Cancer patients quit life-extending drugs in recession

[mike r]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-08-07-cancer-costs_N.htm

Cancer patients quit life-extending drugs in recession
By Amanda Gardner, HealthDay

In 2009 and 2010, as the economic collapse shuddered across the globe, oncologists in California noticed a troubling trend: Three patients who had had serious tumors under control for as long as eight years reappeared in the clinic with massive cancer regrowth which, in one case, required emergency surgery. In retrospect, this downturn in fortunes should have been predictable: The economic recession had forced the patients to discontinue a life-extending medication.

"In all three cases, the patients developed new symptoms and came in after having missed an appointment or two without us knowing that they had stopped the drug," said Dr. Katie Kelley, co-author of a letter-to-the-editor in the Aug. 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, which describes the cases. Kelley is also assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

And there have been other such cases, both at UCSF and around the nation, either of patients stopping medications altogether or rationing in the hopes of making precious supplies last longer.

"Certainly we've seen an increase in affordability concerns," said Stephen Finan, senior policy director of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network in Washington, D.C. "Very definitely we've seen an upward trend in the last couple of years of people struggling with deductibles and cost sharing."...

[Lars39]

1. Before there was a generic for Arimidex,

I was paying 400 dollars per month and begging for samples. Five thousand a month for a drug! :wow:

[spanone]

3. criminal

[xchrom]

2. Recommend

[RainDog]

4. For profit murder

but I hope the pharmaceutical cos and their shareholders are happy with their blood money.

[glitch]

5. Welcome to America, Land of Opportunity.

You too can profit off of the pain and misery of others! Invest in pharma and insurance now!

Of course you'll have to support the war on medical marijuana, as an investor it goes with the territory.

..!..

[raouldukelives]

9. + 1000

Just keep feeding that 401k. You'll need the money they make for you off wars, big oil and health care to retire on. If you make it that long.

[Xenotime]

6. So much for Hope and Change.

[Hawkowl]

7. Die quick: Rethuglican Health Care reform

Alan Grayson hit it out of the park with that one.

[WinkyDink]

8. it's what they are supposed to do, to help the Health Insurance cos. Death is the new Patriotism.

For civilians, any way.

[Kurovski]

10. Kick.

[Zoeisright]

11. That is an absolute sin.

Christ, this country makes me so angry.

[Mimosa]

12. It didn't have to be this way

Obama and others could have sold single payer if they had chosen to by providing examples of every day people's health crises. And showing how a single payer or expanded medicare system would provide treatments for all patients who have the bad luck to have a serious illness. All people could pay in and the payments not used by the healthy would be there to help the sick. People in Japan, Iran, France, Canada, Australia, Italy, Germany, Argentina, New Zealand and every other developed country have national health care.

Why couldn't we?

Even people who pay premiums for costly inadequate health insurance find themselves unable to afford the drugs and treatments because of high deductibles. Nothing in the Health care Reform Act of 2010 has changed this.