Breast Cancer Journey: The Cost Of Cancer Care
Susie Turrey is a breast cancer survivor who wanted to share her breast cancer journey with us. We thank her for telling her story.
Susie writes, “My breast cancer journey was not only an emotional, physical and spiritual experience, it was a financial journey as well. I’ve written about my journey on my blog, but today I want to talk about the cost of cancer care, even with good insurance. Now that treatment’s almost a year ago, I can talk about money.”
Breast Cancer Journey: The Cost Of Cancer Care
It was just a regular day after my mastectomy surgery. I would go to the cancer center and check in for blood work. My insurance would cover that. I would then go to the next doctor’s appointment which would be with my plastic surgeon. My co-pay for a specialist was $40. I would then need to see the oncologist, another $40 co-pay. Then I would go off to chemo which was covered by my insurance. That was $80 for the day.
Same week, different day: I would go to physical therapy, $40 co-pay. I have a special needs child. We would see the therapist at the center to help him understand that mom has cancer. Again … $40. Depending on the week, I could spend any where from $80 to $120 in co-payments. I did that for about four weeks straight.
Then I did chemo, once a week for twelve weeks.
Then radiation for 30 days.
That’s not to mention that I had surgery prior. Surgery had a co-pay of $250. I had both a CT scan and an MRI, which was a $125 co-pay. I needed to get my chemo port inserted and removed after treatment and that cost me $250 each time. To top it all off, I had a compromised immune system and could not work. When I calculated my miles to and from the cancer center, it came to about 2,400 miles for one year. I am not giving you the grand total but trust me … it was HUGE!
I don’t think people realize that even with good insurance, the co-payments can cause a financial burden on a family. I’ve met people at the clinic who were crying because they spent their last money on co-payments that day. They were not sure if they were going to have money for the next treatment for their loved one. I can tell you, I was blessed. Lots of wonderful and loving friends and family gave me money, food, clothes for my young son, and gift cards to help me out. I can never repay them for their generosity.
But … I can pay it forward. And THIS is why I volunteer with Provision Project. For those people I met at the clinic. For those survivors who have gone and will go after me. For those survivors who are doing this for life. And finally, I do it in honor of those people who helped out little old me.
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