The Cost of Breast Cancer Treatment Varies

Treatment costs are dependent on your treatment decisions, the severity of your breast cancer, and more

The cost of breast cancer treatment can be overwhelming. Mastectomies, radiation therapy and chemotherapy are not easy. But sometimes the worst part of breast cancer isn't the treatment. Sometimes the hardest shock can happen after you're cured, and the breast cancer is in remission.

The real shock can be the bills that come afterwards. The cost of breast cancer treatment itself can be a battle.

Many times the cost of breast cancer treatments are partially covered by insurance. But copays for chemotherapy are nearly $500 a month. The copay on a lumpectomy can be as high as $2000. Chemotherapy for breast cancer and the variety of breast cancer drugs means you'll have lots of treatment options. However, this also means prices are higher.

The first rule of thumb is that the earlier breast cancer is detected, the easier it is to treat. It will also be cheaper to treat. Treating breast cancer usually requires two stages. The first stage is removing the tumor itself, and then the tissues around it. You may have some lymph nodes removed as well.

The second stage is usually a follow up with a mixture of radiation therapies and chemotherapy. You might get drugs that suppress some hormones, depending on what's found on your tumor. Some cancers have estrogen receptors. By stopping or slowing your body's production of estrogen, you can slow down the growth of those tumor types.

If your cancer does have estrogen receptors, you will probably save money in treatment. Estrogen suppression is a cost effective breast cancer treatment. Most breast cancer needs to be treated repeatedly over the next five or so years to ensure it's actually gone. When a cheaper hormone treatments works for you; that saves you money in the end. Many other people will need more costly drugs for the next few years.

Breast cancer drugs have turned out to be fairly expensive. This is due to many things, such as the cost of setting up clinical trials to test them and the entire research and development process. There is also a lot of pressure by manufacturers on doctors to recommend the newest drugs

Here's the problem. Chemotherapy is still a trial and error process. Different drugs have different effects based on the type of cancer, the patient, and the dose. The overall success of some breast cancer drugs is still undetermined in a lot of cases.

"Nearly one in three cancer patients end up having some trouble in paying for their treatment, even if they have insurance"

That's when the long-avoided question arises.

Is it worth it? You have to consider the effects the drugs are having on your body. Are the side effects too much? How much is the drug really helping you? And, of course-can you afford it? (Remember, there are foundations that can help with the cost of breast cancer treatment.)

Make sure that whatever drugs you choose are ones that work for you. If they help, they're worth the cost. Ones that barely make a dent in your cancer might not be worth it. Be open to different treatment ideas. You don't want to miss out on better treatments just because other people do not want to test it.

Of course, in the midst of treatment, you're more worried about living through your cancer. And that's how it should be. Just be careful that you're not spending money on treatments that are not working as well as others. You may have to do some experimenting.

It's important to talk to your doctor and oncologist about all of the cost-benefit ratios. Maybe they can get you drugs via an extended follow up on a clinical trial. Or maybe it's best to go with a tried and true drug already on the market. This will probably be less expensive, and may work well for you. Ultimately, you have to balance finding a treatment that works versus the damage to your finances. It's not an easy set of decisions to make, and it's one that will require a lot of discussion with you, your family and your doctor