Cost of chemotherapy is important factor of consideration when you decide to opt for chemotherapy treatment. Cost of chemotherapy treatment depends on many factors which include type of drugs used, amount of dose, duration of treatment and place of the treatment (hospital, clinic or home).

Some of the drugs such as 5 FU or leucovorin which are used in chemotherapy treatment are comparatively inexpensive. However, drugs which are recently available are quite expensive. Cost of chemotherapy increases more if these drugs are administered in combination which sound much expensive. Cost of chemotherapy using inexpensive therapy is around $ 100 to 300 while when expensive drugs are used cost might go to 20000 to 30000 $. These expenses include only drug cost and if you take combination of drug, cost of chemotherapy treatment may increase.

Many patients who are suffering from cancer can not afford such high cost of treatment. It becomes more difficult for extended treatment. Many patients get delay treatment or even skip it entirely just because of cost of chemotherapy. Though uninsured patients suffer the most due to cost of chemotherapy, patients with medical insurance are also affected considerably by the cost of treatment.

Chemotherapy treatment for cancer which improves survivals only by few months troubles not only to patients and their families but also to doctors, insures and society as whole. New chemotherapy drugs which are coming in market are very expensive. Their high cost leads to increase co pays and policy premiums which is not affordable to even for affluent person.

Since people can not afford effective chemotherapy treatment due to high cost, patient may suffer earlier death or disability. And no one provide adequate attention towards this issue.

There are insurance companies which cover part of total cost of chemotherapy treatment. However, some private insurance refuse to pay for some chemotherapy drugs even though this drugs are proven cancer therapies. Companies do this for the sake of reducing their cost.

When you are opting for chemotherapy treatment, make sure that clinical trial that you are going for is covered by your insurance. Consult with your medical team if you are denied payment. You can also ask hospitals, social service office or cancer centers for help regarding your payments. Last option that you can do is to sue insurance company to get money. Many times court takes decision in favor of patient and insurance company to pay for treatment.

Some pharmaceutical companies sponsor some programs related to cancer treatment to help needy patients. You can check whether such program suits your need of treatment.

Such companies sometimes provide treatment free of charge or they pay some part of treatment. Many communities have such programs to help patients suffering from cancer.

Chemotherapy treatment sounds very effective for treating cancer. Do not avoid your treatment because of its cost. Discuss the situation with your doctor, medical team and family and find a way out. Many insurance companies and other social organization are there to help the patients suffering from cancer.

About the Author:For more information on chemotherapy and cancer symptoms, please visit our resource sites.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – What is the Cost of Chemotherapy

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Vitamin C, cancer and chemotherapy treatment is either a good or bad combination, depending on the research that’s making news.

Since this essential vitamin is known to be an antioxidant, many experts suggest it may help in the fight against cancer. But when chemotherapy drugs are involved, vitamin C may not be the supplement to use, according to a team of New York scientists whose findings are soon to appear in the journal Cancer Research.

The work, conducted in the test tube and on live mice, showed that levels of vitamin C reduced the effectiveness of some cancer drugs. These drugs are known to produce oxygen free radicals that are meant to kill the cancer cells.

If you supplement with vitamin C while taking these medications, the vitamin C is suspected of soaking up the free radicals intended for the cancer cells – letting them continue to live and grow.

“What we found is that vitamin C blunted the effectiveness of all the chemotherapy drugs we studied,” says Mark Heaney, MD, PhD, associate attending physician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the study’s lead author. “What vitamin C does is protect the cancer cells from the chemotherapy mainly by protecting their mitochondria [the cell's power sources],”

Chemotherapy medications are meant to damage the mitochondria in the cancer cells, signaling the cell to die.

Here’s how the research was done. The team pretreated some leukemia and lymphoma cells (and did not treat others) with the form vitamin C takes when it enters a cell. Both sets of cells were then exposed to a range of chemo drugs including Adriamycin, Platinol, Oncovin, methotrexate and Gleevec. The effects were then measured and a 30% to 70% cut in effectiveness was observed.

Chemotherapy just was not as effective.

Next, the cancer cells were implanted into mice. Here the tumors pretreated with vitamin C grew more quickly than those that had not been exposed to the vitamin.

It seems that just like healthy cells, cancer cells might be able to benefit from the protective effects of vitamin C. The team felt that the buildup of vitamin C levels in cells was similar to what would result if a patient took large doses of vitamin C supplements.

The idea that vitamin C could be used to treat cancer was first put forward in the 1970s by American scientist Linus Pauling, awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1954. Still the link wasn’t born out by three separate Mayo Clinic studies during the 1980s – all well designed, controlled, double blind experiments.

However, although the recent study seemed damning cancer expert, Balz Frei, PhD. the director and chair of the Linus Pauling Institute, looked at the work of the New York researchers, and mentioned some problems with the study:

- Doses of vitamin C used were very high.

- Mice produce vitamin C naturally, and even more when they are ill.

- Only leukemia and lymphoma cancers were studied.

- Only some chemotherapy agents were studied.

Frei continues to believe that very high concentrations of vitamin C, as the late Linus Pauling advocated, could well prove toxic to cancer cells. He does admit that vitamin C may be contra-indicated during some types of chemo. And while the New York researchers may discourage vitamin C supplements during chemotherapy, Frie believes that in daily doses up to 500mg it can be more helpful than harmful.

In the meantime, all sides agree that more study is needed. The recommended intake of vitamin C is 75 milligrams for women, 90 for men. Supplements come in many forms, but natural sources are always best… especially if you are undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer. If you’re using any of the drugs used in the study, talk with your own doctor about how much vitamin C is right for you.

About the Author:Over 14,000 people have joined Kirsten’s popular (and sometimes controversial) Daily Health Bulletin, so why not join them and stay up to date with effective chemotherapy treatment options and other health news daily. You also get 5 comprehensive health reports free when you join – giving you all you need to treat common ailments, lose weight, look younger and feel healthy.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Straight Talk on Vitamin C During Chemotherapy Treatment

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