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Tags: cancer - dementia - experimental drugs - cant afford - health care
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Experimenting on the Elderly
Views: 1,052Added: Thu. Apr 15, 2010 4:59pm
Posted in: Cancer
Three weeks ago my 90-year-old mother in law, who has dementia, was diagnosed with lung cancer. According to her son/my husband, she never smoked a day in her life so this was surprising news. But that's not what this blog is all about.
This blog is about the prescription charges associated with treating this form of cancer. The doctor who treated her during her stay in the hospital wrote a prescription for a drug called Tarceva and told us the cost for a 30-day supply would be between $5,000 and $7000 depending on her insurance coverage. Medicare, we were told, doesn't cover the expense because it is an experimental drug. We were also told there was no guarantee with the medication. It might prolong her life for six months.
My first question is, what ingredients could be in a pill that would warrant charging that much money?
My mother in law is 90-years-old and spent her entire career as a nurse. If she is being used as a guinea pig, why isn't the drug FREE?
How can a drug company in good conscious charge such an outrageous price for medication knowing the average person who needs it can't afford it?
As caregivers, we don't want to be put in a position where we have decide to let our loved one die because we can't afford the meds.
There are literally thousands of baby boomers just like us who are caring for aging parents and are facing similar situations. Please let us hear from you
And as for those people who remain adamantly opposed to health care reform, may God save you from yourself.
babyboomerbev
Bolder Broadcasting, Inc. ©2006-2012 Bolder Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Vannie
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Posted 2:23pm May 18th, 2010Bev,
At the low end, that would make each pill $166.67. That is not reasonable nor is it realistic. It is also telling that this (possibly) life-saving medicine is simply not available for the masses. It makes you wonder who really cares about America's majority?
I am so sorry to hear that you and your family have been placed in a position that is, in a word, cruel. And that your mother-in-law who probably spent much of her life caring for those were once in the same position that she is in now, can't fight back.
Your post raises the question, who has the workingman's and woman's back? Who besides a handful, speaks out on behalf of America's Every Man/Woman? Certainly not the drug manufacturers--shame on them and shame on the leader's who continue to allow this blatant disregard for life and suffering.
Ginger!
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Posted 1:02am April 16th, 2010Bev,
I'm very sorry to hear about your mother-in-law. It seems everywhere I turn now I'm hearing about someone who has cancer. Two of my friends were recently diagnosed with it, one of them with lung cancer, and he never smoked either. He'll be (hopefully) 58 in September.
Regarding the drug manufacturers: I think it's sinful that they would create a drug to cure a disease, thus giving hope to those afflicted with that disease, then make it so exorbitantly high-priced that no one can afford it. Wouldn't that be considered extortion? It's like dangling a bottle of water to someone who is dying of thirst, then snatching it away as soon as they get close enough to grab it! The only people who could pay a price like that would be the extremely wealthy!
As for all those who oppose health care reform: I'd be willing to bet that they all have health insurance. I have yet to hear anyone who doesn't have insurance say they're opposed to it.
I wish the best for your mother-in-law, and for you and your husband. God bless all of you.
Ginger!