Treatment Of Early Localized Or Operable Breast Cancer
For information about the treatments listed below, see the Treatment Option Overview section.
- A clinical trial of a new chemotherapy regimen.
- A clinical trial of monoclonal antibody therapy.
For patients with triple-negative or HER2-positive disease, the response to preoperative therapy may be used as a guide in choosing the best treatment after surgery.
Use our clinical trial search to find NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are accepting patients. You can search for trials based on the type of cancer, the age of the patient, and where the trials are being done. General information about clinical trials is also available.
Breast Reconstruction In A Private Hospital
You can choose to pay for treatment as a private patient even if you don’t have private health insurance. If you choose to have breast reconstruction surgery through the private health system, there can be considerable out-of-pocket expenses, even if you have a high level of private health insurance. Some women have told us that their out-of-pocket expenses have reached up to $15,000, while others report much less.
“I had private health insurance, but having said that, we were still out of pocket by more than $12,000.” — Lyn
Its important to ask your surgeon for a written quote before committing to any surgery. Some specialists are willing to negotiate their fees if you ask them. If you are not happy with the quote you receive, you can ask your GP or surgeon for a referral to another surgeon.
If you have private health insurance, you may like to ask your fund what is covered by your insurance and what the gap will be between how much you are charged and how much is paid by your fund. There can be a substantial gap between the cost of surgery and the amount you receive from your insurance fund that is not covered by Medicare. You can also ask your fund for the names of any plastic or reconstructive surgeons who have entered into gap cover agreements with them. If your surgery is provided by a surgeon who has a gap agreement with your fund, the surgeon will charge your health fund directly and there should be no out-of-pocket cost to you.
Medicare Part A And Part B Cover Chemotherapy
Medicare covers chemotherapy and radiation treatment of breast cancer in different ways, depending on whether you are a hospital inpatient or if you receive treatment in an outpatient setting.
- Medicare Part A provides coverage for chemotherapy treatment received in a hospital as an inpatient. You must meet your Part A deductible before Medicare coverage kicks in. The 2020 Medicare Part A deductible is $1,408 per benefit period.
- Medicare Part B covers chemotherapy treatments that are performed at an outpatient facility, such as a doctors office or a freestanding clinic.You must meet your Part B deductible before Medicare will cover your chemotherapy costs. As mentioned above, the Part B deductible is $198 per year in 2020. After you meet your Part B deductible, you typically pay 20 percent of the Medicare-approved amount for chemotherapy.
Be sure to ask your doctor how Medicare will cover your chemotherapy treatments so that you have a good understanding of your potential costs.
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How Do I Get A Medical Exemption Certificate
You qualify for an exemption certificate if you are receiving treatment for:
- cancer
- the effects of cancer
- the effects of cancer treatment
You can get a form to apply for the certificate from your GP, pharmacy or cancer clinic. Your GP or hospital doctor will need to sign the form. You get the certificate within 10 days of the NHS Business Services Authority receiving your form. The certificate is a card the size of a credit card.
Once you have the certificate, you won’t have to pay for any prescriptions. This includes medicines that aren’t related to your cancer treatment. You show the certificate to the pharmacist when you go to get your medicines.
If you need to pay for any prescriptions before your exemption certificate arrives, you can get a refund. You need to ask for an FP57 refund receipt at the time you pay for the prescription. The refund receipt has details on how to get the refund. You must claim your refund within 3 months of paying for your prescription.
You might not need an exemption certificate if you are already able to get free prescriptions. For example, if you are over 60 years, or under 16 years, or you are receiving certain benefits. Speak to your doctor, pharmacist or specialist nurse if you are not sure whether you are able to get free prescriptions. Or you can check details on the NHS website.
Look Into Medicine Assistance Programs
There are also discount programs, such as NeedyMeds, specifically designed to help with cancer medication costs. For example, the HealthWell Foundation helps those with chronic diseases obtain the medication they need when their health insurance fails to provide support. There have also been expanded resources available since the on-set of COVID, which has caused even more disruption to the life of the average breast cancer patient.
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Complementary And Alternative Medicine
Complementary and alternative medicine are medicines and health practices that are not standard cancer treatments. Complementary medicine is used in addition to standard treatments, and alternative medicine is used instead of standard treatments. Meditation, yoga, and supplements like vitamins and herbs are some examples.
Many kinds of complementary and alternative medicine have not been tested scientifically and may not be safe. Talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits before you start any kind of complementary or alternative medicine.
How Cancer Treatments Are Funded
There are variations in how the provinces and territories fund cancer treatments.
