BBC--British woman to lose all NHS benefits if she pays privately to get Avastin

[Lani]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7219373.stm

[Sheila]

I can't imagine anyone affording to pay for Avastin, mine was $20,000 per treatment, and I received it every 2 weeks, and that did not include other fees, IV's etc, just the drug.!

[fullofbeans]

Well as the article mention she had to put her house for sale..

I am furious for her too this is ridiculous that she has now to pay for all treatments beside having to pay for Avastin, how typical of NICE/NHS

[hutchibk]

Hmm, make note to self about another potential downside of national health care systems...

[fullofbeans]

Dear Uthcibk

NHS is in the UK and is the worse free healthcare in Europe!!!!!!! (by the way all Eu countries have free healthcare, before you ask). They come behing poland on their Breast cancer survival rate!

So please be fair to free healthcare in general and do not look at the worst one in western Europe. I know for certain that Avastin is free in France and Germany and I expect in most of the other western Eu.

If you do that (look at NHS as an example) then I should look at only your dodgy insurers and conclude that it is awful even if you are lucky enough to be insured..

Funnily enough tho the NHS is the only system in the world where anyone can just come and be treated even if they are not resident (apparently get many people who come simply to be treated for Aids for a while prior to change in plane policy they had many of you guys coming to give birth etc..They even have charities specialised in simply bringing people over for treatments), strange how they can be so generous on one hand and then tell people living in the UK that they should die because they are getting too expensive..

[tricia keegan]

I live in Ireland and Avastin is available freely here for anyone that needs it as was herceptin from the day it was approved, a week before my dx thankfully!

[AlaskaAngel]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/349809_bushbudget02.html (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/349809_bushbudget02.html)

[fullofbeans]

AA,

Well what do you think? decreasing health budget and increasing war budget..not my recipe for a better world..but then again I am not surprised..unfortunately.