How Much Does Cancer Cost?

Cancer is expensive.  As if I need another reason to hate it…   I'm about to share the cost of my Hodgkin's Lymphoma treatment with you.

Because mine was caught in Stage I, my treatment was minimal.  The time between when I discovered the tumor in my lymph node to the time I completed my final treatment was 6 months.  Many people go through much more treatment over a much longer period of time, so keep in mind the amount I'm about to share with you is on the extreme low end of cancer treatment cost.

Ok, so are you ready to hear how much my cancer treatment was?  As of 1/13/2014, the total cost of my treatment has been…. $153,000.

Now, let me clarify - $153,000 is the amount that has been charged to my insurance company.  Thankfully I have a good insurance plan, so my personal expense this year was somewhere around $4,000 (deductible, out of pocket expenses above deductible, prescriptions, and over the counter medications).

So, how does $153,000 break down?  I've been tracking all of my bills over the last 6 months, so I have that answer!  Here's the short(ish) answer:

It cost $26,300 to diagnose - including doctors visits, ultrasound, blood work, CT scan, needle biopsy, and excisional biopsy.

Once I was diagnosed, it was $33,300 to prepare me for my first chemo session - this included oncology appointments, port placement surgery, PET scan, heart and lung tests, and bone marrow biopsy.

Each chemo treatment was a little different in cost because the cost of each chemo drug is constantly changing.  On average, each chemo treatment was around $3,200 (the most expensive one was $3,600) totaling $13,000 for 4 chemo treatments.

If you recall, my white blood cells kept dropping, so I had to have several Neupogen shots at $430 a piece.  I still haven't seen the bill for the two Neupogen shots I had to get at the ER over one weekend…  But for the 8 shots I had at my oncologist's office, the total was $3,500 for Neupogen.

The total cost of radiation was $54,000!  This includes doctor visits, radiation planning (done by doctors before treatment), and 10 radiation treatments.

It was another $8,000 for my last PET scan to make sure I was cancer- free.  Then $11,000 to have my port removed.

Keep in mind I'll have four appointments with my oncologist (about $200 each) and two PET scans a year ($8,000-$10,000 each) for the next 5 years.  I'll list all costs below for those of you who want to know.  Some of these expenses may surprise you:

$165	Initial Doctors Visit
$790	Ultrasound
$115	Follow Up Doctors Visit
$50	Blood Work - CBC
$2,309	CT Scan
$3,597	Needle Biopsy
$170	Consultation with Surgeon
$19,102	Excisional Biopsy
$310	Consultation with Oncologist
$250	Detailed Blood Work
$10,805	Initial PET Scan
$1,036	Lung Function Test
$209	Heart Test
$16,698	Port Placement Surgery
$3,992	Bone Marrow Biopsy
$2,682	Chemo #1
$309	Blood Draw from Port
$2,585	ER visit
$110	Doctors Visit - Nurse Practitioner
$95	Blood Work
$3,382	Chemo #2
$430	Neupogen shot
$430	Neupogen shot
$50	Blood Work
$110	Doctors Visit - NP
$108	Blood Work
$3,622	Chemo #3
$430	Neupogen shot
$430	Neupogen shot
$514	Neupogen shot
$80	IV fluids
$430	Neupogen shot
$430	Neupogen shot
$95	Blood Work
$430	Neupogen shot
$95	Blood Work
$3,281	Chemo #4
$50	Blood Work
$110	Doctors Visit - NP
$115	GP doctors visit
$7,959	PET scan
$248	CT (w/ PET)
$165	Doctors visit
$95	Blood Work
$587	Radiation Oncologist consult
$514	Radiation Planning (Simulation)
$4,370	Planning Appointment
$110	Radiation Simulation
$3,735	Treatment Plan & Scans
$3,222	Radiation
$39,636	Radiation
$610	Radiation Treatment
$667	Radiation Oncologist Physician Services
$10,873	Port Removal Surgery
$30	Follow Up with Radiation Doctor