including mammograms, create false-positive results and force additional tests or biopsies for
additional costs (Miller 3). These additional costs are not cheap either, and most of the time they
are unnecessary costs that someone had to pay because their screenings provided false-positive
results. There are so many unanswered questions in regards to cancer screenings, yet doctors are
dependent on screening tools in order to detect cancer. This being said, Americans are at risk for
spending money on screenings that may not provide accurate results, which in turn may result in
them spending money on treatment they may not need.
If a person finds out they have cancer, they have to undergo treatment in order to rid their
body
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Chemo or radiation alone can range from $50,000 to $100,000, according to Miller
(Miller 2). Chemo and radiation are tools that are critical in killing cancer cells, therefore cancer
patients would have to receive one of these treatments in order to stay alive. Even with
insurance or any other financial support, a person will still end up paying thousands of dollars
out-of-pocket (2). The money that a person is paying out-of-pocket is not the only financial hit
they will take. Chemo and radiation are very tiring and can take a huge toll on your body; so
patients may have to go on disability during their treatment (2). Because the patient went on
disability, their income will suffer, as they would be out of work and would be taking a major
pay cut.
Prescription drugs, especially, are the big problem, as the cost is controlled by
pharmaceutical companies that profit from the high costs of drugs. It is evident that there is a
problem in America when nearly one-third of the drugs approved by the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), which are needed for cancer treatment, have a cost that exceeds $5,500 a
month (Oncologists 1). If you thought that was a lot of money, there are drugs, such
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Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Senator and
American presidential candidate, has many beneficial reform ideas that would help make cancer
more affordable. Some steps include requiring Medicare to use its bargaining power to negotiate
with the prescription drug companies, allowing the importation of prescription drugs, and
requiring pricing and cost transparency (Fighting 2-5). If Medicare is allowed to bargain with
Big Pharma, then there will be a compromise on the drug prices, thus lowering the costs of the
drugs for Americans. If the ban on importing drugs is removed, then access to the same, more
affordable drugs from foreign countries will be easier, which will force the pharmaceutical
companies to lower the costs of drugs if they want to keep getting business. Lastly, by forcing
pharmaceutical companies to be transparent in pricing and costs, they will have to provide
evidence as to how they priced the drugs. By doing this, Big Pharma will need to provide
evidence in order to justify their prices (Whalen 2). If pharmaceutical companies are forced to
provide evidence about their prices, then all of the drug costs will have an explanation as to
...health of a patient and a follow up check at the GP’s may be required.
It is not hard to obtain the same drugs from different sources so the customer loyalty is virtually non-existent and the pharmacies have to try extremely hard to sustain their consumer base.
In the recent years the drug industry underwent a significant transformation. Many of the big companies generate high revenues, which allow them to expand. Some of them expand on their own others through mergers and the buying of smaller companies.
...ied. This is the reason there is a need for funding for more research: everyone who has cancer deserves to receive all the possible treatments there are for the type of cancer they have.
I have elected to transcribe my proposal argument on issues regarding cancer chemoprevention. I selected this topic because reasonably minute devotion has been given to cancer chemoprevention research in ethical writings, particularly in relation to the huge quantity of moral studies in cancer treatment exploration. Cancer chemoprevention trials test the ability and care of medicinal agents in averting cancer before its manifestation. I believe that phase III chemoprevention issues can be less prevalent by simply ensuring enhanced communication and etiquette between researchers and investigators.
Why are the prices so high? Some critics of the drug companies argue that the larger firms are ripping off the American public, are dishonest and, in some cases, unsafe. On the other hand, there are health care workers such as doctors and their supporters who claim that research and testing for drugs costs money. This supposedly justifies their prices for their products. Also, as an argument to their side, they say that their practice is a benefit to the improvement to mankind. It is a life saving business, but are these prices justified? As one can see, this is a very important issue in medicine today. It affects everyone involved with medicine, which is much of the American public. It also affects the physicians and drug makers.
