HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post - Pertuzumab not avaliable to stage 4 contrary to what you have heard

'lizbeth · 07-07-2012, 09:35 AM

Seven,

I feel your distress. I remember receiving a 20 thousand dollar bill and was told that I would be entirely responsible for it. I cried and cried. I felt my cancer was financially digging us in and we would never get out of debt.

My husband went into the office and raised hell, the administration of the hospital got involved and with much apologies I was told that the bill would be entirely covered.

How scary for you to be faced with this.

I don't care how the current system works, I just think it is madness that there is a treatment that could work for you, and you just can't have it. It doesn't work, it makes patients suffer and die prematurely. And now you have the threat of a financial disaster on top of fighting for your life.

Really? Seriously?

Where do you live Seven? Maybe you can contact the insurance commissioner in your state?

I think the new guidelines for Perjeta are as clear as mud. What - only for those who are Stage IV right from official diagnosis? Not for a recurrence?

What is the FDA thinking?

07-07-2012, 09:35 AM	#7
'lizbeth Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Sunny San Diego Posts: 2,214	Re: Pertuzumab not avaliable to stage 4 contrary to what you have heard Seven, I feel your distress. I remember receiving a 20 thousand dollar bill and was told that I would be entirely responsible for it. I cried and cried. I felt my cancer was financially digging us in and we would never get out of debt. My husband went into the office and raised hell, the administration of the hospital got involved and with much apologies I was told that the bill would be entirely covered. How scary for you to be faced with this. I don't care how the current system works, I just think it is madness that there is a treatment that could work for you, and you just can't have it. It doesn't work, it makes patients suffer and die prematurely. And now you have the threat of a financial disaster on top of fighting for your life. Really? Seriously? Where do you live Seven? Maybe you can contact the insurance commissioner in your state? I think the new guidelines for Perjeta are as clear as mud. What - only for those who are Stage IV right from official diagnosis? Not for a recurrence? What is the FDA thinking? __________________ Diagnosed 2007 Stage IIb Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, Pagets, 3 of 15 positive nodes Traditional Treatment: Mastectomy and Axillary Node Dissection followed by Taxotere, 6 treatments and 1 year of Herceptin, no radiation Former Chemo Ninja "Takizi Zukuchiri" Additional treatments: GP2 vaccine, San Antonio Med Ctr Prescriptive Exercise for Cancer Patients ENERGY Study, UCSD La Jolla Reconstruction: TRAM flap, partial loss, Revision The content of my posts are meant for informational purposes only. The medical information is intended for general information only and should not be used in any way to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease