Please, anyone know of financial help for cancer victims???

[Liddle Noodnik]

Please, anyone know of financial help for cancer victims???

I'm aware of Hill Burton act, but how does he pay for office visits and medication? And how can he get the BEST treatment?

My 43 year old brother Jeff was just diagnosed with prostate cancer. Last year his PSA was slightly elevated, this year, more so. The biopsy was positive and they're recommending a total removal of his prostate.

He also struggles with depression and anxiety, and just now his medicaid insurance has been cancelled (they claim his disability benefits are too high, yeah, right).

He has great difficulty with praying/"higher power" etc., which is one reason why I beg for your prayers -- to replace the ones he cannot make. He once had faith; however long before this diagnosis the mere word "God" sent him into a tailspin.

Please pray regarding the cancer, the money troubles, and his emotional state. He was my best friend when I was growing up, through tough times. He's finally sober and now this.

Thank you so much in advance!!!

[Liddle Noodnik]

Please, anyone know of financial help for cancer victims???

I'm aware of Hill Burton act, but how does he pay for office visits and medication? And how can he get the BEST treatment?

My 43 year old brother Jeff was just diagnosed with prostate cancer. Last year his PSA was slightly elevated, this year, more so. The biopsy was positive and they're recommending a total removal of his prostate.

He also struggles with depression and anxiety, and just now his medicaid insurance has been cancelled (they claim his disability benefits are too high, yeah, right).

He has great difficulty with praying/"higher power" etc., which is one reason why I beg for your prayers -- to replace the ones he cannot make. He once had faith; however long before this diagnosis the mere word "God" sent him into a tailspin.

Please pray regarding the cancer, the money troubles, and his emotional state. He was my best friend when I was growing up, through tough times. He's finally sober and now this.

Thank you so much in advance!!!

[leslie :-D]

why don't you call the american cancer society? i'm sure they can give you some advice....or even call where he gets his disability check from; a social worker, therapist....i'm sure they could all give referrals..best of luck.

leslie

[Liddle Noodnik]

why don't you call the american cancer society? i'm sure they can give you some advice....or even call where he gets his disability check from; a social worker, therapist....i'm sure they could all give referrals..best of luck.

leslie

Thank you, good idea!

My dad (72) had prostate ca and later bladder ca and both were eradicated. My dad had the radioactive seed treatment. Do they want to do a radical prostatectomy on my brother because he's so young, or are there other factors? I have only talked to my bro and he's pretty blown away, so he doesn't have a lot of info.

Love your quote BTW!

[leslie :-D]

i'm sorry zoe, i don't have the answers for why they're choosing this option....perhaps you can go with him to the doctor's next time (if you live close to each other).. or you can have your brother give written authorization to his doctor stating that you can be informed of the medical/surgical status pertaining to your brother. i wish you both well.

leslie

[Liddle Noodnik]

i'm sorry zoe, i don't have the answers for why they're choosing this option....perhaps you can go with him to the doctor's next time (if you live close to each other).. or you can have your brother give written authorization to his doctor stating that you can be informed of the medical/surgical status pertaining to your brother. i wish you both well.

leslie

Thanks. We live about 15 min apart. My brother is weird about privacy, I hope he will trust me and let me go with him. It sure would ease my mind!

[doobiedo, RN]

Thank you, good idea!

My dad (72) had prostate ca and later bladder ca and both were eradicated. My dad had the radioactive seed treatment. Do they want to do a radical prostatectomy on my brother because he's so young, or are there other factors? I have only talked to my bro and he's pretty blown away, so he doesn't have a lot of info.

Love your quote BTW!

I would recommend he look at all options...radical prostatectomy in a 45yr old seems like extensive but not sure....talk with his doc if you can and get a second opinion to know your options...ie radiation....

[Liddle Noodnik]

I would recommend he look at all options...radical prostatectomy in a 45yr old seems like extensive but not sure....talk with his doc if you can and get a second opinion to know your options...ie radiation....

Thanks Doobiedo (cute name!)