Cancer in one way or another touches all of us, whether as a patient or through the diagnosis of the people you love around you. Millions of patients who are faced with cancer are depending on oncologists everywhere to cure cancer so others will not suffer like they had to. Optimistically, sooner rather than later this international problem will come to an end. There are a number of drug companies that have been coming out with cancer treatment drugs. “Oncology has been one of the hottest and most active therapeutic areas for drug development, drug makers may want to take note of a finding that new cancer drugs have proven far more difficult to gain approval than medicines for infectious and autoimmune diseases.” (nature.com) Unfortunately, these drugs cannot cure the cancer but it sure makes it a load easier o...
Radiation therapy is the use of “high-energy particles or waves, such as x-rays, gamma rays, electron beams, or protons, used to destroy or damage cancer cells” (Hage 1). The human body consists of a large number of cells which grow and multiply every day, however when cancer cells arise they multiply faster than a normal cell would. Cancer is considered hundreds of different diseases because there are so many types of them and is identified by its abnormal cell growth and ability to migrate throughout the body (Aggarwal). Radiation therapy helps with breaking down cancer cells and eventually kills them, stopping the cell division of these harmful cells. In the attempt to prevent these cancer cells to continue to multiply, healthy cells may also be destroyed but luckily radiation therapy has different methods to target the cells it wants to kill. Ideally, doctors only want to destroy the harmful cells but radiation has
Chemotherapy is the use of chemicals to cure cancer. Chemotherapy is also known as “chemo”. The term for chemo came from the German bacteriologist Paul Ehrlich around the year 1900. He came up with the term when he was examining aniline dyes and arsenicals as possible treatments for diseases such as syphilis. He envisioned “magic bullets” that would be able to target invading organisms but still leave the host unscathed. This goal has been providing therapeutic benefits without many side effects in all areas of drug development. There has been a lot of success with compounds that modulate normal biochemistry within the body.
Martinez, Barbara “Firms Paid to Trim Drug Costs Also Toil for Drug Makers” The Wall Street
"Reducing Demand for Drugs." UN General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem. May 1998. Web. 02 Mar. 2011. .
Cancer is a deadly disease that has some very serious effects on a person both physically and mentally. Cancer can result in a simple surgery that may take only a couple days, or a life-long struggle that leaves someone so fatigued and tired that it makes them want to give up. It will put fear in anyone's eyes and will devastate even the strongest of people, but cancer can bring out the courageousness in a person to fight this disease and not give up. It can be a fatal disease but it can also bring out the strength in someone which is an amazing thing. Cancer has many serious effects on a person's body and their mental health and others, but can also inspire a person to dig deep and fight this disease with all their heart.
the industry , which is the only appealing side of the drug trade, but it is not
With an inaccurate diagnosis, comes the emotional and physical toll of treatments, as well as the cost. When diagnosed with cancer or even awaiting the results of a cancer test, one can develop anxiety (Brawley). Doctor Welch, a professor at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, teaches his students how “screening leads to a lot of anxiety.” Along with the emotional toll that follows the diagnosis of cancer comes the physical aspect. Treating tumors that would have not become life-threatening has some pretty big risks: pain, infections, anesthesia reactions, or complications (McCullough). Along with those risks, one may lose a part of their body or a function. Because of all the treatments on nonfatal cancers, women may lose a breast while men can lose their sexual function (Aschwanden). But above all that, treatments and “diagnostic interventions can even cause an early death” (Brawley). One of the biggest worries people have when diagnosed with cancer, is how will the treatments be paid for. With the cost of cancer treatment in the United States set to grow thirty-nine percent from 2010-2020, billions of dollars could be spent on something that might not have even required treatment (Aschwanden). For any family or individual person, paying for cancer treatment can cause a financial fallout. The “treatment of an overdiagnosed tumor cannot provide benefit, but it can lead to harm” (McCullough).
If a doctor is prescribing an expensive medication that the patient cannot afford, the pharmacist should be informing the patient of cheaper alternative that provide the same benefits at a lower cost.