Who is paying for cancer?
Is it the patient? Yes if you consider that the patient pays with his/her or life. With time away from work. With time spent in the hospital in pain and suffering. Yes if you consider that as a grandparent you will not be able to hold your grandchild in a months time. Or as a parent you will not be able to see your daughter walk down the aisle or see the joy in your son's face as he beholds his bride walk down toward him. Or maybe as a mother to be you might not live to complete your term or even worse as a parent watch your child die knowing that you did all you could in your mean to the point of mortgaging your house and on the verge of being homeless.
Is it the family? The spouse that pays for treatments from the savings for retirement that might never happen together. The vacation that was planned and saved for years and now seems completely silly
Is it the doctor? Treating and caring impossibly for sometimes 40 patients everyday? Negotiating the best possible treatment for them? Being on call all the time - working all days of the week and 24X7 even distant from own family?
Is it the insurance company? In trying to decide which section of the patient population gets which therapy. Who gets the latest approved drug and which is the best form of chemotherapy for the patient?
is this a
Is it the government? Providing low cost drugs? Subsidies?
Is it the researchers? Slogging day in and day out hoping that they might find the cure for cancer?
Is it the pharma company?
Is it you and me? Paying your premiums and taxes so that someone somewhere can be funded through their insurance for a treatment that might prolong their life by a month?
At the end of the day who is actually paying for cancer?
This blog post was inspired after attending a mini symposium organized by the medical officers at work on cancer practice in the community setting.
Is it the patient? Yes if you consider that the patient pays with his/her or life. With time away from work. With time spent in the hospital in pain and suffering. Yes if you consider that as a grandparent you will not be able to hold your grandchild in a months time. Or as a parent you will not be able to see your daughter walk down the aisle or see the joy in your son's face as he beholds his bride walk down toward him. Or maybe as a mother to be you might not live to complete your term or even worse as a parent watch your child die knowing that you did all you could in your mean to the point of mortgaging your house and on the verge of being homeless.
Is it the family? The spouse that pays for treatments from the savings for retirement that might never happen together. The vacation that was planned and saved for years and now seems completely silly
Is it the doctor? Treating and caring impossibly for sometimes 40 patients everyday? Negotiating the best possible treatment for them? Being on call all the time - working all days of the week and 24X7 even distant from own family?
Is it the insurance company? In trying to decide which section of the patient population gets which therapy. Who gets the latest approved drug and which is the best form of chemotherapy for the patient?
is this a
Is it the government? Providing low cost drugs? Subsidies?
Is it the researchers? Slogging day in and day out hoping that they might find the cure for cancer?
Is it the pharma company?
Is it you and me? Paying your premiums and taxes so that someone somewhere can be funded through their insurance for a treatment that might prolong their life by a month?
At the end of the day who is actually paying for cancer?
This blog post was inspired after attending a mini symposium organized by the medical officers at work on cancer practice in the community setting.
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