’t seem right there are people who need care and have to worry about paying for it. I cannot imagine being worried that I cannot pay for my treatment. I’m getting political here, but something needs to be done.
I’d be interested in any comments on this topic.
Anne Orchard says:
Hi Tami,
I agree that cost of care should not have to be an issue. We are lucky here in the UK that we have care which is free at the point of use (not entirely free as we pay for it through our taxes, and balancing the books becomes harder as time goes by). I was made even more aware of this issue recently when I was writing about how husbands are affected by breast cancer on my blog at http://tinyurl.com/yaqjpmt. I hope that the health care reform debate will ultimately address this issue so that people can focus on getting well. Of course there will still be expenses associated with having cancer, such as travelling to receive treatment, and threats to earning ability, but at least the treatment should be there.
Best wishes,
Anne Orchard