Forum Discussion
Public vs private cost info
Hi everyone :) I was diagnosed with breast cancer on Dec 7 and had a lumpectomy through a private hospital on the 15th. It all happened very fast and I am new to Australia so was trying to get my head...
Hi @mellymell
I had all my treatment in the private system - double mastectomy , radiotherapy then DIEP flap reconstruction .
Even though I was in a private health fund I still had strep out of pocket expenses .
Both my breast cancer surgeon and plastic surgeon operate in the public system as well .
For the mastectomy the advantage of going private was I could pick my surgeon and the facilities at the private hospital were nicer ( including a private room).
For the radiotherapy the facilities were nicer and the out of pockets were not that steep for that part .
For the reconstructive surgery I got to choose my surgeon and also wait a shorter period to have the surgery - also got to have it in the private hospital.
I know of ladies who had all tgtt at it treatment in the public system here in Sydney and were very happy ( including a couple who had the same breast care surgeon as me).
The other thing is all the scans etc can add up in the private system so that is also something to bear in mind as they invariably had gap fees .
All the best .
I had all my treatment in the private system - double mastectomy , radiotherapy then DIEP flap reconstruction .
Even though I was in a private health fund I still had strep out of pocket expenses .
Both my breast cancer surgeon and plastic surgeon operate in the public system as well .
For the mastectomy the advantage of going private was I could pick my surgeon and the facilities at the private hospital were nicer ( including a private room).
For the radiotherapy the facilities were nicer and the out of pockets were not that steep for that part .
For the reconstructive surgery I got to choose my surgeon and also wait a shorter period to have the surgery - also got to have it in the private hospital.
I know of ladies who had all tgtt at it treatment in the public system here in Sydney and were very happy ( including a couple who had the same breast care surgeon as me).
The other thing is all the scans etc can add up in the private system so that is also something to bear in mind as they invariably had gap fees .
All the best .