70
NOVEMBER 2012
WWW.TOMIMAGAZINE.COM
BUSINESS HEALTH
THE WAR
ON CANCER
H
OW DOES ONE
KNOW WHAT
TO DO
?
There has been a ‘war on cancer’ since Nixon
announced it in the 60’s. There have been
multitudinous hours put into walks, fundrais-
ing and scientific study to eradicate this mon-
ster. Flags have been waved and lapels have
been pinned and many women have fought
the fine fight to the finish, defending them-
selves against this deadly beast; of course
with their champion medical professionals
closely by their side (provided the insurance
company would pay the allowable expenses).
Yet with all of these valiant efforts, the num-
bers of ‘cancer survivors’ past year number
five of ‘remission’ is staggeringly low, while
the cost of receiving care with one cancer drug
in particular is outrageously high. Avastin,
used to extend life in patients with lung,
breast, colon, kidney and ovarian cancer has
an average ticket price of about $6,000 per
100
unit dose.
No… that’s not the price your insurance
pays for yours or the care of a loved one.
Your insurance pays certain hospitals that
have been found to charge between $7,649 to
upwards of $22,680, while others are marking
up the price significantly higher; with the pur-
chase of independent oncology practices, the
hospitals can charge what they want to whom
they want and label it as ‘cost-
shifting’ (making up for financial loss in one
area by justifying inflationary practices in
some other). Sounds suspiciously like a cor-
nering of the cancer market and a racket to
say the least. The lower price end, are large
nonprofit hospitals. Imagine if you take your
care to a posh private hospital. You will re-
ceive a lovely room and ‘lovely’ bill, if you
don’t have the ‘required’ insurance. That’s to
say if you aren’t laughed out the door for
seeking aid in a hospital that you can’t afford.
Oh, but you didn’t know our health care sys-
tem still lingers in the era of a caste system?
Well WAKE UP, because the Philistines are up-
on you Sampson.
When practices are considered in the
light of what has become traditional health
care, we can clearly see the erosion occurring
to a system that is supposed to be set up to
help people. There is signage posted in most
hospital facilities that loosely states, ‘Your care
is our most important matter. You will receive
is our most important matter. You will receive
the care you need, no matter your status or
economic standing. We will do this to the
point of stabilizing you.” It was a recent oc-
currence that a young woman was taken to
the hospital by ambulance with a blood pres-
sure reading of a little better than 200/90.
After spending five (yes… 5) hours in the
emergency ‘holding area’ with no hydration
nor actual medical attention aside from moni-
toring, she was politely told she could leave,
while being force fed a foreign high blood
pressure medication and several large potassi-
um pills 10 minutes prior to her speedy oust-
ing. Her blood pressure was a ‘mere’ 204/115
as she was rolled to the exit and her body
couldn’t hold the medication any farther than
a half block from the brick and mortar of the
hospital itself. Her insurance wasn’t good
enough for the care it would have required to
truly stabilize someone with the extent of kid-
ney disease she lives with.
The market research firm Packaged
Facts reported in July 2009 that the natural
health and related care market, which grew 8
percent in 2008 and is approaching $7 billion,
is likely to reach sales of $12 billion by 2014.
The concern for adverse effects of pharmaceu-
tical use and over the counter medicine is on
the rise, as many are looking for proactive ra-
ther than reactive approaches to health care
and maintenance. In line with this concept,
consider the idea of ‘self-care cancer treat-
ment centers of the world’. Some would think
this a ludicrous decision, if not ‘dangerous’ or
here’s another word often used… ‘radical’. But
the treatment centers are indeed around the
world; readily accessible, in your own home,
behind the doors of your cabinets and refriger-
ators. The real question would be ‘how do I
know what to do?’ Tune in next time folks
and keep hundreds of thousands of dollars in
your pocket, while maintaining your health on
the cutting edge . –
Tai-Kim Spencer