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Posted 1/12/2015 11:02 PM (GMT 0)
My husband started a Taxotere/Carboplatin mix in December. Just received the first statement from the hospital and I think they may now need to cover my heart attack! The charges were over $45,000!!! The 2 meds were 39k alone. For those of you who have gone this route, are those charges in line with what you saw? Of course, with this type of cost, our $6600 deductible for 2015 should have been met about 10 minutes into his treatment last week! (Only 19 years til Medicare kicks in) Good Grief!!!

Happy 2015!
Barb
Posted 1/13/2015 12:10 AM (GMT 0)
Yup, those are in line with numbers I've heard.

Expensive stuff.

I think a heart attack might be cheaper to treat...

Andrew
Posted 1/13/2015 12:43 AM (GMT 0)
Barb,

Frank had his first cycle of taxotere etc. on Dec. 18th and we haven't gotten a bill yet. Had cycle #2
last Thursday....so he will have met his deductible for 2015 if the charges come in like yours!

Holding my breath cry Lisa
Posted 1/13/2015 12:48 AM (GMT 0)
Hey Lisa,

I have been thinking about you guys. How is Frank doing with the treatment? Hopefully he is tolerating it well. This bill was from Dec 9. I guess since it goes through the hospital, it takes awhile to get it. Strange though, the charge for the dr visit the same day went through quickly, but the chemo took a month.
Posted 1/13/2015 12:52 AM (GMT 0)
Barb,

He's doing reasonably well, some increase in gastro issues but no nausea or vomiting etc. The
mustache went last week, which was hard, but now I'm used to his new baby face. How is
Gary doing?

Lisa
Posted 1/13/2015 12:59 AM (GMT 0)
He is doing pretty good actually. There was a rough patch after the 2nd treatment with a bad bout of diarrhea. So we did not do the 3rd weeks treatment and it took about a week to clear up. They have lowered the dose a bit for this cycle and he seems to be tolerating it much better. We go again tomorrow for the 2nd treatment in this cycle, so hopefully it will be uneventful as usual :)
Posted 1/13/2015 1:27 AM (GMT 0)
Dear Barb,

I'm in the same age bracket as your husband. I am also on the Lupron shots, and just completed the standard six rounds of Taxotere chemotherapy, given over the course of eighteen weeks. My side effects were mild overall, for which I am very thankful. I realize I was fortunate in that respect.

Yes --- you are right --- chemotherapy can be expensive --- in my case, medical insurance covered the costs.

I just wanted to send a note of encouragement to you and your husband as you pursue chemotherapy. It can be a long road and you need encouragement as the weeks go by sometimes. My oncologist reminded me that the chemotherapy will kill cancer cells that the Lupron hormone shots can not kill --- so let that be an encouragement to you to "stay the course" through the treatments, as best you can. I realize chemotherapy is not for every patient, or for every case, but I wanted to let you know that the chemotherapy brought my PSA down even lower than just the hormone shots. So it can have a positive benefit.

Just wanted to let you know that others out there are thinking about you tonight.

Sent with my best,
Cyclone
Posted 1/13/2015 1:40 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you Cyclone, I do appreciate the encouragement. My hubby is doing weekly treatments for 3 weeks and then a week off, so we are at the infusion center 3 weeks out of 4 and it is definitely trying at times. It is tough sitting there for 4-5 hours just watching medications drip and listening to alarms beeping on the machines, however we are grateful this seems to be working as his psa has dropped from 30 to 18 after 2 treatments. It was our doctors decision not to do the 3rd treatment and give him time to recover. He also had a port put in when all of the gastro issues started, so I think his body was rebelling. This was all the week of Christmas, so we were glad he had a little bit of reprieve and could enjoy the holiday.

It did take him awhile to come around to doing chemo, but when he became castrate resistant after about 5 months, he decided to give it a shot. Hopefully he will have the same positive benefits that you are!

Thanks again for the response and best wishes to you as well!
Barb
Posted 1/13/2015 6:30 AM (GMT 0)
Barb and Lisa,
Like Cyclone, I just wanted to offer well wishes and encouragement. I can relate to the long treatment days and there are too many of us still in our 40's..
I hope Gary and Frank are holding up well. Any new friends at the treatment centers? I met some guys that I enjoyed sitting next to and still correspond regularly with one of them.
Daily trips with drips are a drag and the SE's that follow are worse. I had 3 different nausea medications and when they weren't working i discussed other options with my oncologist and he encouraged the use of alternative meds which worked wonders for me during the toughest times after receiving the treatments.
Hang in there. We're here for ya!

And Andrew - a heart attack is cheaper. I had mine at 36 and it was also a piece of cake in terms of recovery compared to dealing with cancer!
Posted 1/13/2015 7:10 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Barb and Lisa,
It's so good to get an update on your guys. I hope the holidays were good for both of you. It sounds like the chemo is tolerable and best wishes for MASSIVE decrease on psa. smilewinkgrin We experienced those costs with just about all treatments. The xtandi and xofigo and provenge are most expensive because they are newest. Provenge makers filed bankruptcy! Huh???
Thoughts idea since it's new year, possibly change insurance plan. You can usually get your agent to help compare plans and look into supplemental (not secondary) insurance. Our hospital lets us pay on our bill monthly with no interest. Crazy. Our granddaughter may end up paying it off! Good to ask the finance office. Also, we get assistance programs, so see if your medonc knows which program you qualify for. Best wishes and sending good vibes for you and your guys.
Beth
Posted 1/13/2015 2:39 PM (GMT 0)
Everyone,

Thanks for all the well wishes. Frank reads your posts though he doesn't post for himself...he's a bit computer-phobic! It was a huge decision for him to add docetaxel to his treatment, originally he was adamantly against any form of chemotherapy. But, going castrate-resistant in such a short time, changed his thinking and he's committed to at least two cycles, then decide whether to keep going. PSA has almost doubled since first cycle on 12/18 but, I am told, that can happen in about 25% of men at the beginning of chemo.

Honestly, chemo ain't for everyone..he had huge drop in blood pressure late yesterday, which was scary for me.
Of course, right after I had written he's doing great!!

Celebrate, we changed insurance coverage recently. Since we're self-employed, it's all expensive, IMHO. That's one thing Frank worries about on a regular basis. At our medonc appt. last week, their social worker came into the room to discuss financial assistance programs that we are eligible for. So, we are now only paying $25.00 copay for each Neulasta shot...and social worker will continue to slot us into different foundations that provide assistance as we get into all the very expensive treatments.

It's all a big learning curve...Lisa
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