Exploiting Cancer Patients With $10,000-a-Month Drugs

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Exploiting Cancer Patients With $10,000-a-Month Drugs

 

Cancer drug prices have spiraled out of control, leaving many unable

to pay for treatment and others wondering if the benefits are worth

the price.

 

 

http://www.mercola.com/2006/jul/29/exploiting_cancer_patients_with_10000_a_month\

_drugs.htm

 

 

 

Exploiting Cancer Patients With $10,000-a-Month Drugs

 

 

DrugsPrices for new cancer therapies have increased to up to $10,000 a

month for a single drug, causing dismay among patients and insurance

companies alike.

 

Cancer drug costs rose nearly 16 percent last year, while other

prescription drugs averaged a 3 percent price increase. Avastin, which

is used to treat colorectal cancer, currently sells for $50,000, and

that price could jump to $100,000 if Avastin is also approved to treat

breast and lung cancers.

 

What's more, these expensive medications often only give patients a

few more months of life, making many question whether or not the price

tag is worth it. Erbitux costs nearly $10,000 a month, but no studies

have shown that it even helps colorectal cancer patients live longer.

 

The bulk of the cost of these drugs is often handed off to taxpayers,

since many cancer patients are covered by Medicare. However, many

patients must pay at least part of the costs, and some are turning

down care because they cannot afford the expense.

 

USA Today July 11, 2006

 

USA Today July 11, 2006

 

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

 

These two important articles from USA Today discuss the personal

stories and the financial sacrifices people make to afford a " miracle "

cancer drug.

 

They illustrate very well the standard price-gouging operating

procedures used by drug companies: Provide exorbitant drugs that, in

no way, shape or form, treat the cause of the problem, and earn

billions of dollars for doing so. If patients want access to

" life-sustaining " therapies, they'll be forced to pay the price, which

in many cases means emptying their bank accounts, even if the drug is

useless.

 

It seems that the more serious and life-threatening the disease, the

more expensive the drug solution is. They clearly understand that

people will surrender virtually everthing they own to stay alive longer.

 

Consider, for example, the dilemma of a flight attendant who stopped

taking Herceptin because her monthly tab for the drug -- $800 a month

even with an employer-sponsored insurance plan -- now exceeds what she

pays to rent an apartment in Memphis. Or consider the drug Avastin,

which I told you about earlier this year. It's being touted as an

" important new treatment " for breast and lung cancers, at the obscene

cost of $100,000 a year, even though it may only extend a patient's

life by a couple of months.

 

The very vocal former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine,

Dr. Marcia Angell, sums up the situation brilliantly: " It's really

exploiting the desperation of people with a life-threatening illness. "

 

Additionally, as soon as a drug company comes out with a more

expensive alternative they will heavily promote it to the public and

physicians. It is as though all of a sudden the older drugs are

virtually worthless even though just a few years previously when they

were the new kid on the block they were being heavily promoted as the

latest and greatest must-use approach.

 

A better and safer alternative for you: Eliminating your risks by

following a proactive, drug-free approach by following my extensive

list of recommendations:

 

1. Control your insulin levels: Make certain that you limit your

intake of processed foods and sugars as much as possible.

 

2. Get appropriate amounts of animal-based omega-3 fats, and make

sure you use cod liver oil if you don't have regular access to sun

exposure.

 

3. Get appropriate exercise. One of the primary reasons exercise

works is that it drives your insulin levels down. Controlling insulin

levels is one of the most powerful ways to reduce your cancer risks.

 

4. Normalize your vitamin D levels with safe amounts of sun exposure.

This works primarily by optimizing your vitamin D level. If you have

regular access to sun exposure then you should use fish oil, not cod

liver oil, as your primary source of omega-3 fats. Ideally, it would

be best to monitor your vitamin D levels.

 

5. Eat according to your metabolic type. The potent anti-cancer

effects of this principle are very much underappreciated. When we

treat cancer patients in our clinic this is one of the most powerful

anti-cancer strategies we have.

 

6. Have a tool to permanently erase the neurological short-circuiting

that can activate cancer genes. Even the CDC states that 85 percent of

disease is caused by emotions. It is likely that this factor may be

more important than all the other physical ones listed here, so make

sure this is addressed. Energy psychology seems to be one of the best

approaches and my particular favorite tool, as you may know, is the

Emotional Freedom Technique.

 

7. Only 25 percent of people eat enough vegetables, so by all means

eat as many vegetables as you are comfortable with. Ideally, they

should be fresh and organic. However, please understand that,

frequently, fresh conventionally grown vegetables are healthier than

organic ones that are older and wilted in the grocery store. They are

certainly better than no vegetables at all, so don't use that as an

excuse. If you are a carb metabolic type you may need up to 300

percent more vegetables than a protein metabolic type.

 

8. Make sure you are not in the two-thirds of the population who are

overweight and maintain an ideal body weight.

 

9. Get enough high-quality sleep.

 

10. Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins like pesticides,

household chemical cleaners, synthetic air fresheners and air pollution.

 

11. Boil, poach or steam your foods, rather than frying or

charbroiling them.

 

Save your health and your money. You work too hard to waste either one

on " miracle " drugs and cures.

 

Related Articles:

 

Take a Drug to ''Beat'' Breast Cancer, Suffer a Fatal Stroke

 

Are Newer Drugs Any Better Than Older Ones?

 

Beyond Dollars: The Real Cost of the U.S. Health Care System