What is the cost of getting treatments for leukemia?
please include a few different treatments and their costs Ok, first,don't panic Disco Girl. You didn't say if it was you or some loved one that you are worrying about paying for, I'll assume it's you. If you want to live, forget about the money right now, you need to take care of yourself or none of that will matter. I just lost my beloved girlfriend of 12 years, Lisa Ann, in December, right before Christmas, to AML, acute myelogenous leukemia, one of the worst. They grade it on a scale of 1 to 7, she was an 8. Poor girl didn't even really know she was sick. She went to the doctor one day because she had a tummy ache and was feeling a little run down. The doctor called a few hours later, and said, "Get to the emergency room, NOW !" She did not see the outside of that hospital for months, and then, not for long.
I'm not trying to scare you, but leukemia can be a stone cold killer, take it seriously. The last thing you need to be stressing over right now is, "How am I gonna pay for this?", deal with it later babe, or there may be no more later. At least then you won't have to pay the bill.
I don't mean to make light of a very serious siruation, but, I just did this for the last 8 months, and if you don't keep your sense of humor, things can get real bleak, real fast.
Having said that, there are many different kinds of leukemia, some fairly mild and even curable, some not so.The prognosis for different types varies wildy. If you don't know exactly what you are dealing with, you better find out. Then educate yourself well. That will be your best tool to help you understand what is happening to you and what you should do about it, you can't make good, informed decisions if you don't even know what's going on, and I'm not saying you don't, but you have to take an active role. I wrote a much more involved answer and then accidentally deleted it right as I was about to send. A couple of others beat me to some of the things I was going to say so I won't repeat it all other than to say, help is out there, good help. I would recomend as early and aggressive a treatment as is appropriate for your situation.
Now, you asked about treatment options, thats for you to discuss with your doctor, but if your'e not educated about your disease, a lot of it will sound like Greek. I'm a fairly intelligent guy, did a lot of reading, and we were blessed with really good doctors. I still got confused. Ask questions, lots of em'. Don't let the doctor go untill you get a satisfactory answer. Go on the Web, you already have some great links. And I certainly agree that alternative, unconventional therapies are worth a look or two, don't box yourself in to any one approach, they can work together.
Everybody so far has sort of talked about the disease but the first thing you said was, "How am I gonna pay for this?". Deal with it later, if you can, you need to concentrate on getting well right now, dear. You didn't mention where you live, but I know you could get help out here in California. I personaly owe the County of Santa Clara tens of thousands of dollars, Lisa's bill was in the hundreds of thousands. She was disabled, unemployed, uninsured and nearly homeless. I don't think it had a significant effect on the quality of the care she recieved.
I've been operated on by two of the finest teaching surgeons in the country, saved my right hand and left foot. I still haven't paid my bill. I'm not saying "Be a deadbeat", but if you really need it, there are usualy options, there is help out there. Sometimes you have to scrounge around a little bit to find it, and it can be a real pain dealing with the government, I know, but don't despair, just do it. No one stopped to check my bank account before wheeling me into the operating room.
I know it's tough hon, try and keep your head up, and a smile on it. It helps.
Best Wishes, Scott Branaman
scottbranaman@yahoo.com This is the free alternative to for cancer patients.Do it and you will know from the future test results.You can also do it alongside any medical treatment.
Cancer hates oxygen and cannot live in a high-oxygen environment.If you want to supplement the medical treatment you receive(or not receive) with some alternative therapy then this is for you. You need to help your body to build up your immune system.The breathing exercises - pranayam is a holistic approach creating extra oxygen supply in the body and will slowly help with the health problem.Do the pranayam to see the benefits.Build up your timing slowly and after four weeks at the suggested maximum duration you will start to notice benefits gradually.If you feel tired or dizzy,stop and resume later.
What is known: pranayam helps the body heal itself. How it works in the body is not known 鈥?but people may build their own theory. You have to do it yourself for your benefit.
The small print: Keep doing pranayam after you are better for minimum 30 minutes a day for rest of life to maintain health.
People who have been treated successfully, should do pranayam as well, as there is a chance of recurrence.