He was really raving when I talked to him, but he said he'd been thru 3 different docs -- I'm not sure which KIND of docs, if he only saw one onco he should see another for sure.

This just seems so UNREAL, y'know?

[stevierae]

I know this is an old thread, but I came across this info regarding firnancial help for chemo drugs and other prescrition meds while doing some research--thought it was awesome--don't know how up to date it is, but at least some of the info should prove helpful. Appears in full below:

Legislation promised toward prescription cover for medicare recipients will be postponed by the Twin Towers and Pentagon attacks. Medicare recipients with low incomes will have difficulty in paying for their prescription medications.

Programs offered by almost all pharmaceutical manufacturers often provide free medicines for those who have NO medical insurance covering prescription drugs and whose incomes fall below certain levels. Without age limits, and with reasonable income limits [in certain cases people earning up to $50,000 a year can qualify.]

You must apply separately to each manufacturer. The drugs are sent to your doctor, and you will probably have to requalify at regular intervals. These programs are not advertised, and doctors may be unaware of them, or reluctant to apply because of paperwork.

To lower the cost of prescription medications, there are several sites that can help you, as can one of your doctors, if he/she will call up the manufacturer and find out about reimbursement and/or discounts and/or free medicine. You might be able to do this, and obtain forms for your doctor, to facilitate the process. Information below.

Accessing Free Medication

http://www.themedicineprogram.com/

FDA's Access to unapproved products

http://www.fda.gov/cder/cancer/access.htm

STRICT CALIFORNIA LAW REQUIRES COMPLETE INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR CANCER STUDY SUBJECTS Legislation signed into law Thursday by California governor Gray Davis requires health insurers to cover all routine medical expenses incurred by cancer patients enrolled in clinical trials. http://oncology.medscape.com/41571.rhtml?srcmp=onc-081701

Directory of Prescription Drug Assistance

http://www.phrma.org/patients/

Needy Meds Drug Assistance Programs http://www.needymeds.com/ "Many pharmaceutical manufacturers have special programs to assist people who can't afford to buy the drugs they need. One problem is that it's often hard to learn about these programs. Our goal is to make this information easily accessible."

http://www.medscape.com/ACCC/OncIssues/1998/v13.n04/oi1304.03/oi1304.03.html To use Medscape, you will have to go to http://www.medscape.com, register, get a user id and password; thereafter a 'cookie' will allow complete access to Medscape. You do not have to be a doctor.

Once you are registered on Medscape, you can also go to the Drug Search, type in your medication, and find the company that makes it.

Or use Pharmacology Databases, a drug search engine, to find the manufacturer of the drug:

http://www.mednets.com/spharmac.htm

For more Prescription Drug Patient Assistance Programs, visit the website http://www.phrma.org/patients/

http://www.labca.com/L_A__Resource_Guide/Drug_Assistance_Program/body_drug_assistance_program.html

Most major pharmaceutical companies have drug assistance programs, which provide medications to people who cannot afford them In most cases, your physician must apply to these programs on your behalf, but you can call and obtain the applications and information yourself.

* Alza

Phone [phone] Fax [phone]

Products: Ethyol (amifostine), Doxil HCI

* Amgen Inc.

Phone [phone] Fax [phone]

Product: Neupogen (filgrastim or granulocyte colony stimulating factor)

* Anesta

Phone [phone]

Product: Actiq (oral transmucosal fentanyl citrate)

* AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals

Phone [phone]

Products: Armidex (anastrozle), Casodex (bicalutamide), Nolvadex (tamoxifen citrate), Zoladex (goserelin acetate implant)

* Aventis Pharmaceuticals

Phone [phone]

Products: nilandron (available through the Aventis Patient Assistance Program-Kansas City)

* Bayer Corporation

Phone [phone]

Product: DTIC Dome

* Berlex Laboratories

Phone [phone] Fax [phone]

Product: fludara (fludarabine phosphate) for injection

* Bristol-Myers Squibb

Phone [phone] Fax [phone]

Products: all Bristol-Myers Squibb oncology products

* Chiron Therapeutics

Phone [phone] Fax [phone]

Products: proleukin (aldesleukin, IL-2), DepoCyt (cytarabine liposome injection)

* Eli Lilly & Company, Lilly Oncology

Phone 888-4-GEMZAR (888/443-6927) Fax [phone]

Products: gemzar,oncovin, and velban.

