Yes, I'm a senior, and I have a B.C. CareCard that provides me with paid health care coverage - but that's not what I'm getting at here. I got curious earlier in the evening about what it costs our government health services to provide the care we get from our Cancer Agency here.
I didn't find any figures for Canadian services, but I did find some relating to American services, which would be somewhat different, but probably close enough for 'ballpark figuring'. These figures are from reports done in 2004 and 2005, so are not present prices. They're impressive, all the same.
A radical prostatectomy, which I think means complete removal of the prostate, and is used as a base-line to judge other procedures costs was then in the range of from $18,500 to $20,000 U.S., and the brachytherapy seed implants procedure was in the range of from $10,000 to $15,000 U.S. The Iodine I-125 seeds like I have at that time were priced at $45.00 each, and the average number of them per patient is approximately 100, or a total of $4,500.00 U.S. - I've been told that at today's prices that's now about $6,000.00 for the seeds.
So controlling prostate cancer is fast, effective, and relatively clean & painless, but it isn't cheap. Because they've done everything possible to make me comfortable and to solve my problem, and haven't mentioned what it was costing them to do it, except to answer my questions, I signed up to become a monthly donor so that I can at least partly repay them for their generosity and kindness. I figure that if I could support the tobacco industry for all those years before I finally quit that, then I can certainly find the money to help support the Cancer Agency which is doing its best to save my life.
While over there at their office, I was invited to join a support group of guys who have had prostate cancer treatments. I asked, "Who wants to sit around and chat about something that tried its best to kill me after I gave it free room and board for over 70 years?" The ladies in the office didn't have an answer for that one....
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