The western provinces each have a system of funding cancer drug treatments at 100%. There is no cost to the patient. This funding applies to intravenous drug treatments administered within a hospital chemo unit, AND drug treatments that are taken at home . It doesnt matter how the drug is taken. But, to be funded the drug treatment must be on the provincial formulary. This means the drug treatment has been reviewed and approved for funding by the province. Each drug treatment introduced in Canada goes through a lengthy process of review before it is listed on a formulary. It is up to each province or territory to decide if they fund a drug treatment.
In all other provinces and territories in Canada , only cancer drug treatments that are administered in a hospital setting are covered fully. Cancer drug treatments taken at home are considered the responsibility of the patient. That patient is expected to use their own health benefits plan to cover the cost. If a person does not have enough coverage, each province and territory offer publicly subsidized drug plan options that helps with some of the cost. The drug treatment must be on the formulary for that provincial/territorial drug plan. Access to these provincial/territorial drug plans is not automatic you must apply.
Federal Programs for Specific Populations
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The Uninsured Or Underinsured
Many people struggle to pay rising health insurance premiums and copays, or they cant reach high deductibles before insurance coverage begins.
According to the Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey, 23% of U.S. adults ages 19-64 were underinsured in 2018, meaning their out-of-pocket health care costs, excluding premiums, equaled 10% or more of their yearly income.
More than 44 million Americans remain underinsured because of high out-of-pocket costs and deductibles. Another 28 million were uninsured in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The majority of the uninsured were men ages 19 to 64 with less than a high school education, lower incomes or both.
In 2017, uninsured nonelderly adults were more thantwice as likely as their insured counterparts to have had problems paying medical bills in the past 12 months.
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Is Medicare Willing To Pay For All Types Of Mammograms
In short, yes! Medicare is willing to pay for all screening and diagnostic mammograms.
However, there are a few limitations that you must know.
Traditional Medicare, mainly Part B, provides screening mammograms once in 12 months. The screening mammogram will be free if the provider accepts Medicare. Medicare Part B also covers diagnostic screening only if the physician has referred for one.
Part B will also cover more than one diagnostic screening if it is required to diagnose breast cancer or the physician finds the traces of cancer.
However, Part B will only cover 80% of the Medicare-approved amount for the diagnostic mammogram. The rest of the 20% will be paid by you, including deductibles, if any.
Talking about Medicare Advantage coverage for mammograms, it is quite similar to Traditional Medicare.
Part C will cover the screening mammograms only if the patient visits the in-network provider. Medicare Advantage also covers diagnostic mammograms, but it pays only a part of the cost, as Original Medicare does.
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People Living In Poverty
Cancer death rates are approximately 20% higher among residents of the poorest U.S. counties compared to the most affluent counties. The largest gaps are seen in preventable cancers, including lung, cervical, colorectal and liver cancers.
States with the Highest Poverty Rates
States in the Southern, Central and Western regions have the highest poverty rates, according to 2017 statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau. Eight of the 10 states with the highest poverty rates also rank in the top 10 for cancer death rate, according to the CDC.
Will You Be Able To Afford Your Home During Treatment
A cancer diagnosis can be physically, emotionally and financially overwhelming. Making ends meet during cancer treatment may be especially tricky. Understanding your costs can be challenging, too, as cancer treatment costs depend on whether and what type of insurance you have, where you get care and where you live.
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How Much Money Is Spent On Cancer Drugs In Ontario Each Year
In 2014/15, the New Drug Funding Program and Ontario Drug Benefit program combined covered more than $644-million in cancer drugs. This does not include money spent on cancer drugs by hospitals, and private payers such as individuals and private insurance companies.
Spending on cancer drugs will continue to grow for several reasons:
- Number of new drugs available
- Introduction of very expensive therapies
- Complexity and intensity of new cancer drugs
- Growing rate of cancer
Over the next 10 years , 834,750 more people in Ontario will be diagnosed with cancer. With improving survival and population growth and aging, this means ever increasing numbers of Ontarians will be living with cancer.
Treatment Of Locoregional Recurrent Breast Cancer
For information about the treatments listed below, see the Treatment Option Overview section.
Treatment of locoregional recurrentbreast cancer , may include the following:
- Targeted therapy .
- A clinical trial of a new treatment.
See the Treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer section for information about treatment options for breast cancer that has spread to parts of the body outside the breast, chest wall, or nearby lymph nodes.
Use our clinical trial search to find NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are accepting patients. You can search for trials based on the type of cancer, the age of the patient, and where the trials are being done. General information about clinical trials is also available.
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Getting A Second Opinion
Treatment decisions can be complicated and confusing. You can ask for a second opinion if you would like to get another doctor’s view about your treatment. This means going to see another specialist. They will need to see all your test results and x-rays.
