#1 ·
Cancer patients here in America often feel like they're being left behind because they can't access treatments that are considered standard across much of Europe.
Back before 2004, expensive medications were funded directly through hospital budgets. This meant if you ended up at a "poorer" facility, you were essentially out of luck.
Since then, a specific fund was established within Medicare. A few months ago, Secretary Darko Milinović managed to cut through some of the red tape, so if a drug is on the approved list, you can get it in about ten days. 😕
However, other high-cost drugs are still supposed to be covered by those limited hospital budgets. In reality, even when specialists recommend them, hospital boards almost always reject the requests simply because the price tags are too high.
Beyond the traditional routes—surgery, radiation, and chemo—we've been seeing the introduction of so-called 'smart drugs' over the last decade.
Even though Avastin is well-tolerated and shows incredible results for women fighting breast cancer, it’s still not on the Medicare list, meaning patients have to foot the bill themselves.
Today, while I was at the Oncology Department, my doctor told me that this summer, we—the survivors—will be presented with a petition. We’re going to ask Secretary Darko Milinović to finally add Avastin to the Medicare coverage list for 2009.
I walked away feeling confused, bitter, and just plain heartbroken.
Seriously, what kind of place is this?😲
No matter what I did for the rest of the day, I couldn't shake that conversation with my doctor.
A petition for medicine!?
For actual health care?
I don't mean to cause a stir, but I'm certain there are plenty of us here who would gladly put our names down for something like this...
How many of us are there?😕
Excerpt from an interview:
We will never truly eliminate cancer.
It will always be a part of life because cancer is essentially our own cells spinning out of control.
The best we can do is recognize our limitations and leverage our strengths in the fight against tumors.
Fighting cancer is a marathon, not a sprint. Our success depends entirely on collaboration between scientists, clinicians, the public, and individual patients.
American scientist Ivan Đikić
Back before 2004, expensive medications were funded directly through hospital budgets. This meant if you ended up at a "poorer" facility, you were essentially out of luck.
Since then, a specific fund was established within Medicare. A few months ago, Secretary Darko Milinović managed to cut through some of the red tape, so if a drug is on the approved list, you can get it in about ten days. 😕
However, other high-cost drugs are still supposed to be covered by those limited hospital budgets. In reality, even when specialists recommend them, hospital boards almost always reject the requests simply because the price tags are too high.
Beyond the traditional routes—surgery, radiation, and chemo—we've been seeing the introduction of so-called 'smart drugs' over the last decade.
Even though Avastin is well-tolerated and shows incredible results for women fighting breast cancer, it’s still not on the Medicare list, meaning patients have to foot the bill themselves.
Today, while I was at the Oncology Department, my doctor told me that this summer, we—the survivors—will be presented with a petition. We’re going to ask Secretary Darko Milinović to finally add Avastin to the Medicare coverage list for 2009.
I walked away feeling confused, bitter, and just plain heartbroken.
Seriously, what kind of place is this?😲
No matter what I did for the rest of the day, I couldn't shake that conversation with my doctor.
A petition for medicine!?
For actual health care?
I don't mean to cause a stir, but I'm certain there are plenty of us here who would gladly put our names down for something like this...
How many of us are there?😕
Excerpt from an interview:
We will never truly eliminate cancer.
It will always be a part of life because cancer is essentially our own cells spinning out of control.
The best we can do is recognize our limitations and leverage our strengths in the fight against tumors.
Fighting cancer is a marathon, not a sprint. Our success depends entirely on collaboration between scientists, clinicians, the public, and individual patients.
American scientist Ivan Đikić