Diep reconstruction
My surgeon has recommended (diep) this for me. I’m not sure about this and the out of pocket price is staggering! Between $10,00 and $20,000 that’s even with top hospital coverage !! Does anyone know if this type of reconstruction is done as a public patient? If so and where in Sydney. Thanks in advance.
Single or double mastectomy
Since being diagnosed with Stage 3 Inflammatory Breast Cancer in March I have been pretty clear that I want “a double mastectomy, no reconstruction and fab tattoos”. My breast surgeon is actually the guy who first broke the news to me when I ended up in hospital thinking I had an infection and I have seen him twice since. He has always said that having a double didn’t make recurrence less likely (I have a tumor in my right breast and there were some cancer cells in my lymph nodes) but that we will take about it nearer the time. Well, I see him next Friday prior to finishing Chemo in 2 July and my oncology says surgery will be around three weeks after that so now it is time. I know I am the only one who can decide but would love to hear from others who had to make the same decision. Lumpectomy is absolutely not an option, it’s one or both off. I am also wondering if choosing a double will have cost implications, I have found out about gap fees in the private system the hard way so if he says it’s not medically necessary is that the choice taken away from me as I certainly can’t fund it? I would be very grateful to hear what others did.
Makes me see red
I read, today, an intersting article on the ABC website about some of the issues faced by rural and regional people who have breast cancer or are at high risk of developing it. I'm not as remote as the woman who was featured, but even here there are struggles. One of the biggest issues is affordable specialist care. There are few, if any, public services and you do not always get informed about them. You get referred to the company that covers your region even if there are more affordable services within reach. I've spent ten years fighting this fight, and I know what the facts are. ABC interviewed an oncologist who agreed that, yes, there are unique challenges that lead to poor outcomes for county folk. Distance is one thing, cost is another. If you are on a pension or low income and have to fork out specialist fees that are well above the metropolitan rates it makes a shitty situation even worse. It is a pity ABC did not ask that individual what they, and their business, was doing to address equity of access for rural and regional people. I really do wish they had asked that. I wonder what the answer would be? Last time I asked a member of that business that exact question, in a public forum, the response was 'Be careful what you wish for, you wouldn't want to be waiting in clinics like the big public hospitals.' Really. Most of us have either money or time. You should not have to go into debt to fund services that are bulk billed elsewhere. This shit infuriates me.
New Drug
A bit of a long shot, but thought I would ask. I finished my last herceptin a month ago. My oncologist just called today offering a new drug made avaiable in tablet form. This is to be taken for 12 months. Suppose to improve chance of recurrence over the next 5 years by 5% in most cases. He said could even be more for me as I had one hell of a tumour. This drug also comes with a price $24000 and size effects. I didnt ask what it was called but I wish I had of. Might check in with my breast care nurse tomorrow. Does this info sound familiar to anyone? I already forked out $10000 to pay for Perjeta as part of my treatment plan. So more money is really out of the question. I just had my first lot of scans early this year and they came back all good.