* Genentech, Inc.

Single Point of Contact/UPP

Phone [phone] Fax [phone]

Products: herceptin (trastuzumab), rituxan (rituximab)

* Gilead Sciences

Reimbursement Support and Assistance Program

Phone [phone] Fax [phone]

Products: vistide, danuoxome

* Glaxo Wellcome

Phone [phone]

Products: duragesic (fentanyl transdermal system), ergamisol (levamisole hydrochloride) tablets

* MGI Pharma, Inc.

Phone [phone]

Product: salagen tablets (pilocarpine hydrochloride)

* Novartis

Phone [phone] Fax [phone]

Call for product list Novartis

For Gleevec, contact the Novartis Hotline for financial assistance for Gleevec: 877-GLEEVEC

* Nycomed Amersham

Phone [phone] Fax [phone]

Products: OncoSed (1-125 Seeds), Rapid Strand (1-125 seeds), Metastron (Strontium-89 Chloride)

* Ortho Biotech Inc.

Phone [phone] Fax [phone].

Products: procrit (epoetin alfa) for non-dialysis use, leustatin (cladribine) injection

* Parke-Davis

Phone [phone]

Products: most Parke-Davis outpatient products with chronic indications are covered.

* Pfizer, Inc.

Phone [phone]

Product: diflucan

* Pharacia & Upjohn

Phone [phone]

Note: this company does not give out product lists. Patients must go through Oncology Hotline first for a review of benefits. After that, the patient is referred to the patient assistance program if applicable.

* Roche Laboratories, Inc.

Phone [phone] (choose option #2)

Products: xeloda, vesanoid, Roferon-A, FUDR (floxuridine)

* Roxane Laboratories, Inc.

Phone [phone]

Products: Oramorph Sr, roxanol, roxicodone, marinol, viramune

* Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals

Phone [phone] Fax [phone]

Product: matulane (procarbizine)

* SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals

Phone [phone] Fax [phone]

Products: hycamtin, kytril

* The Liposome Company

Phone [phone] Fax [phone]

Product: abelcet

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some Drug Information URLs

What I liked about RxList was that you don't have to spell the drug correctly.

http://www.rxlist.com/

Register for Medscape. It is free and you don't have to be a doctor.

http://promini.medscape.com/drugdb/search.asp

I found Drug InfoNet

http://www.druginfonet.com/

by first going to the FDA's Oncology Tools at

http://www.fda.gov/cder/cancer/websitesframe.htm

and clicking on Drug Info. There's much more at this site.

http://www.cancerbacup.org.uk/info/doxorubicin.htm

There is a lot more at this site, too.

http://cancersource.com/Resources/drugguide/index.cfm?DiseaseID=26

http://cancernet.nci.nih.gov/index.html

http://www.mednets.com/spharmac.htm

http://www.cyberdiet.com/modules/ca/outline.html

http://www.asco.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

compiled by David M & doctordee 2000 and 2001

[Liddle Noodnik]

Hi Stevierae

Thanks SO MUCH for the information! My bro is all set now with his insurance but I am coming into a simillar situation myself! God bless you!

[stevierae]

Hi Stevierae

Thanks SO MUCH for the information! My bro is all set now with his insurance but I am coming into a simillar situation myself! God bless you!

Oh, you are welcome--glad to help!! Take care, and let us know how everything goes with both you AND your brother--glad you posted--I was worried about you both.

[SilDro]

Hi,

I do have tons of financial information for cancer victims. My husband passed away from colon cancer in October and I'm a 27 year old widow now. I can email you the websites I got through the American Cancer Society. Good luck. My email is [email protected].