Having a second opinion doesn’t usually mean that the new doctor takes over your treatment and care. They discuss with you and your current doctor which is the best treatment approach to take.
If you want to get a second opinion, your doctor will usually be happy to arrange it for you. It can take time to arrange though and it might mean that your treatment is delayed for a while.
It is worth discussing your treatment again with your current specialist first. Once you have heard why they are suggesting particular treatments for you, you might feel that you don’t need a second opinion.
It is always a good idea to jot down a few questions before you go to the hospital for an appointment with your specialist. It can be difficult to remember everything you want to ask once you get there. Writing down your questions beforehand can help you to feel more confident during the discussion.
Special Treatments For Advanced Disease
Women who have been treated with high doses of chemotherapy or radiation sometimes undergo bone marrow transplantation. This complex procedure replaces blood-producing cells in the bone marrow, which are often damaged from intensive cancer therapy.
Many kinds of experimental treatments may also be offered through clinical trials, which are studies of how new therapies work in patients.
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Savings On Cancer Drug Costs For Seniors
If you are on Medicare Part D, the Affordable Care Act is eliminating the so-called âdonut hole.â Thatâs a gap in your prescription drug coverage. Prior to the Affordable Care Act, that made you pay the full cost of meds once you reached the annual drug-spending limit.Now, you pay only 25% of the costs of both covered brand name and generic drugs while in the donut hole.
Ways To Save Money On Cancer Costs
Those without insurance could have a very difficult time paying these high costs. Even those with coverage can face bills beyond their financial ability to pay. There are several considerations to discuss with your doctor to see if lowering your breast cancer treatment costs is feasible, including:
Work with your doctor to find the course of treatment thats right for you, and your financial circumstances.
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Fees For Services In Hospital
If youre treated as a public patient, Medicare pays for your treatment, medicines and care while you are in hospital, and for follow-up care from your treating doctor in an outpatient clinic.
For private patients in a public or private hospital, Medicare pays 75% of the Schedule fee for services provided by your doctor. If your doctor charges more than the Schedule fee, your health fund may pay the gap fee or you may have to pay it as an out-of-pocket cost. You will also be charged for hospital accommodation, operating theatre fees and medicines. Private health insurance may cover some or all of these costs, depending on your policy. You may have to pay an agreed amount of the hospital fee , depending on the type of hospital cover you have. Fees charged by private hospital emergency departments are not covered by Medicare or private hospital cover.
Before being admitted to hospital as a private patient, ask:
- your doctor for a written estimate of their fees , who else will care for you , and how you can find out what their fees will be
- your private health fund what costs they will cover and what youll have to pay some funds only pay benefits for services at certain hospitals
- the hospital if there are any extra treatment and medicine costs.
Health funds make arrangements with individual doctors about gap payments. Choosing to use the doctors and hospitals that take part in your health insurers medical gap scheme can help reduce out-of-pocket costs.
Signs Of Breast Cancer Include A Lump Or Change In The Breast
These and other signs may be caused by breast cancer or by other conditions. Check with your doctor if you have any of the following:
- A lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm area.
- A change in the size or shape of the breast.
- A dimple or puckering in the skin of the breast.
- A nipple turned inward into the breast.
- Fluid, other than breast milk, from the nipple, especially if it’s bloody.
- Scaly, red, or swollen skin on the breast, nipple, or areola .
- Dimples in the breast that look like the skin of an orange, called peaudorange.
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Large Cost Variations For Radiation Therapy
A study published in the Journal of Oncology Practice shows the large reimbursement variations in Medicare for radiation therapy in cancer care. The study analyzed 55,288 patients with breast, lung and prostate cancer who were treated with radiotherapy.
The findings show the significant cost differences for radiation are largely unrelated to patient or disease factors and based more on geography and rates of individual providers.
Cancer-Specific Radiation Therapy Costs
Journal of Oncology Practice, 2015
Paying For Cancer Treatment
Asking your health insurance company about your benefits and arranging for a payment plan can help you manage the costs of cancer treatment.
Cancer treatment can be very expensive, even if you have health insurance. We offer some helpful tips below, and links to resources that may be able to help you.
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Consider A Clinical Trial
Clinical trials could be an option for accessing free or low-cost breast cancer treatment if youre uninsured. Clinical trials are research studies that examine the efficacy of new drugs and procedures. Ask your doctor about your eligibility for participation in a clinical trial. The National Cancer Institute offers a list of upcoming or current clinical trials for breast cancer treatment.
Im in a clinical trial now … my second one. There are all kinds of trials with different criteria. Talk to your doctor so they can put your name and information out there for the trial recruiters to see, wrote a MyBCTeam member.