The pranayam techniques:
Bhastrika - Take a long deep breath into the lungs(chest not tummy) via the nose and then completely breathe out through the nose.Duration upto 5 minutes.
Kapalbhati -(Do it before eating) Push air forcefully out through the nose about once per second. Stomach will itself go in(contract in). The breathing in(through the nose) will happen automatically. Establish a rhythm and do for 20 to 30 minutes twice a day.(Max 60 min/day) Not for pregnant women. Seriously ill people do it gently.
Anulom Vilom - Close your right nostril with thumb and deep breath-in through left nostril
then 鈥?close left nostril with two fingers and breath-out through right nostril
then -keeping the left nostril closed deep breath-in through right nostril
then - close your right nostril with thumb and breath-out through left nostril.
This is one cycle of anulom vilom.
Repeat this cycle for 20 to 30 minutes twice a day(maximum 60 minutes in one day).
You can do this before breakfast/lunch/dinner or before bedtime or in bed.Remember to take deep long breaths into the lungs.You can do this while sitting on floor or chair or lying in bed.
Bhramri Pranayam -Close eyes. Close ears with thumb, index finger on forehead, and rest three fingers on base of nose touching eyes. Breathe in through nose. And now breathe out through nose while humming like a bee.
Duration : 5 to 10 times
Only by doing you will benefit and will feel good that you can do something to help the body.Copy and print this to improve your technique and stay focused.This is simplified pranayam for everyone and you do not have to go to classes to learn. This is for life, unlike short term classes where you do it in the class then stop when classes are over. Treatment
Unlike other types of cancer, leukemia isn't a solid tumor that your doctor can surgically remove. The source of the problem is really the bone marrow. But you can't just remove bone marrow because it produces three basic types of cells 鈥?white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets.
Treatment for leukemia is complex. It depends on many factors, including your age and overall health, the type of leukemia you have and whether it has spread to other parts of your body.
Therapies used to fight leukemia include:
* Chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is the major form of treatment for leukemia. This treatment uses chemical agents to kill leukemia cells. Depending on the type of leukemia you have, you may receive a single drug or a combination of one or more drugs. These drugs may come in a pill form, or they may be injected directly into a vein.
* Biological therapy. Also known as immunotherapy, biological therapy uses substances that bolster your immune system's response to cancer.
* Kinase inhibitors. For most people with CML, the drug imatinib mesylate (Gleevec) is the first line of therapy. Imatinib mesylate is a type of cancer drug called a kinase inhibitor. It was specifically developed to inhibit the BCR-ABL protein, and it has proved effective in treating the early stages of chronic myelogenous leukemia. Several newer kinase inhibitors are in development.
* Other drug therapy. Arsenic trioxide and all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) are anti-cancer drugs that doctors can use alone 鈥?or in combination with chemotherapy 鈥?to treat a certain subtype of AML called promyelocytic leukemia. These drugs cause leukemia cells with a specific gene mutation to mature and die.
* Radiation therapy. Radiation therapy uses X-rays or other high-energy rays to damage leukemia cells and stop their growth. You may receive radiation in one specific area of your body where there is a collection of leukemia cells, or you may receive radiation directed at your whole body.
* Bone marrow transplant. This process replaces your leukemic bone marrow with leukemia-free marrow. In this treatment, you receive high doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy, which destroys your leukemia-producing blood marrow. This marrow is then replaced by bone marrow from a compatible donor. In some cases, you may also be able to use your own bone marrow for transplant (autologous transplant). This is possible if you go into remission and then save healthy bone marrow for a future transplant, in case the leukemia returns.
# Stem cell transplant. Stem cell transplant is similar to bone marrow transplant except the cells are collected from stem cells that circulate in the bloodstream (peripheral blood). The cells used for transplant can be your own healthy cells (autologous transplant), or they can be collected from a compatible donor (allogeneic transplant). Doctors use this procedure more frequently than bone marrow transplant because of shortened recovery times and possible decreased risk of infection.
# Clinical trials. Some people with leukemia choose to enroll in clinical trials to try out experimental treatments or new combinations of known therapies.
# Supportive care. No matter what kind of cancer therapy you choose, you'll likely need medications to control pain and side effects. |
