Breast cancer patients face KILLER COSTS
THE ECONOMIC, social, and emotional costs associated with the treatment of breast cancer in Jamaica can be devastating, particularly where there is late-stage diagnosis. The seeming consensus within the medical fraternity is that the treatment of breast cancer can set a patient back, in some cases, several million dollars! One senior medical doctor who spoke with The
Gleaner said that the treatment of breast cancer goes way beyond economics as there is also an emotional burden attached.
According to epidemiologist and head of pathology at the University of the West Indies Dr Gillian Wharfe the cost to treat breast cancer is largely determined by the stage at which the disease is detected. Noting that many patients will receive chemotherapy as part of their treatment, Wharfe said that for early stage disease, it can be only for about four months. But for Stages II and III treatment is usually for six months. Depending on where it is done, a single treatment of chemotherapy can cost upwards of $25,000.
“If the patient has advanced disease, Stage IV, then treatment duration is guided by how well the patient is responding, as well as the severity of the side effects that the patient is having. Chemotherapy doses are based on height and body weight and so will vary from patient to patient,” Wharfe told The Gleaner.
For those patients with incurable cancer, they will not only be monitored by simple blood tests, but may also have tests for tumor-marker response, as well as imaging as determined by their symptoms or to assess response to treatment.
“The goals of treatment are cure for early stage and palliation of symptoms for advanced disease,” Wharfe said.
For his part, veteran plastic surgeon Dr Guyan Arscott, who has been practising medicine for more than 30 years, said that a cancer diagnosis can wipe out a family’s finances. With women being the
The goals of treatment are cure for early stage and palliation of symptoms for advanced disease
backbone of many Jamaican families, Arscott said that the consequences are often quite serious. As such, he said early detection was crucial. This, as the treatment of breast cancer comes with a significant economic burden.
“When a female is taken out psychologically, psycho-socially, financially, and sometimes the ultimate tragedy – death – it’s a telling blow to the household and the society in general,” Arscott told The Gleaner during an interview at his Old Hope Road office.
Arscott noted that once breast cancer is detected, the financial burden to the State and the patient begins. He explained that treatment only commences after histological or cytological confirmation. “This requires a biopsy (which is) image guided or surgically. In the public sector there may be unfortunate delays at this stage, due to lack of resources or personnel. Treatment then commences with significant costs and unfortunate delays at every stage,” Arscott said.